Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday was a big day for the federal government. The budget speech was read, and the news given to Canadians of the benefits a surplus will bring to them.

Mr. Speaker, we have to ask ourselves how the federal budget impacts the residents of the Northwest Territories. Our Member of Parliament stated publicly there will be transfer payments to the North of around $100 million. Mr. Speaker, if that is the case, I think we have come out of some difficulty and have some cash in hand to help out our much needed program areas, like health and social services and transportation.

The fact is, from my previous work in the Legislative Assembly, when the federal government spends a billion dollars, we are lucky to receive $1.3 million when it works out to getting money in the Northwest Territories.

What does this mean to residents, Mr. Speaker? Yes, we benefit. Some people will receive lower tax deductions. We also forget an area here. I think the budget could have focused on one of the things that would have positively impacted every resident of the Northwest Territories; northern residents' deductions.

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to that area, we share the same distinction as residents of northern Alberta. We are in the prescribed Zone A, which means we, as residents of the Northwest Territories, can claim $15 a day. Mr. Speaker, when you live in Holman Island, Paulatuk, Sachs Harbour, Inuvik, and many of the smaller communities which are not connected by road in the Northwest Territories, the cost of living far exceeds the costs in northern Alberta. Yet we fall in the same zone.

As a government, we need to start pushing to have that changed, so we may be recognized differently in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, I would like to see clarification from our Minister responsible for Finance as to the differences in the budget. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause