Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate this opportunity to reply to the Opening Address. There are several topics on which I would like to comment. These are also issues raised during my election campaign. These issues are the constitutional process; division; the deficit; and, job creation.

With respect to the CDSC, today we are at a crossroad where we seek to establish two new territories. While Nunavut has been the subject of attention and funding support by the federal government for many years, relatively little federal intention nor support has been given to the constitutional process here in the Western Arctic. As an MLA, I'm now a participant in the constitutional process. I resolve to develop a new constitution for the Western Territory and to design a system of government that will suit all people will require foresight and careful decision-making. Those decisions will affect future generations and must be just and fair for all peoples of this Territory.

A number of people in Yellowknife have commented to me that they are not familiar with the reasons for designing a new constitution. These and many other such questions need to be answered for the general public. It is therefore essential that work be done on public awareness so that all northerners are comfortable with the CDSC process so all northerners have an opportunity to have input.

To help this process along, it is important that the federal government acknowledge its responsibility and provide the necessary funding for this process. While the time frame must be met, in order for us to succeed, we must remember that it will be easy to be pushed by events and circumstances placed on us to make decisions that are rushed and not well thought out nor have the support of the public at large.

I, for one, will attempt to do my level best to integrate the desires of all peoples of the North; for example, the desires of the aboriginal people for self-government which I feel a number of us in my constituency have little understanding of and which must be explained if we are to succeed in our process. It must also be understood that it will be my effort to have in the end a constitution that is ratified by the general public on the basis of one person one vote and that there be a strong central public government for the whole of the Western Territory.

There are some pragmatic steps we can take immediately. For example, let's proceed with selecting a name for our territory. Our Premier has already suggested this be done in the next six months and I concur whole-heartedly.

With respect to division, the creation of Nunavut and a separate government for that territory in 1999 will have significant impact on the shape and size of the present territorial government. This will likely have more impact on the city of Yellowknife than any other community in the Western Territory, and my constituents are extremely concerned about those impacts. It was originally envisioned that to fully establish the government of Nunavut, the new government would be phased in over a period of many years. The signals now are that there is a desire to speed up the transfer of government operations to the new territory. It was also originally envisioned that the federal government pay for the infrastructure costs of such a new government and the incremental costs of operating two governments.

One of the issues the people of Yellowknife are particularly watching out for is how its MLAs deal with how the East/West split will affect the constituencies they represent. I would like to see a comprehensive plan prepared for division so that we can see what and where impacts will be. I would also like to have the details of that plan made available to the public as soon as possible.

With respect to the deficit, many of the issues we are facing involve money. One such issue is how do we deal with the deficit. The Premier stated yesterday that next year we will be short by over $100 million. There are two main options to address this problem: raise taxes or reduce spending. My constituents made it clear that they do not want taxes raised in any way, shape or form. For me, the answer, therefore, comes back to reducing spending.

I would like to make reference to a Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce fax survey conducted last summer to which the Chamber received a large response. The most common comment was that the government should become more efficient in their spending practices, giving more value to the people's tax dollars. Among the expenses the survey showed its membership would like to have reduced were: travel expenses, office expenses, wages and benefits, spending on public buildings and grants to other agencies.

I'm quite prepared to support the tough decisions that need to be made to eliminate the deficit, provided everyone shares the burden and that Yellowknife not be singled out. I agree that these cuts should not unreasonably threaten essential programs and services, particularly for those who need them the most. And that the very small communities in our North, where there is absolutely no local economy, should be treated with consideration.

I am in favour of eliminating the projected deficit quickly. It is my opinion that the cuts should be done in one year simply because we don't know what federal financial cutbacks face us, or disasters face us, or what we may face down the road. My motto will be short-term pain for long-term gain.

At every level of government there are people with very good ideas who feel constrained about using them. It would do our government well to obtain the papers produced by three economists from the University of Calgary who conducted research on the Alberta government cuts and how the civil servants reacted. Among the questions that absorbed the researchers was how civil servants behave when they are ordered to make cuts. Do they make more drastic cuts in areas sure to cause the most embarrassment to the government? That was one question. Do they make the cuts in such way that their own power base is affected the least?

The answers varied according to department. Some entrenched their power while others were only too eager to make changes. Nevertheless, the researchers found the civil service rife with entrepreneurial spirit and a wealth of great ideas about how to conduct government business more efficiently. That is the bottom line, after all. We need to make our civil servants understand that this government must operate more efficiently.

