Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In short, we are seeking clarity and consistency. With a government that has priorities all over the map, I want to say at the end of my term, I was part of a government that listened, then acted and achieved results on an issue that is of real importance to all northerners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Premier. Mr. Speaker, a constituent called me this morning and talked about the laws of economic opportunity that his business will lose; the fact that he may be bidding on this project just to keep his employees employed by waiving his potential of profit. Does the Premier recognize that this potential exists by northern companies trying to aggressively bid on this project at any cost to keep their employees employed?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise on our last day of this session to talk to you about one of the important issues. I was going to talk to you earlier about issues such as tourism and the fact that this government treats tourism almost like an ugly cousin who is twice removed. But, today, I want to finish this session with the way I started it, to talk to you about legal aid.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that this government could be doing better. Mr. Speaker, I believe that we have good people working out there who make legal aid happen. I believe we have dedicated people who are not...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recognizing the time I will drop my fourth question and just ask a yes or no question to the Premier. Mr. Speaker, would the Premier be able to answer yes or no, clearly and for everyone’s benefit? Would he be willing to consider stopping this project and re-tendering it in a way that it would include the BIP and making that decision this week?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’m going to question the Premier in regard to my concern about waiving of the BIP. Mr. Speaker, the other day I quoted from the policy, therefore, I will not start with that. With the steps being presented and some of the concerns of other Members and in recognition that the policy can be waived and it’s not law, what steps has the Premier taken to ensure that the waiving of the business incentive policy will not become a frequent practice of this Cabinet? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight conducted public reviews of Bill 3, An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act, No. 2, on March 25 and 26, 2004. The committee would like to thank all the witnesses for their submissions, which were made on very short notice. The committee also thanks the Minister and his staff for presenting the bill.

As I indicated in my comments on Bill 2, the committee was very concerned about the short amount of time allowed for the public to review and respond to these tax increases.

Bill 3 proposed to raise the personal income tax...

Thank you, Madam Chair. This budget, or I should say deficit, has been compared to an inheritance problem. I guess we could blame the 14th Assembly until we are blue in the face, but unfortunately we can’t give back this deficit issue. I would love to say thanks but no thanks, but I am having a difficult time exactly which way I am going to go. I mean I look at the struggle wherein if we don’t raise it we are going to lose more money. So I think of the struggle as Canada has got a noose around our neck, and the more we struggle by trying to be competitive, the tighter it gets, and it...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my topic today is to ask an obvious question. What is the BIP? It’s the business incentive policy, Mr. Speaker, but really what does that mean? It is to create a level playing field whereby we formally acknowledge that, tucked well within the beauty of our northern fresh air, our friendly-spirited environment, the government recognizes simple factors that need to be considered; obvious factors, Mr. Speaker, such as a jug of milk here costs more than it does in Calgary, and a kilowatt isn’t as cheap as it is in Edmonton. Mr. Speaker, labour comes at a...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, in this particular case I'm going to state that I will be supporting this adjustment. Although very unusual probably for me to be enthusiastic about a tax increase, $7.54, under the $68,000 taxable income bracket, basically could represent a box of Tim Horton's doughnuts. So I don't think that's going to have a significant impact on that tax bracket.

The other side of the taxable income of $110,000 plus, the increase being $227 per year, we are really only talking about $15 a month so I don't think that will have a significant impact on that bracket...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will be supporting this motion. I think it is a good step, and I think it is a recognition that we still have to work a little harder to sharpen our pencils. As it has been said, I don’t really think that this burden is necessarily fair to be taken solely on the 15th Assembly’s shoulders, but unfortunately we have to make corrective actions. The Minister has quite clearly said that if we don’t take some steps we are going to be penalized by Canada. I think it is a good saw if we are taking corrective steps, and I think we need to go back to the drawing board and...