Debates of February 2, 2006 (day 21)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest today as the Finance Minister delivered his budget address. It was a rather abbreviated version from what we are used to hearing in budget addresses. For the benefit of those who came from distant communities, I think they expected a little more detail. For those of us on this side of the House, we appreciated the brevity.

The repeated reference to unprecedented opportunities and growth make a point that is very true. However, I think we need to analyze who the real beneficiaries are of that growth and opportunity. Industry is and will realize much of the profit from the extraction of NWT resources. The federal government is and will continue to benefit from the royalties paid on those resources. I wish I could say the same of our territorial and aboriginal governments. After 10 years in this government, I am very discouraged by the lack of progress on devolution and resource revenue sharing discussions. We are so anxious for more development, but development has to be for the benefit of not just a few; it has to be for the public good, as well. We can’t afford, as a government, to underwrite the cost of wear and tear on our infrastructure and the stress on our social networks without realizing real tangible and monetary benefits to the public purse for the benefit of all northerners from resource development, and we can’t ignore the work that needs to be done on the home front, as well. I don’t think we can say that we have ever gone to Ottawa to discuss devolution and resource revenue sharing with a plan that has been endorsed by all of the recognized governments in the Northwest Territories, public and aboriginal.

I hope that this bold new approach that Mr. Roland refers to will play out in the leadership role our government needs to take at home in obtaining support and buy-in from our northern governments, as well as the leadership that needs to be shown in our dealings with the federal government.

As more development occurs and Canada becomes more accustomed to the vast royalties projected to be generated from northern resources, I have always maintained that our negotiating position and efforts will be more difficult. We need a strong and unified position from the North to Canada. We have a wonderful window of opportunity with a new government in Ottawa, and I hope that we will see the use of all of our resources at our disposal to keep our message front and centre. If we need to engage policy experts, let’s do it. If we need to retain the services of former Members of this Assembly, let’s do it. We need a plan and we need a deal that should be bold, and I support and encourage the Ministers of our government to take those measures. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The budget address has given us a new platform and starting point. Just a couple of the highlights that I pick off the address that Mr. Roland has given us; we’re going to start the year with a forecast surplus of $18 million. I’m pleased to see this and that we’re going to be doing this within the terms of the fiscal responsibility framework, the fiscal responsibility policy that I’m a big supporter of, and I want the government to know that I’m happy to see that we’re staying within those terms and hope that we can continue to do so.

Mr. Speaker, we also note that we’re spending seven percent more in this budget, but our revenues are only increasing by five percent. On that rough measure -- and I know there’s other things that go along with it -- we’re still not managing within our means. This places so much more significance and importance on getting a new and sustainable, realistic formula financing deal with Ottawa; something that has escaped us for so long.

Mr. Speaker, I’d also reflect that the budget mentions Mr. Harper and the new Conservative government many times. This is again a reality of ours. We are a creature of the pleasure of the federal government. We have placed a lot of emphasis and significance, a lot of our future is on what the Finance Minister says our relationship is going to be with Mr. Harper and the new government. Maybe so, but I think we could demonstrate some more independence, and some more spirit, and some more gumption, and some more drive and initiative of our own by saying here’s what we’re going to do and not putting quite so much reliance on the new federal government. But I really do look forward to the relationships and improvements in our situation with them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Given the fact that our Finance Minister has delivered his budget address today, I feel compelled to comment on some observations that I have had after having now listened to the last three budget addresses.

I find it very ironic that the Finance Minister has delivered his budget address on Groundhog Day. I wonder if he has ever seen the movie Groundhog Day where Bill Murray plays a weatherman who lives the same day over and over again. Every day is Groundhog Day. It would seem to me, Mr. Speaker, that each budget that has been delivered by this government seems eerily similar to the one before it.

It is like we are living in a very bad dream that has lasted 13 years. No fiscal surety, no deal on devolution, no deal on resource revenue sharing, no substantial new vision or focus. We continue as a government to just roll along. Thankfully for our residents, our economy continues to flourish. How can our economy grow 20 percent last year and yet we still struggle to balance our books year in and year out? How can we break the cycle of each budget being a mere image of the one before it? We need to focus our attention on the three big priorities facing the Northwest Territories: devolution, resource revenue sharing and fiscal surety.

