Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, a sales tax does not impact people according to their ability to pay. That is one of the biggest problems of a sales tax. Earlier today the Member for North Slave talked about the impact on people from the smaller communities having to accompany people who are going to larger communities for medical treatment and the cost that they were facing. So we are impacting, with this hotel tax, people from those smaller communities without the ability to pay. I know that the Minister has characterized the typical five dollars increase on hotel rooms as not being of importance to some people.

From what the Member for North Slave was saying earlier today, I am not sure that his constituents who would have to travel to a larger centre with a relative and perhaps stay in a hotel, would consider that extra five dollars a day a reasonable expense. That is really the concern. No matter how you look at this, it is a sales tax. It does not tax people according to their ability to pay. In fact there are a significant number of Northerners who will be impacted.

I think it will also cut down on the amount of travel that municipalities will be able to undertake for training sessions, the number of training and regional capacity building sessions that aboriginal governments will be able to undertake, because of the impact. After all it may only be five dollars a night per person but over the course of a year, for the amount of travel that northern organizations undertake, it can add up to be a significant amount.

I really think that this tax needs an awful lot more thought because I do see the potential here for a significant impact on Northerners. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.