Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This week I was a bit taken aback to see some of the local media accounts of some of the consultation going on around the energy strategy. The media has portrayed some of that discussion in an article entitled A Tax in Strategy and it discusses higher fuel tax as part of energy strategy discussions. In fact, I think the special advisor on energy indicated the taxes in the NWT are among the lowest in the country. "We don't tax very high at all and we do have some opportunities to raise revenue."

I find this alarming, especially when dealt with in isolation, Mr. Speaker. I think we all know the cost of living in the North is already extremely high. The cost of operating a business, particularly a small business, is high. It's very marginal at times, Mr. Speaker. We have to keep in mind that small business still has to be competitive and it's very expensive to operate here and compete with southern businesses who have easy access to our markets. So I think that, for several reasons, a discussion leading down this path causes me some problems. We know that we simply can't talk about tax increases or propose these types of strategies as a means for paying for our energy strategy as if we are operating in a vacuum. That's the sense that I get here, Mr. Speaker.

It won't be long until we are reading headlines in the newspaper about "stagflation." You've just seen oil prices come in around the $40 a barrel mark and they've led to inflation. I think the Bank of Canada rate, today or yesterday, was raised just the other day after a report coming out on Tuesday that said we had a 12-year inflation high of 4.5 percent. I think the core rate was 3.3 percent, Mr. Speaker. Much of the inflation rate is being driven by higher energy prices and now we've seen a Bank of Canada interest rate raise.

That's going to mean, Mr. Speaker, it's going to be a tough time for investment. We are looking to see plant and equipment expansion. It's going to be more and more difficult with interest rates on the rise. If we expect to further compound the problem for our residents and for our businesses by raising taxes, it causes me some grave concern. I know this is a discussion paper at this point, but we simply can't be looking at these things in isolation as if we were in a vacuum. I would wonder, on behalf of this government, who is overseeing this energy strategy with a macroeconomic perspective? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause