Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak today about the importance of small business in Yellowknife and the north; especially since the constituency I represent includes the Airport Road and the Kam Lake Industrial Park which has a lot of small businesses in it, and I spend a lot of time talking to small business owners.
Mr. Speaker, I was able to find out that there are 1,761 businesses currently registered in Yellowknife. We can probably estimate that about 1,000 of those will be home occupations or single-source contractors, so that means that there are about 700 storefront operations. Many of those will have started as home occupations, but now are employing people, serving other people across the north.
Small business provides a major source of employment in the north. As we know, the private sector represents an awful lot of jobs. In Yellowknife -- if we include those working for the mines -- we probably have over half of all employment, or at least 5,500 to 6,000 jobs which are provided by the private sector. Employees in these businesses provide this government with a major source of revenue. Easily one quarter of all personal tax revenue collected by this government will come from people working in private industry in Yellowknife. On top of that, the businesses themselves will be supplying a significant portion of the corporate taxes this government receives.
Mr. Speaker, it has long been recognized that the small business sector is best at creating new jobs. With division coming, with funding cuts from Ottawa, it's important that we encourage the development of small business. It's there that we see the future when it comes to more jobs for northerners.
This government needs to examine how it deals with business and make sure that it is business-friendly. We need to look for ways to streamline the regulatory and paperwork functions, perhaps by taking a look at the Newfoundland example where fees have been cut for services.
Mr. Speaker, this government needs to move quickly to get business and labour working on recommendations for revising our Labour Standards Act. Then we also need to make sure that this government is enforcing the provisions of labour standards across the board, making sure that there is a level playing field for business. Too often, we hear of southern competition being able to do a job cheaper in the north because they're in and out quickly, and are never checked to ensure that they live up to the standards northern companies must adhere to. But most important, Mr. Speaker, this government needs to develop an attitude that we support the development of small business. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause