Thank you, Mr. Speaker-elect. It's very difficult to pick the biggest challenge, but I think the ones I have are both tied, so I have to use two.
Obviously, growing and diversifying the economy is a very big one. The economic outlook over the next five years is mixed at best. I see, in the next five to 15 years, the data suggests a protracted decline in resource production with really nothing in the works to replace it. Also, there is no resource exploration going on, and resource exploration is necessary for further development. It is also slowing down.
Growing the NWT economy requires some very major investments. We have the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Optic Link; we have the Inuvik-Tuk Highway; we are working on the Mackenzie Valley Highway; the Whati all-weather road; the Slave Geologic Province overland route, and this is something we need to pursue. In order to have a vibrant, robust economy, we need jobs, and part of it is obviously the cost of living. We have talked about it many times today. The cost of living is a big, big problem which is very difficult for us to address. We are starting to make some inroads, certainly in this area. For example, the price of gas was $1.389. It is now $1.09. I think food costs, I'm told, are probably on par with Edmonton or Grande Prairie, if you buy on sale. Housing is very expensive, and so the cost of living is another big one. Thank you.