Mr. Chairman, I know that they are all here and I thank them for their attention, they are with me. Mr. Chairman, I do see value in this review. I believe in this business of governing. It is always important to take time to reflect, to evaluate the things we have done, the things we have failed to do. Just to revisit and be clear about what it is that we are trying to do. In that process try to find the enthusiasm to continue our work. From the beginning, I have liked the way that all Members have approached and committed themselves to the work that we have found ourselves facing when we were elected. All of us were serious about the job we had. We identified the problems and were resolved to work together to find solutions. We have done that.
I think with the courage of the commitment we have made, we find today that our budget is balanced, but we still have to tackle the accumulated deficit. There is much more to do and there are still many tough decisions to make before the next election. We have to set out a clear direction and stick to it as we have the last two years in order to make the last two years of our mandate something that we can all be proud of. We must remember that in spite of the turmoil caused by restructuring and downsizing, the majority of our constituents have continued to receive programs and services without significant upheaval and without a significant drop in the quality of service. It must be pointed out to Members that when Members felt there had been enough amalgamation there was a halt put to that process. Our success to date also has been in large part to a very hard working civil service that was very quick to adapt to the changing times and also to the people of the north who have rallied to support us and who have recognized that spending had to be brought under control.
In respect to division, I still believe that we will be ready for the creation of two new territories, that division will happen on schedule, that it will be acceptable to the people of the east and the west, that we will find out incremental funding and both territories will be well positioned to meet the challenges of the new century. We will also find a new name for the Western Territory. The reason for my optimism is not Mr. Henry, but the strong leadership shown in this Legislature. The leadership at the regional and community level, amongst our mayors, chiefs, Metis leaders and in the land claim organizations. With their support we will get through the next 18 months of decisions.
Mr. Chairman, I wish to point out that my assignment in 1996 was to amalgamate three departments and to cut $5 million. I was given a year to do it, it took myself and my staff five months to complete that job. It could not have been done without the full cooperation, support and assistance of the Standing Committee on Resource Management and the Cabinet colleagues. Many organizations, while cautious, were also very cooperative and helpful. We opted to work quickly and to be decisive because we knew and felt that to prolong the restructuring would have serious consequences affecting morale and quality of services, and I am glad that we have done it this way. I am proud of the accomplishment, and I wish to especially commend Andrew Gamble, the deputy Minister and his staff for the work.
Restructuring and amalgamation did not put a stop to the day-to-day work we had facing us. While working on amalgamation, we have also negotiated the BHP Environmental Agreement, moved forward on the Protected Areas Strategy, signed off on the Mackenzie River Basin Agreements, created a Community Energy Management Plan, participated and helped fund the West Kitikmeot Slave Study and formally established three new territorial parks. Addressed outstanding issues important to the traditional economy such as downgrading bison so they are now exportable and harvestable. As well, polar bear hides, trophies are now allowed to be taken into the United States, and with our partners we have continued to ensure that European markets are open for our fur and our trappers. An important initiative has been our Community Economic Development Strategy. Key to the success of this strategy is the regionalization of our grants and contributions and development of more community futures programs in regions where they did not exist. This has meant that there can be quick turn around on applications for funding and more opportunities for partnering with other groups who have access to funding from other sources.
Our Community Economic Development Strategy is the economic arm of the Government of the Northwest Territories' empowerment initiative. I believe it is the key ingredient to future success in the creation of jobs and small business at the community level, particularly level two and level three communities where we need it the most. We have developed and distributed a draft economic framework and continued to work to support and provide assistance to the Nunavut and western tourism organizations. With respect to the economy and employment, we have concluded and now monitor the BHP Socio-economic Agreement and have actively participated and funded a very successful community mobilization program. I hope next Monday in Ottawa to sign off on the egg quota issue with the federal government of Agriculture, an issue that has been ongoing for the last 12 years.
We have successfully completed the contracting out of fire fighting and air attack responsibilities and have fought to successfully lower the pipeline tariff by reducing the shipping costs of a barrel of oil from $6.00 to $4.50 on the Norman Wells IPL Pipeline. What this does is increase the federal government's share of revenue, and it makes the industry more interested in searching for oil and gas in the area because the cost of transportation of that product makes it much more marketable in the south.
Early results of the Employment Strategy and the effective delivery of our programs and our services are promising. We have recently reported that $5.8 million invested in northerners between April 1st and August 30th of this year has brought in projects we valued at over $21 million.
Thirty-five thousand work weeks of employment have been created, an equivalent of 890 full-time jobs. The Business Credit Corporation and Community Futures Loans to the end of August total $6.6 million and partnership funds levered over $4 million.
These are only some of the issues that we have worked on. We will make available more detailed achievement or progress reports to the Members later this week. What is important is what our future plans are. People need to know that this government is respecting the environment, is protecting the wildlife and balancing the development of resources to create jobs and opportunities. I believe the department now has its house in order. We have the staff, the organization in place. We have now increased funding, I believe that will be available. The Northwest Territories Development Corporation has finally stabilized and has streamlined their operation, as well, is in position to start being able to deliver more initiatives and programs and services, particularly to level two and level three communities. I think this is the work that we are going to do in the next six months in the year. We now are in a position where we can actually go out to the regions and to the communities, sit down with them and in partnership come up with some real ideas on how we can create jobs, maximize opportunities and follow through on those types of efforts that need to be done so desperately in all our regions. We will continue to streamline our regulations.