Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the legacy I want to leave for the Northwest Territories is one where we are no longer the weakest economy in Canada's North, one where we are no longer the second-worst when it comes to social ills in this country. I want a Northwest Territories that is stronger going forward into the future and can be a leader for Canada and the entire circumpolar world.
We created a mandate together to take us there and that mandate is the centre piece of this 18th Assembly. If we are going to fulfill that mandate, then we need to start investing in that mandate. One thing seems to be holding that back, and that is this government's fiscal policy, a fiscal strategy that is cutting $150 million out of programs, services and jobs, and not returning that investment to areas of our economy where they're so desperately needed.
At a time when our economy is stalling, our investors, our businesses, they need capital, capital that's not available to them in this time of recession. Our government needs to be spending more, spending more to support small business, spending more to fix social problems. We're seeing health costs continue to rise, we can't cut those back. We need to find fiscal flexibility to implement them now. Waiting for three or four years to start delivering on promises, that's not what my constituents want. They want a government that follows through on its commitments, and starts making real progress on the mandate. Until we start to see that from this government, there's going to be continued debate around that number, that big $150 million number. That needs to change so we can start delivering on the commitments we made to the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.
