Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have not replied to the opening address yet, I can assure you. I would like to talk on the same topic that Mr. Nitah and Mr. Bell have referred to. I think it is an important one, and that is how our government functions.
Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that last week the Regular Members were joking about we treat them like mushrooms, we keep them in the dark, we announce things in the House without going back to the committee and sharing the information with them first.
Mr. Speaker, over the last couple of weeks we have purposely changed and let's be more open with the committees. We will take things to the committees. I want to work that way, I want to share it with the committee so they are not surprised when things are brought to the House. We do not want Members to be mushrooms, we do not want them either to be thistles in our side. At the same time, we want to work with the Members and work with committees.
I made a commitment to the chairs of the standing committees that I am open to sharing information with them, I want to share information with them. I have shared as much as I have at this point and want to continue with that.
Mr. Speaker, we cannot have it both ways. Either we will work together as Cabinet and FMB and the committee structure and then bring things to the House or we will work it some other way. We cannot on the one hand criticize the government for not taking things to the committee and surprising you here, and then at the same time stand in here and criticize the government for not bringing things here but waiting to take it to the committee. Which way do we want it?
It is one or the other. It cannot be both or we will always be criticizing each other. I am very prepared, Mr. Speaker, to bring all the information I can bring forward on our fiscal situation. It is not as doom and gloom as some Members would think it is. I do not think there is any plot of going back to some of the efforts from the 13th Assembly. Nothing like that has to happen.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to talk about the need for us to respect the budgeting process. We have a budgeting process that deals with the development of the main estimates and taking those through this Legislative Assembly. Mr. Speaker, it is not my place as the Minister of Finance to start leaking all kinds of information, to begin to make commitments here and to talk about next year's budget. There is a process for that.
We have been through the business planning process, we have heard from the Regular Members and from the committees. We have an opportunity to review the main estimates. We will hear more advice at that time in the committees and then we have the opportunity to debate the budget estimates, the main estimates, in the House here. That is our final opportunity with our main estimates for next year.
Mr. Speaker, any information on what will be in the budget for next year or what will not be in the budget for next year is something that will be determined through that process. It certainly is not my place, I repeat, for me to stand as Minister of Finance and begin to arbitrarily make decisions without consulting with all of the Members. I do respect that process. I think if all of us respected it then we could have a consensus system that works very well.
Mr. Speaker, I want to say that I have a lot of confidence in the system we have. I think if everyone has a willingness to work together then this can be an excellent form of government for our small Territory with a very small population. Mr. Speaker, I certainly do not feel that the system of government here has completely fallen apart at all. I think by working together we can achieve a lot for the people in the Northwest Territories, whether we are talking about social programs or economic programs or whatever it may be. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.