Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My statement today is regarding my favourite topic, this government's budget reduction program.
Mr. Speaker, this past Thanksgiving weekend provided me with the opportunity to do some visiting in the Yellowknife area. Almost every person that I spoke to had serious reservations with this government's slash and burn approach to the territorial budget. Mr. Speaker, I was saddened by the contrast of people trying to celebrate Thanksgiving while they wrestle with despair and low morale created by being, or knowing, a government employee who wondered if they were getting a pink slip or a pay cheque for Christmas.
Mr. Speaker, I was beginning to feel like a lone wolf regarding my recent statements in this House relating to job losses and reductions to this government's programs and services.
As we all know, misery loves company. So I decided to contact some Northerners from both the East and the Western Arctic. I talked to Aboriginal, and non-Aboriginal people, employees of this government, whose names I cannot mention, and some who were unemployed. Mr. Speaker, during my conversation, I asked each person's view of this government's cutback policy. A summary of their views, is that most Northerners realize that there must be cuts, as a result of the questionable spending of previous governments.
But the question that surfaced, was, what are these cuts, and what are the costs of these cuts? Mr. Speaker, the business people I spoke to said although they originally agreed to the cost cutting exercise at first, they no longer could support this policy. The general consensus was that these cuts are out of control, and this government is acting more like a bank as opposed to a government concerned about it's people.
Mr. Speaker, generally people do not understand this governments paranoia with carrying a larger and extended debt, as long as it is consistently and responsibly reduced, within a reasonable time frame. If our circumstances, of course were different, it would be easier to tolerate these serious cuts. However, given the fact that very few jobs have been created, and in fact to date that we do not even have a job strategy in place. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.