Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have an emergency statement to make. Mr. Speaker, as everyone is aware, the federal Minister of Finance, the Honourable Paul Martin, brought down his 1998-99 budget yesterday. For the first time in over a quarter of a century, the federal government has balanced the budget. I am aware of what a difficult task it is to achieve a balanced budget in even a small jurisdiction such as this one, and I commend the Minister of Finance for his efforts to achieve this goal at a national level.
Mr. Speaker, I am encouraged by this budget and by the positive impacts that it will have for northerners. A major focus of the budget is on education. Education is a priority in the NWT and the initiatives announced yesterday complement the existing and future programs of this government, particularly supporting lifelong learning, distance education and improving opportunities for post secondary education. Our Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, the Honourable Charles Dent, will be speaking to these federal initiatives in greater detail later this week.
Mr. Speaker, the federal budget also contains measures aimed at employment which will benefit our young people, including, the elimination of the employer share of employment insurance premiums on new jobs for youths aged 18-24, and wage subsidies to employers for up to $10,000 to encourage hiring young people who have not finished high school.
Mr. Speaker, I am particularly pleased to see that the federal government will be contributing an additional $850 million to the Child Tax Benefit Program over the next two years. When I brought down the territorial budget on January 22, of this year, I announced that the GNWT would be supplementing the existing federal Child Tax Benefit. This additional injection of federal funding, announced yesterday, means that starting in 1999, even more money that we originally anticipated will be put in the hands of families at the lower end of the income scale. This, Mr. Speaker, is very good news for northerners.
Mr. Speaker, I should point out that it is not always the information that is contained in the Budget Address which is of significance, but details contained within the budget itself. This federal budget contains a specific reference to the economy of Canada's territories, which is noteworthy. In this budget, the federal government has recognized that the economies of Canada's territories are undergoing significant change and that, as a northern government, we are pursuing diversification of our economy through various means, including a focus on the nonrenewable resource sector and, in particular, the diamond industry.
Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of Finance, I am very pleased that, with the support of our Members of Parliament Ms. Ethel Blondin-Andrew and Ms. Nancy Karetak-Lindell, the federal government has acknowledged the significance of the nonrenewable resource sector to the northern economy and has agreed to work in partnership with us to develop an Economic Development Strategy which recognizes the changing dynamics of the north.
Mr. Speaker, I am also very pleased that the federal budget recognizes that incremental funding will be required for the ongoing operations of two new territories after 1999. The budget uses the current transfer payment to the existing GNWT as a holding figure that will be amended to reflect the two new formulas, once discussions have been concluded this spring.
Mr. Speaker, while this budget is good news for northerners, there is, as they say, always room for improvement. I look forward to a continued cooperative working relationship with Finance Canada, so that we may focus our future budgetary efforts on direct employment initiatives, on the infrastructure and on health care initiatives that northerners need and desire.
Again Mr. Speaker, my congratulations to the Honourable Paul Martin and to the federal government for bringing down a balanced budget, one which recognizes the unique circumstances of the north and which will positively benefit the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
--Applause