Thanks, Mr. Speaker. This isn't a result of a formal constituency meeting but on my stroll through the streets of Yellowknife yesterday at noon hour and today at noon hour -- when I met my colleague Mr. Whitford who tried to claim my corner in the middle of the city -- I learned that one of the concerns that people have is this government has been thinking about introducing a sales tax.

I have tried to tell people that this is the last gasp of this government, there's nothing on the agenda, there is no legislation and no plans for this government to impose a sales tax in the few months that this 12th Assembly has left to live. I would like to point out though, Mr. Speaker, that all the great expectations of the goods and services tax imposed by the federal government some years ago have not produced the expected results and I would like to warn any future government that in our jurisdiction such a tax would really be regressive. Simply because, what happens when you put a tax on money that has already been taxed once in the form of personal income tax, what you are going to do is really reduce consumption, not just simply put money into the government coffers.

You are going to build up consumer resistance. They decide whether they are going to spend or not. Businesses get very upset when they see they have to charge ridiculous prices for things. You see sales where businesses say they'll swallow the GST and we won't have to pay that. It becomes a sales ploy or gimmick. We also have a very young population, Mr. Speaker. Older people like me have a fridge, a washing machine, furniture and all kinds of stuff because we've lived long enough and have earned enough money over a period of time to get the things we need to survive in our houses. But young people have to face a very uncertain future in terms of employment and the economy, and we should be very, very careful before we impose this kind of tax in this jurisdiction, given the kind of population we have, where half the people are below the age of 15. It is a population that really is very, very sensitive, a business community is just beginning to develop and I would warn any future government that it would not be a wise action to take. Thank you.

---Applause