The responsible development of the Northwest Territories' resources requires that governments strike a clear balance between the economic benefits of development and the longer-term goals of environmental protection and eco-system health.

We have heard people throughout the Northwest Territories stress the importance of a balance between the environment and the economy. Residents say "We want jobs. We want business opportunities and growth to continue. We want new revenues for aboriginal and public governments. But we also want clean water, clean air, unspoiled land, and healthy fish and wildlife." We can have both, but we need the checks and balances in our decision-making that will reconcile these goals.

These checks and balances will come, in part, from how we organize ourselves to manage our resource development and environmental protection responsibilities. We also continue to be guided by the recommendations of the Economic Strategy Panel in their report, Common Ground. The recommendations in Common Ground provide a balanced approach to moving the Northwest Territories towards economic self-sufficiency. The investments in this budget in support of this balance implement a number of the Common Ground recommendations.