Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a question for the Minister of Finance. What in the federal budget will support an offset for the added cost of the carbon tax increase? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's not my place necessarily to speak to what is or is not in the federal budget. What I can say, Mr. Speaker, having spent a lot more time studying in depth what was in Budget 2022 of the federal government is that there is still opportunities to use that money towards addressing the fact of the carbon tax. In addition to which is they're only just starting to roll out what's happening in Budget 2023. We want to strike while we can, Mr. Speaker. I am glad there's a minister in the House from the federal government. We want to use all of the resources of the federal government 20222023, and we want to get the North off of fossil fuels. This is our opportunity, and I'm glad they're here to hear it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'm pleased to hear that there's a minister a federal minister in the gallery. I didn't even know that.
Mr. Speaker, residents and businesses in the NWT are struggling. How does this government expect to provide immediate support while we are waiting on this cheap green energy that's supposed to show up at some point? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There continues to be, Mr. Speaker, a number of different initiatives well, before I go any further, I want to give a shout out to the Arctic Energy Alliance. They do a lot of work in this space, and they receive a lot of funding from our government to continue the work that they do in this space in terms of energy audits and ensuring that there's alternatives and paths forward and to help chart those paths forward. So I'd certainly encourage everyone to reach out to them. There are also funds within our government, again, to help support businesses in their changeovers. And, Mr. Speaker, as we've always done, and as we continue to do, ITI, there's a lot of supports in the business space through SEED in terms of helping businesses to grow their capacity. If they're growing their capacity, if they're growing their business, then they certainly will have more funds available to them. The COLO payment that we have, Mr. Speaker, built in purchasing power for residents so that they can help address the fact that they may be facing higher costs from businesses. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think I'm going to ask this question again, and there's something wrong with my earpiece so I didn't hear the answer.
Will the Minister ask the federal government to consider exempting residents and businesses of the Northwest Territories from carbon tax, because I understand the agricultural sector is looking for that in southern Canada. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let me sneak this one in first and just say that there is the GHG grant program for buildings and industry that does give a 25 percent eligible project cost for business and industry applicants. I want to sneak it in so that the business community does hear that and does access those funds.
Mr. Speaker, we've asked, other governments have asked, a number of Ministers have asked, hasn't gotten us very far in terms of being exempted from the carbon tax. So the Minister here has heard it himself. What I'd like to do, though, moving forward, let's get ourselves off fossil fuel, let's have more reliable energy, let's have energy alternatives. We can't do that alone. We're working off of old infrastructure. We're working in communities that don't have road access. These are things that are going to take serious dollars; they're going to take federal dollars. And if that's a commitment of the federal government, we've heard it again in this budget, they need to come to the North, they need to see the realities of the North. We are more than prepared to work with them. We're more than prepared to help communities with the federal government. And we can then be leaders in Canada and stand up and say that we've got these communities off fossil fuels. It's time to make that change, Mr. Speaker. We're here to help out. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One other question that I had trouble hearing as well. Will the Minister relay to the federal government the negative impact the carbon tax has on all residents and businesses in the Northwest Territories, because people are suffering right now, especially in the northern part of the territory and we need some type of support. Like, I know that green energy is the way of the future. That's what we're looking for. But it's not going to be here today; it's not going to be here tomorrow, it's going to take a while. And so I'm hoping that, you know, federal government hears the needs that we have and the urgency of it and that, you know, we need to do something and I'm hoping that this government relays that message and makes it a strong message. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We'll certainly be carrying the message of the North forward as we do, as all my colleagues as Ministers do. We want to see the North prosper. We want to see businesses prosper. We want to have residents to have be able to put food on their tables. In the context of the carbon tax, Mr. Speaker, I realize it creates a burden and it's creating a burden at a time where times are already tight, inflation is high, interests rates are high. We're all seeing it in the North. And we want ministers to come from Ottawa and actually see it themselves.
Mr. Speaker, I'm going to be, along with my colleagues, extending invitations out to the ministers who have their hands on, whether it's carbon tax dollars, environment dollars, energy dollars, we want to bring them here, have them in these communities so they can actually see the realities of a large proportion of Canada's 40 percent of Canada's land mass in fact, here in the North across three territories. Let's bring them to the North, and I'm going to make that commitment. We're going to make those offers and try to get them here so that they can see it themselves and we can then all work together. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
