Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak about a number of issues affecting the residents of Sachs Harbour. Over the past year, renovations have been ongoing at the health centre. The hamlet was told on several occasions that inspections would take place at every stage of construction. Madam Speaker, on Monday, May 23, 2005, the mayor of Sachs was informed that a single inspection -- that is a single inspection, Madam Speaker -- would take place in the previous week. To date there has been no such inspection. So to add to the frustrations with the delay of the completion of the renovations of the health centre, the residents now have to worry about what the one inspection lists and what problems they will encounter in the future.

Madam Speaker, just because an asset like a health centre is in a small community doesn’t mean that it should not be subject to the same level of inspections and scrutiny that would be associated with the construction or renovations of an asset in a larger community.

Madam Speaker, over the winter, an Inuvik contractor overhauled the water pumping station. Since that time there have been problems with the intake pipes freezing up. A hamlet employee must chop the ice from the intake every morning before they start deliveries. This has lead to delays in delivering water, which we all know is essential to the health and welfare of residents. The Department of Public Works and Services must address this problem this summer.

Finally, Madam Speaker, I would like to talk about the need for permanent RCMP officers in Sachs Harbour. I have raised this issue in previous sessions and will continue to do so until the residents of Sachs Harbour have access to the same level of policing services that all communities have come to expect. I do not want anyone to die because a charter from Inuvik cannot get RCMP officers to Sachs Harbour fast enough to deal with a dangerous situation. Sachs Harbour is too far away to be served by another detachment. The Department of Justice needs to find funding to reopen the Sachs Harbour RCMP detachment. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

---Applause