Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the fiscal update this House received last week, the Minister said that she is modifying the fiscal strategy of the government, being responsive by investing in the stability and the resilience of the territory, and this is after a loss to the operational surplus of $154 million. So can the Minister just confirm that Restoring Balance, the fiscal strategy of the House, is no longer the strategy of this government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a big part of Restoring Balance was on the -- premised on the idea that we would try to be repaying our debt down, which required significant operating surpluses, and it certainly does appear that given the circumstances in the broader world economy that that is not -- should not be the area that we're prioritizing right now. So we're not looking anymore -- we're looking to see what we can do, frankly, to bring some stability to the economy and to residents here and not focus on paying down debt, which was a core part of the Restoring Balance approach. Thank you.
Well, thank you for that clarity, Mr. Speaker. First, that kind of just slipped by because the fiscal strategy I think should be something that we're consulted on. Will the Minister bring a new revised fiscal strategy to the attention of the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight so we can review the fiscal strategy for the next two years and make sure it meets the needs of our constituencies. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I had the pleasure of appearing in front of standing committee prior to the start of the capital planning session, at which time we did discuss the direction of the current fiscal situation that we're in and changes to the fiscal strategy, mainly that there would not be -- that there would be some changes. I'm happy to appear back again before committee and to certainly commit to doing so. That's certainly -- as I said, happy to appear back again whenever it works out. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Saying we're going to change the strategy and actually presenting a new strategy are discrete concepts. So we had a nice document called Restoring Balance, had a press conference, it was -- we could hold it and could read it. Can the Minister commit to a new version of that updated for the changing circumstances? It has nothing to do with the government's management of the economy. And we can see it for ourselves what they intend to do with our taxpayers' dollars? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am more than happy to come back again. I mean, every year before and as part of the budget process, there's a fairly lengthy set of papers that get produced. Also this term, there would have been the fiscal update that was provided to give the public a sense of where we're at in terms of a government and our fiscal situation, and the fiscal responsibility policy, and a lot of the indicators that go with it. So I'm pleased to -- that people want to hold those documents. I also want to hold those documents. They are available -- generally, they're made available on the website. I will make sure that that's again happening and certainly can commit to making sure that we're, again, putting fiscal papers out, both online, and if people want them printed, well, that costs money, Mr. Speaker, but they're online. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Finance. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.
