Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In early October I attended the Prospects North Conference organized by the NWT Chamber of Commerce here in Yellowknife. It was a great opportunity to meet with and talk to businesses in the North and organizations interested in doing business here in the North. There was a lot of talk during the conference about resource extraction projects in the Northwest Territories.
Big projects are important, as they bring new money into the Northwest Territories, and I welcome them on the right environmental and social terms. These opportunities continue to be important and must be pursued by this government. However, my focus today is not on the large resource extracted opportunities in the North. Today I want to talk a little bit about small and medium businesses throughout the Northwest Territories.
As we all know, injecting new money into the Northwest Territories is critical for our future, but our ability as Northerners to circulate those dollars throughout our local communities and economies is just as critical. Currently, a lot of money being spent in our communities flows straight south. It doesn’t circulate in our northern communities for very long, or at all. This does not help us support local sustainable communities.
I applaud local businesses, the local chambers of commerce, as well as organizations such as the NWT Chamber of Commerce and the Northern Aboriginal Business Association -- NABA -- which are committed to small and medium businesses owned and operated in the Northwest Territories. These organizations will continue to play an important role in the future of the Northwest Territories, but they can’t do everything. The Government of the Northwest Territories must play a role as well. We must be supportive of our small and medium local businesses in all communities throughout the Northwest Territories.
I know the GNWT is doing much to support these types of businesses. We have SEED, we offer training to small entrepreneurs, we have the ITI supporting the Community Futures Development Corporation, and we have BIP. Unfortunately, small and medium business growth is still moderate and existing businesses continue to struggle. Money continues to flow south. Last year the Canadian Federation of Independent Business – CFIB – reported that the NWT is one of the worst jurisdictions in Canada when it comes to the trappings of red tape. Small and medium businesses are overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of forms and applications that must be completed during start-up and ongoing operations.
Let’s be business friendly in our Territory.
Mr. Abernethy, your time for Member’s statement has expired.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
I have a suggestion for the Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment. I recognize that red tape is not the creation of the Northwest Territories and that local, community and city governments, as well as the federal government, also contribute to the load. However, as the territorial government, we have the ability to contribute to solutions to help reduce the overall red-tape load. During question period today I will be asking the Minister to consider working with organizations such as the NWT Chamber of Commerce and NABA to conduct research on red-tape burns on our local businesses, have them help us identify the overall burden and make recommendations which the GNWT can action to begin the process of reducing the burn.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
