Our short-term fiscal position is significantly improved over last year's forecast. We ended the 1999-2000 fiscal year with a $17 million operating deficit, very close to the $18 million deficit budgeted for that year. Our overall debt position was well within our borrowing limits and financing capacity. Later this session, I will be tabling the detailed 1999-2000 Public Accounts.

Our 2000-2001 outlook is much brighter than was forecast in the budget last June. We started the year with the expectation of a $13 million operating deficit. Mr. Speaker, the current forecast for 2000-2001 calls for a $23 million operating surplus.

This turnaround is directly attributable to our successful efforts to constrain spending, coupled with a much more positive revenue picture:

• • Increased economic activity, particularly from diamond mine construction and oil and gas exploration, has increased our forecast tax revenues;
• • Stronger population growth and higher provincial government spending have resulted in a general improvement in the performance of our financing formula with Canada; and
• • Finally, we have benefited from a large, fortuitous one-time increase in corporate tax collections. After the offset to the Formula Financing Grant, this higher tax revenue alone will result in a one-time net increase in our 2000-2001 revenues of $18 million.

The improved outlook for 2000-2001 means we will see our overall accumulated surplus, on a tangible capital asset basis, rise to $864 million by the end of the year. Our capital investment represents $859 million of this. The government's own debt will drop to just over $12 million, while the consolidated government will have $190 million of debt outstanding, the majority of which is financed from the revenues of the NWT Power Corporation.