Floyd Roland

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think again as we go through the budget process and lay out the details of that budget in each department, we’ll be able to show what we can deal with with the tools we have right now. That is one of our concerns, we need more resources to be able to deal with those things and ultimately that will be through a better fiscal arrangement with Ottawa and a royalty revenue sharing agreement that would see a net fiscal benefit to the Northwest Territories, which then we can take those funds and share with the rest of the people in the territory. If this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think our goal, first and foremost, is to have the federal government remove the debt limit that they have placed on us. That would be the first goal and we would have to work hard to achieve that. We have one year to make that happen, because we’ll still be in government and still be in control of the purse strings as we start into the year 2007. As things sit right now, if we look that far down the road, we’ll have no room for a borrowing limit at that point. So we have to make some decisions and this is what’s going to change our approach, is how...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think there are a number of avenues that have opened up to us through the election process that we’ve just gone through across Canada with the Prime Minister-designate making it very clear that the fiscal imbalance issue needs to be direct -- repaired, I guess, is a simple way of putting it -- in fact, as well, in saying that he sees us in the North as being the ones that gain from the development of the North. So I think those are areas we need to work together on from the North and come up with a unified message, and I’m sure the Premier, as he meets...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Weledeh, that Bill 18, Appropriation Act, 2006-2007, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill authorizes the Government of the Northwest Territories to make operation expenditures and capital investment expenditures for the 2006-2007 fiscal year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what we’ve been doing, building on the discussions we’ve had to date, is as a result of the election, the direction we’re going, putting out our budget, the Premier is meeting with the regional leaders across the North to discuss some of the strategies we may engage to put our issues at the forefront for the new federal government. That is the latest situation we’re facing and working towards. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, February 3, 2006, I will move that Bill 18, Appropriation Act, 2006-2007, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that I will deliver the budget address on Thursday, February 2, 2006. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let me reaffirm to the Member, and this House, and to the people of the Territories, that this government is not dealing willy-nilly with the finances of the Territories.

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We, in fact, have taken full responsibility for this and have accounted for it. In the future, working with the federal government, if our fiscal responsibility paper is adopted by them, that would give us much ability to look at how we deal with our finances.

Ultimately, yes, as a government, we do have to look at every time this occurs, and in most cases, it's much smaller...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, all funds that come through this government, through the Department of Finance, are voted on in the House. When we present our budget, we present the corporate taxes we receive, our own source revenues, and other fees and disbursements from the federal government. So it does come to this House; it is voted on, and how we spend that money then is also voted on. So it is taken into account. It's not like we have a separate account sitting on the side that nobody is aware of. All Members are made aware of our fiscal situation, the revenues we have coming...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it gives me pleasure to introduce someone in our gallery from Inuvik, Ms. Meeka Kisoun, with her baby.

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