Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to present a reply to the budget address which was delivered by the Minister of Finance on February 19.
Mr. Speaker, I find that once again the Minister of Finance has a difficult task of trying to present an upbeat picture and message using some pretty sombre statistics and a pretty cloudy fiscal position and outlook. However, I would like to commend the Minister for sticking to his guns and his commitment to achieve a balanced budget in 1993-94. With the information presented to us in the budget address, the Minister states that the 1993-94 budget is a balanced one. The jury is still out, Mr. Speaker, and we will not know for sure how accurate the Minister's predictions will be until the 1993-94 audited public accounts are presented to this House sometime in 1994-95.
The Minister of Finance also cautions us by expressing his concern about elements of uncertainty which could affect the bottom line. The Minister included the following items in his list: the current hospital billings dispute, the pay equity issue, unexpected expenditure requirements and higher social assistance costs. Mr. Speaker, I believe the Minister could also have added the following items to his list: the implementation of the staff housing policy, the implementation of the payroll tax, and federal cutbacks to language, cultural and aboriginal programs.
Mr. Speaker, depending on the results of the negotiations and court proceedings, my calculations indicate there is uncertainty on about $140 to $150 million worth of program and tax dollars. This has a big impact on our fiscal position and outlook, especially on the bottom line. Mr. Speaker, because of these uncertainties, I find myself in a very perplexing situation in trying to respond to this budget address. It is my understanding that the budget address is supposed to present to us a detailed overview of the government's fiscal position and outlook, and present some of the proposed changes and new initiatives to expenditures, taxes and revenues.
Mr. Speaker, the budget address does that to some degree but it also has too many qualifications or, as the Minister puts it, "too many uncertainties." Unless the public gets a copy of the actual document, the budget address, they do not get to read the information which is presented in the appendices. Appendix A - fiscal review and outlook, appendix B - revenues, and appendix C - the economic environment. These appendices provide much in-depth details of what has happened to date and what is predicted to happen. These appendices also have many phrases which I find very interesting. For example, you will find these words in the text, "uncontrollable expenditure demands, chronic deficits, disincentive to employment, progressive tax system, indexes of living cost differentials, modest price inflation, weak economic infrastructure, inter-sectoral linkages, economic stagnation, unprecedented competition, and compressing expenditures." Mr. Speaker, there are many more examples which I found.
My point is that the Minister seems to use these weasel words or better known as bureaucratic rhetoric to explain the state of our finances and our economy. I feel sorry for the interpreters and the general public who have to read and try to understand these words. Mr. Speaker, it is also very difficult to develop a focused picture of the proposed fiscal framework and new initiatives because much of the detail is yet to be presented to this Assembly. For example, further details of the proposed one time funding of $6 million for the Northwest Territories workers' training fund will be provided by the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Programs. The Minister of Personnel will be providing more details of the proposed staff housing strategy. The Ministers of Education, Culture and Employment Programs and Housing will be providing information on the new strategy for training and construction. Finally, Mr. Speaker, this Assembly has yet to deal with the proposed payroll tax. These are major new initiatives, Mr. Speaker, and it would have been nice if all of the details were available to the public and this Assembly when this budget address was presented.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased about the Minister of Finance's statement that this budget is forward looking and includes measures that will improve economic efficiency and prepare more northern residents to fill available jobs. However, I have to wait to see the details of the proposed initiatives before I can jump up with glee. I am sure we are all aware of the dependence of our economy and labour market on government. About 30 per cent of the people employed in the Northwest Territories have a job with one of the three levels of government. Therefore, whatever initiatives this government takes depend largely on the goodwill of the federal government. Mr. Speaker, we need to create jobs for our people. I will support any initiatives which will achieve this goal, however, in doing this I hope we do not create have and have not communities and regions.
Mr. Speaker, I am sure we have all heard the saying that nothing is for certain except death and taxes. This government has ensured at least that part of the saying will come true and if all of the tax initiatives are implemented, it may cause a demise of some of our NWT businesses. The payroll tax will impose a one per cent tax on all residents. Here we are trying to use a high seas drift net approach to catch the non-resident employees. All residents will be caught up in the net and in the end some of the Northwest Territories residents will have to pay extra taxes. That was not the intent of the proposed payroll tax initiative. The residents will also be assessed another one per cent increase on their personal income tax. For those who drink the cost went up ten per cent in September. In all areas, actual freight costs will be added to the cost of alcohol. All fees and licenses, including hunting and game licences, are increasing. For government employees living in government housing units they can expect another 25 per cent in rent if the housing strategy is implemented.
The point which I am trying to illustrate is that once again the residents of the north are going to have to pay for some of the inefficiencies of government to enable us to live comfortably on our own homeland. NWT residents already pay a high tax burden. These proposals will further increase this. We all know we have to pay higher costs for food, transportation and recreation. Generally, our cost of living is probably the highest in north America and we do not want it to go any higher.
Mr. Speaker, it seems the economic outlook for the Northwest Territories is very positive. There are many potential major projects which could be developed. However, we must ensure that maximum benefits from these developments stay in the north and we must use northern labour, northern goods and northern services. To be able to do this, this government has to get its house in order. As the Standing Committee on Finance pointed out, it must create a vision, know where we want to go and plan on how to get there.
Mr. Speaker, in summary, I consider this budget a cloudy one, one which can become clear and focused once many of the uncertainties are quantified. We also have to create a healthy working environment for our employees and maintain a good quality of life for our residents. We also have to create an environment so investors are more confident to invest and spend their monies in the Northwest Territories. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause