Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before beginning to give the budget address, I just want to assure the Members that I have followed the tradition of all Finance Ministers of buying and wearing a new pair of shoes as a sign of good luck. I think good luck is something we certainly need.
I want to tell you the new shoes I have are runners. There are several reasons for choosing to wear runners today. First of all, I want to say that this job, and our whole government's mandate, has been incredibly busy. We have to move fast. I have never had to move so fast as I have had to in the last few months. I do not see that changing. I think as we make progress on many fronts, whether it is investments or trying to balance our budget or devolution, resource revenue-sharing, self-government, land claim settlements, Mackenzie Valley development...we have a whole bunch of issues we are going to continue to move fast on. Runners are certainly the favoured footwear of anyone who wants to move fast. My traditional cowboy boots do not work that well for moving quickly.
A second reason is that I think runners represent the healthy lifestyle we want to see in all our communities.
-- Applause
We strongly make a commitment to healthy communities and a healthy lifestyle of all our people in the Northwest Territories.
A third reason is that they are economical, practical, and much cheaper to buy than a good set of Oxfords. Being a practical man, I chose these. I want to assure the Members that these are not sneakers.
-- Laughter
These are runners. They used to be called sneakers when I was a young kid. We always referred to them as sneakers, but we operate a very transparent government. There is no need to have sneakers at all.
-- Laughter
-- Applause
Mr. Speaker, it is with considerable optimism that I present the first budget of the 14th Legislative Assembly, and my first as Minister of Finance. I am optimistic because these are exciting times for the people of the Northwest Territories. We are on the brink of substantial development of our Territories' immense resource potential -- our diamonds, oil and gas have made us the focus of national and international attention. Our renewable resource economy, including tourism, forestry, and fur harvesting, also offers great promise.
On the political side, we have made, and are continuing to make, progress in resolving lands, resources and self-government issues. Aboriginal leaders appear confident that non-renewable resource development can be a positive force. Federal, territorial and aboriginal governments have committed to work together on key issues such as devolution -- the transfer of jurisdiction over northern resources to northern governments, including resource revenue-sharing.
This is not to say that the challenges of unemployment, low education levels, social conditions and health concerns have been eliminated. Unfortunately, they still exist. However, if we can achieve a healthy economy and fiscally sound governments, we will be in a much better position to address these challenges.
In Towards a Better Tomorrow, Members of the 14th Assembly have laid out a vision for a prosperous future for the Northwest Territories. Members clearly recognize the great potential we hold. This government fully supports the vision laid out in Towards a Better Tomorrow. Over the next four years, we hope to bring forward fiscal and economic initiatives that will put the Northwest Territories on track to realize this vision.
In order for us to achieve our potential, we must carefully assess our strengths and our weaknesses and focus on the strategies that will help us achieve our goals. These strategies must include:
- • Building partnerships with other governments so that we are not working in isolation, but rather are sharing information and decision-making; and
- • Making key investments in our people, in our infrastructure and in our future.
However, Mr. Speaker, as I have stated in this House, along with my colleagues, the new resources we are able to commit toward this vision in this budget are limited. Given our fiscal position, the fact that we are able to maintain the service levels we currently enjoy is an achievement worth noting. This budget allocates resources to keep pace with the growing demands in health, education and social services. I see this budget as just the first step for achieving our vision. During this fiscal year, we must finalize our strategies and determine how they can be financed.
We recognize that we cannot do this alone. We need to work together -- Cabinet and Ordinary Members with the federal and aboriginal governments -- to put the necessary pieces into place. For example, we will need to draw on the work of the Economic Strategy Panel. We need to encourage the deliberations of the Intergovernmental Forum on devolution and resource revenue sharing. We need to develop our Non-Renewable Resource Development Strategy further to identify the investments required to maximize the benefits to Northerners from development. Finally, we need to know if the federal government will participate in a meaningful way in these crucial investments in the economic future of the Northwest Territories.
I am very optimistic that Northerners working together can achieve a prosperous future. Both the Northwest Territories and Canada stand to make substantial gains if we make the right investments now.