Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on January 22nd, a third budget of this Assembly was presented by the Honourable John Todd. This budget brings long overdue good news to the residents of Inuvik and the north as a whole. Mr. Speaker, I look at this budget not as the planning of one year's expenditures, but as an accumulation of two years of reductions felt by everyone, everyone in the community I represent, as well as the north. On many occasions in this House, we have heard of the hardships endured by many of the residents of the north. We have heard of the concerns of parents, teachers, health care workers and businesses who all have struggled to make it through the economic down turn. We know of many who have had to make do with less. I am sure we all know of someone who has either lost a job or closed the doors of their business. It is not to say that we did not know that the reductions were necessary to ensure the future of the north would be somewhat secure. This has not made it any easier to accept the changes that have occurred as a result of the deficit that

was growing at an unacceptable rate. If unchanged, we would be paying interest on the debt, and we would have ended up using operating dollars to pay down that debt. As a government, we must ensure that we do all that we can to not repeat what the 13th Assembly has had to do. We must work to ensure that no other government has to focus on reductions.

Mr. Speaker, the third budget of the 13th Assembly is definitely one of good news. I, for one, know that I can go back home to my community in Inuvik and finally be a bearer of good news. I can say that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that it is not a train coming to run them off the tracks. This is not to say that overnight, things will change. But instead, we now have a foundation that we can build on. Mr Speaker, we heard Mr. Todd in his budget speech speak on the issues of a stronger economy, of the Northwest Territories Investment Tax Credit Program and the continued support for the Northern Employment Strategy. On the resource side, we heard the government commit to try and achieve a fair share of royalties from the nonrenewable resources that leave the north. On the public infrastructure side, this government has committed to addressing the needs of the people when it comes to housing, hospitals, health centres and, yes, new roads.

Through changes in how we fund projects, for example, a new way of doing business comes with the introduction in the north of Public/Private Partnerships, as well as the introduction of the Accelerated Home Ownership Program Delivery. On the family side of things, we have heard of a new Northwest Territories Child Benefit and enhancement of the Income Support Food Allowance. Mr. Speaker, these are all great initiatives, and time will be the test in looking at the direction this government has chosen. As we go through this budget, we must ensure that the changes we make and the new initiatives we undertake add up to sustainable, affordable and accountable growth.

Mr. Speaker, it has been a long journey to get to where we find ourselves today, and by no means, is it over. There is much that still needs to be done. As I said earlier, I see this budget as a foundation that we can use to rebuild from. Thank you.

--Applause