Thank you, Madam Chair. I have listened to all the comments the Members had to make. I did
pick up some questions through their opening comments. I would like to respond to some of those questions.
I realize that some Members are saying we should try to eliminate the deficit we do have within one year. Some other Members are saying we should look at three years. Other Members are saying we shouldn't set any time at all and we should review it. We have taken direction and listened to the concerns Members have. Looking at the deficit and the problems we face we should fully understand that if we try to eliminate the deficit too quickly, we could create too much hardship on those people who desperately depend on social programs from this government. We have to take that into consideration. There are no hard numbers decided upon yet, but we do have general agreement to try to eliminate the majority of that deficit within the first year.
We also recognize that it is going to take longer. It will take time to put things into place and make changes. We have to give people time to adapt. That is the reason, through my Sessional Statement, I said two years was the majority.
We are also going to look at all avenues of government and we are going to try to do it in a fair manner and a compassionate manner. I would just like to assure the Members who raised the concern that it would be done on the backs of the capital and regional centres; that isn't so. It will be spread out. You also have to realize where the majority of dollars are being spent. We have to look at that in a fair and compassionate way, which we will, and make the adjustments accordingly. I fully agree that whatever we do, we not only look at direct but indirect spending of our dollars and that includes boards and agencies, housing authorities, et cetera.
Regarding the amalgamation of Renewable Resources, EM&PR and ED&T, I believe that is the proper choice to make. By that amalgamation, we will be able to have a more focused approach on resource development as well as economic development. That is the right move to make. We have directed the staff to begin to put together the plans to accomplish that.
The move of occupational health and safety to WCB isn't going to happen overnight, but we are building the plans to do that. A lot of these things need planning and it will take time. There will be concerns no matter what you do in this government, but if we are going to change, there will be problems. With every problem, there are opportunities and solutions as well. We have to take those into consideration. We will develop the business plans to accomplish this in an orderly manner that respects everyone's integrity in this amalgamation. We will not compromise anyone. I understand there will be problems specific to this amalgamation, but it has potential to save a lot of dollars and it is also my understanding that 10 or 11 other jurisdictions in Canada do the same thing. We just have to make sure that the problems that pop up have solutions and we move ahead.
Some Members raised some concerns about my intent to move quickly about establishing an independent panel on the economy. I fully realize that myself as a Member of my Assembly, my background is business and there are many people in this House who have business experience. I also know that there are many business people out there who have a lot to offer the Northwest Territories, and I'm not talking about consultants, and I'm not talking about paying anybody any money. What I'm talking about is independent advisors, independent business person advisors. I don't plan on paying anyone any amount of money to come and give us independent advice. We all have people we draw on, whether it's a respected elder, a community member, or a business person, for advice from time to time. I'm basically being right up front with people here saying that I would like advice on who you think are good-quality business people in the Northwest Territories that can offer us advice from time to time, and are willing to do that for the good of the Northwest Territories. People that live here, that retire here, and will be buried here, those are the people who are interested in the future of the Northwest Territories and I think we have to have the opportunity to hear from them as well. I would welcome Members' advice on that issue, as well.
As far as our protocol agreements with aboriginal governments, the First Nations and this government, that's basically what it is. We're going to attempt to enter into protocol agreements with them as well as all the bands and Metis locals at the community level. I think that's a step in the right direction. That's a step towards the future and the future means a partnership with aboriginal people and that we'll have a good working relationship with them. So far, the meetings we've had with them, I've been very impressed on their desire to work with us and ours to work with them. I believe that signing agreements with them, recognizing them, will go a long way in helping the North move in the right direction.
Why did the northern accord not succeed the last time? Because we didn't have good working relationships with aboriginal groups. It's as simple as that. Why do I think it's going to succeed this time? Because we will have good working relationships with aboriginal groups and we will strive to make sure that those relationships are built on trust and clear, open dialogue.
Block funding for the communities. I was thinking back, I mentioned in this speech that eight years ago, when I ran for this Assembly, I had very clear intentions: to change government, change the way it operates. I'm sure that every Member of this Assembly ran basically on those fundamental principles: we're here to make change. Our voters didn't send us here to keep the status quo, they sent us here to make sure government changes and government becomes more responsive to the people it's to serve. Regardless of whether we have a $150 million deficit or not, I think block funding is the only way to go. That's the way to go into the future, it's the way of block funding the communities and empowering the communities so they make the decisions and set the priorities on how they would like to see their dollars spent. Ultimately, that's what we're all here for; we're here, we manage, we manage the dollars on behalf of our communities. People have been saying that for 20 years and it's about time we moved ahead and did it.
As far as the refocusing of Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs into the Executive, I'm convinced that by doing this we will accomplish a higher degree of attention on aboriginal issues, First Nation issues, treaty rights, and I think that's a very important part of where we're going to go in the future. If we are to move ahead in the future with any amount of credibility or any amount of good faith amongst our aboriginal partners, we have to make sure that we give the right priorities to the issues that are at hand.
As far as rolling in Personnel into the Executive, that, too, is going to take some time and it cannot happen completely overnight. Once again, however, I believe, that we have all said and we have all heard that affirmative action does not work. We're still finding things that are happening to stop that. We have to ensure that people who are capable and willing to work and are from the Northwest Territories, get those jobs. By making managers, and I'll use myself as an example, as the Minister responsible for Economic Development: If I have 10 per cent aboriginal employment and my budget comes up, I can pass the buck to Personnel; Personnel can pass the buck back to me. We have to make managers manage, pay them accordingly, and hold them responsible. But we do need the watch-dog portion of Personnel to make sure that the things are happening. We have to make sure that we empower those managers and make them accountable so that if you don't see an increase in northern and affirmative action, then you hold them accountable.