Thank you, Madam Speaker. I will be fairly brief. Now that we have two budgets, Madam Speaker, both a fall and a winter budget, it is not easy for the government to set out its agenda in its entirety in one address, as we were able to do at one time.
For that reason, Madam Speaker, although this session is dealing with capital, the address given by the Minister of Finance contained a mixture of information both about capital and O and M. He gave an overview of our total fiscal position and the causes of our deficit, including loss of funding for social housing, the high costs of fire fighting and proposed cuts to language programs.
The Minister pointed out, Madam Speaker, our revenue problems are great, and he's talked about that many times. Our population is far too small to expect to raise very much revenue through traditional taxation regimes. I agree that the only way in which we can raise significant revenues is through control of those sectors of the economy that produce wealth. I refer to minerals and oil and gas.
Madam Speaker, Members will recall that Mr. Chretien addressed us in this chamber shortly after he became Prime Minister a year ago. He made it clear -- and I would like to quote what he said to us in this chamber -- "We will devolve to this government those powers exercised by the federal government on your behalf, at a pace, and according to a timetable, set by this government." And, he was referring to the territorial government.
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That was a solemn commitment made by the Prime Minister of Canada to the people of the Northwest Territories in this Assembly. Somehow, things have changed. We now hear of difficulties of living up to that commitment since some residents of the Northwest Territories do not wish to see further devolution of power to this government.
In my view, if the federal government continues to be convinced that this government has reached its maximum level of development, we will begin a very difficult period of decline. In fact, in my view, Madam Speaker, that process has already begun.
Given our limited ability to raise revenue, the federal cuts that we are experiencing will have an inevitable effect; a complete lack of confidence in the current system of government by all citizens, not just by a small number of interest groups. If there is going to be devolution to local, tribal or regional governments, the federal government must give up many of its remaining powers to the territorial government if public government is going to survive.
The Prime Minister made that commitment to this Assembly and we should hold him accountable to what he said, since he has made a reputation of being a man of his word and he holds up the red book time and time again, saying, "This is my commitment to the people of Canada." He should do the same for the people of the Northwest Territories in terms of a commitment he made to us in this Assembly just a year ago.
Like all the governments, Madam Speaker, we're all facing deficits and we have to find ways of controlling our expenditures. It's interesting for me, Madam Speaker, to note that, like the basketball, baseball and hockey leagues, our government seems to want a salary cap and a large selection of take-aways from those benefits people have fought for over many, many years. It's been pointed out to us that at least five provinces have legislated salaries for their public servants. I urge this government to bargain in good faith and if necessary, allow the process of mediation and arbitration to proceed.
I have a bias against the use of the club of legislation, Madam Speaker. Legislation is a very powerful weapon and should be used for emergencies, not as an easy convenience, even though we are facing some difficult times.
I am pleased, Madam Speaker, to note the government recognizes the importance of the capital plan and promoting the social and economic well-being of northern people. A continuing problem for all of us though, is the lack of a constant and clear plan of where we are going as a government, not just this government, but as a northern people, a northern society.
We identified many years ago -- and it's been a theme that I've been aware of for as long as I've lived in the Northwest Territories -- the dependence on government as the major barrier to northern development. The Ministers clearly identified the creation of wealth as our major challenge. I hope we recognize the federal agenda for this whole country is to reduce people's reliance on social programs and to promote them into the workforce as the way, in order to create a stable, healthy society.
Although strong economic men and women don't guarantee a strong social fabric, progressive stable societies usually emerge when a large part of the population is employed, pays taxes and relies less on government for assistance. It's my hope that our government still sees this dependence on government as a major challenge. I'm a little bit concerned that we may be giving mixed messages to the public about really what we're trying to do, especially in light of the comments made by the Finance committee which has now been clarified and we are all very thankful for that.
Finally, Madam Speaker, for our further development, health and stability, we need confirmation of further devolution to this government and a clear statement from the federal government of its continued commitment to public government in the Northwest Territories since, I should point out, it is a creation of a federal act and there's a growing feeling we are being abandoned. I wouldn't like to see that happen. Thank you very much, Madam Speaker.
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