Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Weledeh, that Bill 4, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 3, 2003-2004, be read for the third time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for North Slave, that Bill 2, An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act, be read for the third time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a return to a written question asked by Ms. Lee on March 22, 2004, regarding the request for travel expenditures by department.

Later today, at the appropriate time, I will table a report summarizing GNWT travel expenditures by department for the fiscal periods 1999-00 to 2003-04.

This report provides a summary of departmental travel expenditures for these fiscal periods, adjusted for the non-discretionary travel previously identified to Members. The information was compiled from the financial information system and has not been audited. Thank you....

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when we went through this process and committee Members saw the draft mains, comments that were said about what we should look at for saving money and saving initiatives, cost-saving measures that were said through the committee process have been taken and will be looked at as we step forward. As now Members are aware of certain areas we should look at, Members suggested, for example, Mr. Speaker, a zero-based budgeting exercise. I think as a government we should seriously look at using that as an exercise as we develop the next budget process. So there...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our consensus style of government allows Members more than any other jurisdiction to be involved in the development of the budget. For example, we sat down as 19 Members and discussed what fiscal strategy we would use, and going forward on that, we started building the budget. We know that our timeline was very tight, but coming forward to the next system, Members will be directly involved in the business planning process from that three-year business plan process. We will then take the comments of Members and develop a draft main estimates. Then again...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Through this whole process -- and the media term as to the harshness of the rulings that were made -- I’ve stayed out of the picture, because they are a quasi-judicial board told to do things. They have an act to follow. They’ve done that and I haven’t interfered with that process. I did state, when I met with the Liquor Licensing Board, that if there were concerns to please work through me and I will initiate a process. If there are concerns around enforcement, I will work with the Minister of Justice to try and do that. Is there an education factor? I will work with...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think in responding to that question we should look at more than just one very small section of what was stated in that ruling. In fact, there’s an area that refers to the enactment of the Liquor Act as an exercise of the legislature of its authority to make laws in relation to property and civil rights and also in relation to intoxicants. There are a number of factors there. By the language of the act in section 6(2) and section 13 in particular, the legislature intended to give broad discretion to the Liquor Licensing Board, section 6.2(2) subject to...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To my far right is Mr. Gerry Gagnon, manager of tax policy; to my immediate right is Ms. Margaret Melhorn, deputy minister; and to my immediate left is Rebecca Veinott from Justice. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for North Slave, that Bill 1, Appropriation Act, 2004-2005, be read for the third time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you for the opportunity to present Bill 2, An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act.

Two weeks ago, in my budget address, I announced increases to personal income tax rates for higher income individuals, an increase to the corporate income tax rate for large corporations, and an increase to the payroll tax. The bill before you is necessary to implement the first these measures. Bill 2 would increase our corporate income tax rate for large corporations from 12 to 14 percent effective January 1, 2004.

This measure will be effective in 2004. Because of this, we need to advise the federal...