Finally, on the issue of job creation. We must diversify the northern economy. Dan Marion, the mayor of Rae-Edzo who is now also the Deputy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, spoke this past spring in his community and illustrated the need for economic diversification. He said, and I quote, "The reason is starkly illustrated by a single number -- 42 -- 42 is the official rate of unemployment in Rae-Edzo." That figure is representative of most of the aboriginal communities in the North. Approximately one of every two members of the workforce cannot find a job. With that kind of unemployment it is impossible to have a vibrant economy. What we have instead are incredible social problems. We must create jobs to get people out of that social malaise.

The mainstay of our northern economy for the past 25 years has been government. The GNWT is the main economic force in the North, now to the tune of $1.2 billion per year, funded in large part by the federal government. Shrinking federal budgets mean we can no longer rely on the Government of Canada to foot the bill for the NWT forever. We need jobs and we need revenues created from some source other than government. That means we need to diversify the northern economy and we need to do that quickly.

In the North there is only one sector that can provide large-scale jobs and dollars in a short space of time; that industry is the mineral resource industry. Mining can kick-start that diversification. Mining, operated in a responsible way, can help solve many of the North's problems. I am not advocating the development of mines at all costs. I am acutely aware of the need to ensure that mines create a minimum of environmental damage and that the industry demonstrate its willingness to give its majority of jobs and business opportunities to northerners.

Also, the aspirations and desires of the aboriginal people affected must be met as much as possible. When I visited Rae-Edzo last spring, I heard many elders speak about the importance of the land and their spiritual and subsistence relationship with that land and the animals on it. The message I got was that for those people who wish to use that land, to respect that spiritual and subsistence relationship. The other message I got was best said by Dan Marion, the mayor of Rae-Edzo, and I quote again, "Young men and women who have grown up in a vastly different world from the one their parents knew have neither the desire nor, indeed, in many cases, the ability to engage in hunting, fishing and trapping full-time." In fact, many, if not most, would, frankly, prefer employment in the modern economy. I know this because I know 448 Rae-Edzo residents, 42 per cent of our working-age population, told the labour force surveyors they wanted a job last year but couldn't find one.

In my opinion, the benefits of proceeding with resource mineral development, done in a responsible way, far outweigh the detractions. This government has a role to play in establishing a supportive atmosphere for responsible mining development. It also has a role to play in maximizing northern jobs and benefits. The health of the North is extremely sensitive at this time. Jobs, or the lack of jobs, reflect the vibrancy or the recessionary state of the whole of the North.

There are a number of private citizens in Yellowknife who have formed a group called, "Committee for Support of BHP," with a common view to seek support for responsible mining development. They are circulating a petition in which they state, "Interest groups which do not support the project have made lengthy submissions to the panel, and in some cases have urged the panel not to approve the BHP development permit. We are writing to ask for your support in our efforts to influence the BHP environmental assessment panel to reach a favourable decision on the approval of the NWT diamonds project." I understand that, to date, they have in excess of 1,000 signatures and are seeking 10,000. They will submit their petition to the EARP panel, which is scheduled to hold final hearings at the end of January.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, there were many other issues of concern to my constituents which were raised during my election campaign and many more issues that I have been made aware of since my election. I will be working on all of these in the coming weeks and months.

At this time I would like to express my wishes for a good Christmas and new year to all my constituents and to the Members of this House, and to thank the staff of this House for this capable and excellent work they've done for us. Thank you very much.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I rise to speak, I'm ever mindful of the tremendous record for duration and length of replies to the opening address. I want people to rest assured that I won't be anywhere close to that today.

I would like to publicly go on record today, before we break for Christmas to indicate that I've had input as an MLA through Caucus and through the new committee structure into the contents of the Premier's statement yesterday, and that I fully support the direction being taken by this Assembly and the government and the need to address the deficit in the decisive and clear manner that is fair and equitable and keeps in mind the need to protect the communities and those who can least afford to take major cuts. I think it's important, at least to me, that I go on record to say this now because when I go home, I want to be able to say and have it known that I support this, that I was involved in this process and I will continue to state my case in this regard.

I think, as the Minister of Finance has indicated, that this is a manageable situation. If we make careful, wise decisions we can deal with this. We have to do it quickly so that it doesn't take over our agenda. But I will be out there and I will go where this Assembly asks me to go to make this case to people to justify our decisions and support this initiative.

In closing, I would just like to clarify. There were a few questions raised at break, but I did wish to extend the best season's greetings to each and every one of my constituents in Thebacha. Thank you.

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