Michael Miltenberger

The erosion of our tax revenues is an issue of concern, as I pointed out in our budget address. Our corporate taxes are down many tens of millions of dollars. So, once again, the Member is standing up saying we should make an investment. I’m saying an $82 million investment in digital infrastructure, fibre optic infrastructure, gives tremendous benefit and ability for people to do business, for telecommunication people to do business with cutting edge, top-of-the-line facilities is the kind of investment that government should be doing. If we just said we were going to give an $80 million tax...

Thank you. Our corporate income tax is, I believe, 11.5 percent, which puts us somewhere in the middle in terms of corporate taxes across Canada, middle to the lowest, I think on the low side. Our small business tax is, I believe, very modest, as well, 4 percent I believe. So when the Member talks about a tax holiday for telecommunications, for certain telecommunications, he’d have to be clearer. It’s maybe not that easy to say that there’s going to be a lot of implications and why we would focus on one particular industry when I’m sure that we would be able to hear a very strong case from...

Jean Marie River, as well, has indicated an interest as well as Kakisa, I understand.

There will be as soon as we get the key information together and our thinking clearer. We’ve been doing some preliminary work. As I’ve said, we’ve compressed a significant amount of negotiating, about 18 months into six, and we will be coming forward here in the next few weeks with an update and an ongoing portal for folks to stay tuned as to what’s transpiring.

The idea and the issue of a communication plan is an important one and one we’re looking at. We are going to be having a full briefing to Cabinet here in the next couple weeks and then we want to have a chat with committee. Then, once our thinking is clearer, at that point we will be looking at a more formal process of communicating with the public, but first we have to do our own work internally to get to that point.

We are breaking trail here and we’ve done a significant amount of work over the years to get the first two major signings between Fort Resolution and Fort Providence. We’ve had some additional expressions of interest which we are following up on with Kakisa and Jean Marie River, which are tied into the current project of Aurora Wood Pellets with Mr. Mapes. So we’re going to pay attention to those and make sure the ones we have signed are going to have done what they need to have done and be as supportive as possible in the areas we need to be as this business interest takes off as well as...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was, indeed, a good news day. There have been resources provided to the community, both in Res and Providence, by the government to the tune of about $200,000 for each community to help give them the SEED money to hire a manager, and the big other critical piece is negotiations that have to take place between the community and the proponent for the business, Aurora Wood Pellets, to negotiate their economic arrangements, which is well underway, I understand, in both communities. Thank you.

Once again, forums such as this, talking to your MLA. I know, for example, some groups like CPAWS have already mounted a campaign getting their members to start calling their Members of the Legislative Assembly and such. I’ve had meetings, as well, with concerned citizens. I know there is lots of interest in this and we will be coming forward with a clear plan of what we intend to do as a government and Legislature in the next few weeks. Until then, people will have to be patient, but they do have to know that we see this as a priority. We see fundamentally this is a very important area. A...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A forum such as this will aid in that process. We are at work right now, as I indicated to Mr. Dolynny earlier this week in the House, that the government see Thaidene Nene as a priority. We see a combination of a small federal footprint supplemented and complemented by various northern tools as a way to maximize the benefit and keep the maximum amount of land in northern control. We also recognize this area as one of immense riches and wealth, both in ecological values as well as the various and many blessings in terms of mineral resources. It’s an area that’s very...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On the lead-up to devolution and following April 1st post-devolution, we have been very active on this particular file. We’ve been in contact with the Government of Canada and Cabinet has identified the issue of Thaidene Nene Park as a priority. We have passed on our concerns and interest to them that we are now the landowner, that we need time to get our thinking clear and that we want to work with the northern Aboriginal governments to get our thinking clear as part of that process and that we will be working with them, once we do that, to look at what will comprise...