Mr. Chairman, I will endeavour to get to my colleague the value of the premium which is paid in the BIP and I will check with my honourable colleague, Mr. Kakfwi, with respect to these large corporations. It was my understanding they were grandfathered and they were no longer there, but I will check into that and see if I can answer the question for Mr. Steen. But it would be remiss of me if I did not challenge to some extent Mr. Steen's assumption that it is only the rich and the powerful that benefit from BIP. The reality is we do have a homegrown - I believe anyway, as one both formally active in the small business community and now an activist in the political community, that the business incentive policy was, not the total policy, but one policy that provided the impetus, if you want, for new northern, private sector, homegrown entrepreneurs to occur. I am not saying without it, it would not have done that, but I am saying it was part of an important shift in policy brought forward by my predecessors and supported by the current government. If I can conclude the debate, if I may, with Mr. Steen who wanted the debate today, I, again, will reiterate that I will provide and try to quantify the premium paid so that we can determine if, in fact, the value of that premium is worthwhile. Thank you.
John Todd on Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
In the Legislative Assembly on January 29th, 1998. See this statement in context.
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
January 29th, 1998
Page 428
John Todd Keewatin Central
See context to find out what was said next.