Debates of October 26, 2006 (day 16)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to speak today about the importance of doing what we can in this government to support the small businesses all over the NWT and in Yellowknife. Mr. Speaker, I have to tell you that I have just heard from my constituents that there are two restaurants in this town that are looking at closing their doors this summer. This is primarily due to rising expenses, labour shortages and generally a very negative business environment in Yellowknife, Mr. Speaker. I have spoken of this before and I have to tell you that we need to do more to create a better small business environment.

One of the suggestions and questions that I asked in the House had to do with reducing the small business corporation tax. As you recall, Mr. Speaker, in the last budget there was a reduction for the big corporations, but there was supposed to be a review done for the small, but it has not come about yet and I’d like to ask the government to revisit that.

Another thing that needs to be done, of course, and that’s another thing that’s been raised a lot, is to reduce the red tape and regulations and rates of WCB and the Power Corporation. Another thing that’s on the table that I think should get more attention is to reduce the northern residents tax deduction because, Mr. Speaker, even though this is a federal issue it’s a small thing that we can do and if we are not successful in lobbying the federal government to change that -- because who knows how long that’s going to take -- it is incumbent that this does not excuse this government from doing anything on our own to make ourselves more competitive.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to say that Range Lake, the riding that I represent, is one of the most prosperous ridings in the NWT probably. I tell you, this summer almost half of the houses went up for sale. The word on the street is that the people who are doing business and living here are finding that it’s just way to expensive to live and do business in the North, and this government is not doing enough to reduce that. The fact is the AOC members visited small communities this summer and we talked about and listened to people about the cost of living issues and that’s a serious issue for small communities versus Yellowknife. But I tell you, for Yellowknife, our competitor is Alberta and Alberta cities and we’re just not being competitive enough.

So, Mr. Speaker, I’ll be looking in this last budget of this Assembly for the government to do something about dealing with this issue head on. Thank you.

---Applause