David Ramsay

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Finance Minister and it gets back to my Member’s statement where I was talking about our Member of Parliament, Mr. Dennis Bevington, who this week is trumpeting his borrowing limit Bill C-530 to his counterparts in Ottawa in the House of Commons. It got me to thinking, Mr. Speaker -- and the rest of the residents here in the Northwest Territories are giving this a lot of thought today as well -- does this Cabinet endorse Bill C-530 in its current form? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to address the Government of the Northwest Territories’ maturation process and its borrowing limit.

First, I must say that I’m surprised that our Member of Parliament for the Western Arctic is down in Ottawa trumpeting Bill C-530, which would see our Territory’s debt limit raised to 70 percent of our expenditures, which last year, at just over $1.3 billion, would result in a corresponding debt limit of somewhere in the neighbourhood of $900 million.

The big question, Mr. Speaker, is does our Member of Parliament have the blessing of this Cabinet? How about the...

The bottom line is I think the barren-ground caribou outfitters need a support. They need a champion on Cabinet. I would look to the Minister of ITI to be that champion and to bring forward a program that, like I said, is going to ensure that the businesses that we have here today, that pump millions of dollars, are going to be there. Hopefully the numbers trend the right way and we’ll get tags for them and continue to inject those dollars into our economy.

Again I would like to ask the Minister, I know he mentioned next year’s business plan, but it might be too late for some of the businesses...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the Minister of ITI. I know my colleague Mr. Abernethy was speaking about barren-ground caribou outfitting in the Northwest Territories earlier. It’s good news that you look at the numbers of the Bluenose-East; numbers are coming back and the Bluenose-West in Cape Bathurst are getting somewhere near stable. I think that’s good news. The problem is, from where I see it, I believe the Department of ENR is intent on just letting the outfitting businesses that were there just wither away and go away. Then you’ve got the Minister of ITI that has done...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that. I guess for me the bottom line is whether or not -- and I said this earlier -- we’ve never discussed in any meeting I’ve been in during the seven years that I’ve been here, a percentage on our expenditures as a borrowing limit. It is the first I’ve heard of it and I’d like to again ask the Minister if this Cabinet endorses 70 percent of our expenditures as a borrowing limit for this government.

Yes, that’s right. I remember Parliament does answer to the people of the Northwest Territories. This Minister and this Cabinet answer to us, we represent the people here in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, I support moving forward with the AIP; I’ve said that unequivocally. I support that. What I don’t support is us seeking more ways to spend money. Mr. Speaker, I’ve gone on record as saying this before and I’ll say it again for the Minister: I’m not sure exactly what it costs to service a debt of around $500 million in a Territory of 42,000 people, but my estimate, Mr. Speaker, is...

I also want to recognize the hard work and dedication of the two employees who are being recognized today. Ms. Currimbhoy, we’ll miss your smiling face around the second floor of the building, that’s for sure. I wish her all the best in her retirement.

And to Gay Kennedy, I think the last two years have been a well-run ship with Ms. Kennedy at the helm of our research department, and I want to wish her every success and all the best, too, in her retirement.

As well, I want to recognize all the visitors in the gallery: Chief Raymond Tutcho from Deline, and also my friends, Danny Gaudet and Peter...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate all the work that the Minister has done in this regard, but my belief is that it falls short of what is needed. Like I said, we need to find a program that’s going to bridge the businesses between right now and when they can get some tags. I don’t think the current program allows us to do that. I don’t think anybody at ENR is going to be standing up fighting for the outfitting industry here in the Northwest Territories. There needs to be a balance and, again, I think the Minister of ITI can provide that balance and get a program in here that is going to see...

The barren-ground caribou outfitters pumped millions and millions of dollars into the economy over the years here in the Northwest Territories. It would be an absolute shame to see that industry disappear with the caribou. The numbers are encouraging. The numbers are coming back. I hope and pray that those numbers do continue to trend upward. Those businesses need to be there when those numbers come back so that we can continue to inject the millions of dollars into our economy here in the Northwest Territories. I’d like to ask the Minister again if it is the intent of the government to...