Bob Bromley

I have to say, going back to some of the remarks I’ve heard from the Minister and the Premier.... I don’t, of course, debate the need to live within our means and so on. That’s not what this is about. This is about clarity and communication.

The public has gone to hire economists from afar to try and make sense of this murkiness, and it’s still not clear. Somehow there seems to be a gap between the Premier’s understanding of the situation and the public’s. Will the Premier address this gap and make it plain?

Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge I’ve had some remarks from the Premier. I also acknowledge that there’s tons of information out there — big thick documents. Certainly the Budget Address I find very murky. It basically talked about the top 6 or 8 per cent of the budget. I’m asking the Premier: will he provide the public with exactly the information on which the projections were based — the graph and the sources of it, the tables that show the decline in revenue and the sources of the decline in revenue and so on, the exact basis? In science, conclusions are not acknowledged until they're duplicable...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize the family of the late Jim Peterson, who are in attendance today. I appreciated the remarks this morning. Welcome to the Peterson family.

Again, thank you for those remarks. Does the federal program that we’ve now learned about — the Building Canada Fund, somewhere between $27 million and $35 million a year — contribute and allow us to cut less to achieve our budget goal?

Just to add to that, if I can. Am I correct, from the Minister’s remarks, if I said we were about a third of the way on the cuts? A quarter?

My question is for the Minister of Finance, and it’s an attempt to once again bring clarity to an issue that keeps bubbling away out there. I was astounded to hear this morning on CBC radio — I believe it was Mr. Lee Selleck talking about hearing Mr. Abernethy, who said that there would be a reinvestment of $70 million along with cuts of $135 million. Mr. Selleck wondered if it was actually a leak of information. I was equally astounded the other day to talk to the author of a Parkland Institute report, an excellent researcher and so on, who knew nothing about it.

We’ve raised the issue of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and colleagues.

Especially lacking is a new, innovative response that recognizes the crucial realities and new approach required today. All of these that I've just mentioned are in conflict with our intent.

This session will be difficult, and we will all be working hard. As Regular Members we are unable to add items to the budget, only to delete or recommend change. As the leaders in a consensus government, the Premier and Cabinet have a responsibility to hear the Regular Members, and to finally allow us the input our constituents and the people of the NWT expect us to...

Again, Mr. Speaker, thank you for those remarks. One final one on the cuts. I believe layoffs were something we had discussed early on as part of the cuts. They were intended to be based on a thoughtful, comprehensive program review, possibly even a zero-based review. Were those reviews done as a basis for those cuts, and if not, should those cuts have been delayed?

Thank you for that clarity. I hope that word gets out. I cannot believe that we’re at this stage and there’s still confusion out there on such a fundamental fact. Just for further clarification on the Minister’s later remarks: how far are we down that road toward the $135 million and the reinvestment of $75 million with this budget today?

Mr. Speaker, I’d also like to recognize Lyda Fuller, executive director of the YWCA in Yellowknife.

The annual budget for the Northwest Territories reveals much about a government: its vision, its effectiveness, its leadership and its capability to deliver. As part of the 16th Legislative Assembly, I cannot claim that we have earned high regard from our people on the basis of these standards.

We embarked on budget planning with good faith, confidence in the information provided by the Minister, and a common understanding of this Assembly’s vision and priorities. We had a commitment to positive change and agreement on the budget goals and the process to realize those goals. Yet subsequently...