Floyd Roland

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 3, An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act, No. 2, be read for the third time. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Frame Lake, that Bill 6, an Act to Amend the Payroll Tax Act, 1993 and the Income Tax Act, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill would amend the Payroll Tax Act, 1993 to increase the rate of the payroll tax. The bill would also amend the Income Tax Act. Alternative versions of the amendments to the Income Tax Act are included because Bill 3, An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act, No. 2, also amends the provisions of the Income Tax Act relating to individual income tax. Both versions of the amendments would amend...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think we should also say that Members are involved in, for example, setting the priorities of this government, what are high priorities. So it is not all about cutting, we are still spending $1 billion in the Northwest Territories. So it is how we spend that billion dollars, what are the high priorities of this Assembly, and we will take those and look at areas of lower priority and do some shuffling of the deck. That will include involvement from Members, we need that input. We have heard comments already on some of the areas of importance here. A...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again the actual work that would begin on the business plan process doesn’t begin until June. There are a number of broad strategies that Members are aware of when we talk about what we will do with the effectiveness and efficiency of our government overall, with the partnerships that we want to work on and develop in the Northwest Territories. So there is already input at that level. Mr. Speaker, for the Members, there will definitely be a process that they will be involved in, and as Minister responsible I will be seeking information from them as we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is a high priority for the Department of Finance. We’ve highlighted that, brought it forward as we begin our legislative planning process. So it is a high priority for us and I intend to do the work necessary to bring it forward and try to have that dealt with in the lifetime of this Assembly. As the Member stated, this is a very old act, there has been some work done on it in the past. It is a high priority and we intend to move it forward as best we can. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I stated, I did meet with the Liquor Licensing Board here in Yellowknife a number of weeks ago and discussed a number of things such as mandate, goals, a number of their concerns over who has authority over the budget, how things were working, communications. I said I gladly open the door to having a good, healthy working relationship. It caught me by surprise that the letter indicated the resignation of the chairperson.

As well, Mr. Speaker, I think we will be proactive. Number one, the Department of Finance has the Liquor Act under our authority and we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are a couple of events happening that I would like to make mention of here before heading back home. One, Mr. Speaker, is that the Inuvik Ice Devils hockey team an oldtimer’s hockey team from Inuvik has just traveled down to Ottawa to take part in the 2004 World Cup. This event is an event of oldtimers’ teams from across Canada and international teams as well. Mr. Speaker, if I wasn’t in this forum, in this arena, I would be joining the team and hopefully helping them along. But I am wishing that they are successful. They have already had a...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, I would.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, first of all, the supp reserve is put in place; for example, in 2004-05 we have established a supp reserve of $20 million. Departments would have to come forward to Cabinet or to FMB and, as the Member stated, plead their case that in fact they don’t have money in the identified area of expenditure. As we approve this budget, departments have allotments for each area of operation, and they are, by our rules, not allowed to spend more than what has been identified. So if a department is aware that they do not have enough, there are a number of things...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to have witnesses.