Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we resume the Fourth Session of the 13th Assembly today, and continue with the business we began several weeks ago, I would like to open my remarks by wishing the Members and their families a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.
As we begin a new calendar year, I believe it is only appropriate that we take a moment to look ahead into 1997, and make some resolutions that will ensure that we, as the leaders of this territory, serve the best interests of the North.
Personally, I resolve to pay attention to where I am walking ... a resolution I am unfortunately and painfully reminded often of these days.
When I spoke at the beginning of this Session in late November, I reminded Members that we have embarked on a path of change. A path that we must collectively believe is for the best for both the people of the Northwest Territories, as well as for the future of the two new territories.
When we were elected, we acknowledged these would not be easy times. I stated that if anything, our jobs would become more challenging in the weeks to come. Mr. Speaker, next week, on January 27, Mr. Todd will be presenting the 1997-98 budget in this House.
We have one more year in our deficit reduction plan. We are on target to achieving what appeared to many to be an impossible goal -- financial security for the North.
Unfortunately, as we have discovered in the past year, this is a goal that represents changes to the status quo. But good, effective leadership sometimes means bringing change and making hard decisions. Decisions that, in the short-term, may seem to hurt more than they help, but that in the long-run, will change lives for the better.
For example, it is not easy to propose the elimination of funding for the Delta House Addictions Treatment Centre in Inuvik. While some people believe the government sees this as a straight financial decision to cut $650,000 from the budget, I would like to remind Members about the millions and millions of dollars this government spends on addictions services. Millions of dollars that we would like to see invested in the best way possible to help our people.
Therefore, when we present the 1997-98 budget over the next few weeks, you will see we are proposing a shift in how this government views and invests in addictions services to ensure it better meets the needs of the North. To some, what we are proposing will mean difficult decisions. But they are decisions we believe are the right ones, and that need to be made to address this problem.
Mr. Speaker, the treatment of addictions, and the reform being proposed by this government, is just one part of the budget we will be introducing in this House January 27. Over the next few weeks, as we discuss and debate the budget, you will see more detail to this and other programs that represent not only a shift in how we spend, but also a shift in how we face our challenges, and resolve our difficulties.
In our 1997-98 proposed budget, we will be looking at continuing to change the way we operate as a government, at moving more decision-making to the community level, and making other changes to help improve economic conditions, and address other social problems facing Northerners today. And as much as these decisions may represent unsettling change for some people -- the decisions we make today are truly for our future.
Therefore, the ultimate question we must ask ourselves is what is the legacy we wish to leave for the people of Nunavut and the new Western Territory when our work is done? I, for one, Mr. Speaker, want to leave a legacy of hope and potential prosperity, and I am committed to doing everything I can to ensure that is the kind of future I can help create for my children, my grandchildren, and for the generations that follow them.
This is not a time to look back and remember how things were, or talk about how, in a perfect world, we would like things to be. Nor is this is a time to second guess ourselves. This is a time to show our political backbone and see this through. Making difficult decisions alone will not be enough. We must maintain the will to get the job done. Now is a time to live up to the commitment we made to the people of the Northwest Territories to reshape how we deliver programs and services so they meet the true needs of the North, and make a difference today, and for the future.
Mr. Speaker, this government welcomes Members' thoughts, questions, comments and suggestions -- but what we need, and what our citizens need, is for us to focus on positive end results, and not on preserving a past we can no longer afford financially or otherwise. As a government we are always willing to listen to advice -- good advice that reflects the fiscal realities, and helps us move ahead in a positive direction.
As a government, we do not have all the answers. But we do have a willingness to put ideas out in the name of progress. And, we are committed to make the hard decisions if that is what is best for the North.
Mr. Speaker, at the beginning of this Session, we had about 850 days left to accomplish what we need to do. At that time I told Members that we could not afford to waste even a half a day, if we want to make a difference for the people of the North, and to leave a positive legacy.
Today, as you may have noted from the countdown sign that stands in the Great Hall, we now have only 800 days. Time is just as valuable a commodity, and perhaps more valuable, to us today than all of the diamonds and other natural resources found in this territory.
We need to remember that with this short amount of time left to us, we have an obligation to use it wisely. We are a team in this Legislative Assembly, and like any good team, we are only as good as each one of our players. Each one of us is in a valuable position, not only representing our constituents, but in shaping the future of Canada's north. Fighting with other members of the team means we lose the game. But working together, to resolve our differences and reach a workable solution, we all win. It is a great honour to be serving in this, the last Legislative Assembly of the present Northwest Territories. But it is also a great responsibility.
Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I ask every Member in this House to make it their New Year's resolution to remember why we are here, and what we were elected to do. Each one of us owes it to our constituents, our friends, our families, to all of the people in the North, and to ourselves to think of the best interests of the whole, not just a few. If we do that, we can indeed lay the groundwork for 1997 to be a happy, healthy and prosperous new year for the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi cho.