With the new government in Ottawa, it is time for us to finally wake up from the bad dream that we were in and focus on the future. I take the issue of fiscal responsibility very seriously. I take any opportunity I can to try and tell the government that we have to look very closely at how we spend our money.

There are many examples of how restructuring and so-called efficiency and effectiveness initiatives do not actually save the government anything but end up costing much more. When a department seems set to lose a few positions, they miraculously appear as new initiatives under a new heading.

We need a thorough examination of our operations. We need to have a vision, a focus, and be able to spend more money where it is needed on areas like social issues and economic and business development. We have to take every opportunity to realize efficiency in our operations. From what I have seen so far, no opportunity is ever taken to realize efficiency and cost savings, and that cost savings seems like a foreign concept to the government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will ask the Minister questions at the appropriate time. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I listened to the budget address with a lot of interest. The pipeline hearings are starting in Inuvik and even Mr. Harper said that we should be beneficiaries of our resources. I happen to agree with him. I think we should hold his feet to the fire over this one. I like the tone that this government is finally starting to take and be a little more aggressive in going after what is rightfully ours. There are many things in the address that I agree with. The $270 million that is going out of the Territories every year, how much of that are we getting? I don’t think we are getting anything. These are our resources. I find that just unfair; really unfair.

Hear! Hear!

I like the tone that this government has taken. I think they should be more aggressive. I think we have to go after these people and get what is rightfully ours, because he did say that we should be our own beneficiaries.

He also asked if we should invest millions in transportation infrastructure. I say yes we should invest in a highway down the Mackenzie Valley. We should go right up to Tuk. We have to…

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We have to connect the whole NWT by road. Hopefully that will drive some of the prices down. I would be more than happy to back the Minister up in Cabinet on anything that they might want to try and do. I would be proud to be a Member of a Legislature that finally gets what is rightfully ours from Ottawa.

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That resource revenue royalty sharing plus a highway down the Mackenzie I think would be a good legacy for all of us in here. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To pick up on one of my colleague’s points, it is Groundhog Day. It is finally time that we have seen that our little gopher over there isn’t afraid of his shadow. I am saying kudos to the guy who actually says he wants to stand up to the Government of Canada. So, finally, let’s see if this tough talk actually emerges to anything but sugarplums in dreams. This statement says, like many other statements, oh, let's talk about the dreams of hydro. Let’s put the initiatives of hydro ahead of children. I didn’t hear any statement saying that children are number one. It is just hydro. Wait a minute. Resource revenue sharing agreement. Again, where are our cultural and arts points? They don’t stand out here at all, Mr. Speaker. We don’t have strong, bold statements about what we are going to do to take care of our disabled people. Those are strong and bold statements, I think, when we say we are going to take care of every darn one. We are going to make sure that their safety nets are there to protect them when they need them, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, on page 6, we talk about healthy choices in our schools, but we don’t talk about getting rid of the vending machines in those schools. We don’t talk about making sure that those chocolate bars are out. With only going halfway on that issue, it is like holding an AA meeting in a bar, for goodness sake, Mr. Speaker.

---Laughter

All I can say is that this budget statement, I applaud the Minister for saying that he is finally going to get tough. But this government is coasting out of here. We are less than a year-and-a-half away from finishing. Or do we really think we are going to wrap up a resource revenue sharing agreement, drop the corporate tax and it is all going to save our skins? I think we need to worry about number one, our people here. What are we doing again for the disabled community, our arts community? Do we offer strict lip service for those organizations and for those people? I think it is important and critical to make sure that we show that we care about those areas every single day. This is a policy statement for the next year. I don’t see any mention of them. So we are missing low income earners, children, disabled, arts community and our culture. I think those are the values of the Northwest Territories. I think they were missed this time. I think the Minister did a good job, but I think we fell short of where we should really be focusing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Hawkins.

Point of order, Mr. Speaker.