Thank you, Madam Chair. As my honourable colleague Mr. Hawkins said, we just got elected into the government in November and we took the onus to skip the business plan to deal with the budget here. Being new to the House and the system and learning as we go, I think one of the things that I'd like to say is that we have something in front of us, let's deal with it. Good or bad, right or wrong, we have to deal with it. I knew that this government was going to be into a debt wall when I was running for Sahtu MLA and they told me about the debt wall and how would you deal with it. I never really gave it much thought. I thought we'd deal with it as a group here. How serious the debt wall was and the other good things I'm learning now. It seems to be that we're going through a growing stage and proving ourselves to the federal government that we can handle our finances, we can take care of ourselves. I think it's how the federal government views the Government of the Northwest Territories and the people of the North here in terms of becoming our own. It seems like we're going through this process here.
Mr. Roland indicated that January 2004 is when he wants to have the corporate tax in effect. That's 10 months from now. From last year? Retroactive, sorry. Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Retroactive to last January.
He has some time to advise the national revenue agency by April 15th and he alluded to part of the package of revenue and expenditures and have a balanced budget by 2006-2007. We achieved that in 2004-2005, is my understanding. I'm very interested in hearing his strategy of postponing the rebasing for one year to see how we're going to deal with that. It has postponed our deficit for one year. Strategize how we're going to deal with the debt wall. He's talked about some possibilities of lost grants. If we went one way and the consequences went another way, we might lose some grant money; his development of alternatives to current approaches in terms of the tax effort, in terms of the rebasing.
In saying all this, it's still necessary to achieve long-term fiscal stability in the North here, so I think for myself that, taking a sober look at our finances, I dearly look to spend in the Northwest Territories and programs and services in the North here. However, that's not the case today. Today we have to be really conscious and sober up and say this is what we have. We can't go in the dream world anymore and spend this and spend that. We put ourselves in there. Our responsibility as MLAs in here today is to look at the issues that we have in front of us. In order to get out of it I know, for me, it's going to require some discipline and some I want this and I want that, not today, maybe tomorrow. But if we're going to achieve some fiscal stability for this government, come to a balanced budget. I think that puts us in a better picture in terms of our children. They're going to be paying for our debt.
We have to prove to the federal government over and over that we can handle our finances. There are resources here that we can do it. We're stepping up to the plate here. It has taken us a long time here and I'm not going to say anything about the 13th and 14th assemblies, they did what they had to do. It's our turn now in the House, the 15th, to do what we have to do. A lot of people in the communities are looking forward to that.
I say to the corporations, if you want to do business in the Northwest Territories this is what it costs to do business in the Northwest Territories. They have financial planners. I bet they're right now in their boardrooms figuring out how to deal with this increase if it goes through; to figure out the deal with the tax increase. Any good business will have financial planners to deal with the taxes.
Just launch the resources in the Northwest Territories. With oil and gas coming potentially down the Mackenzie Valley, there are mines here. There is potential for that. This Northwest Territories is rich in minerals and resources. It would be ludicrous if the companies don't come to do business here. They will make double and triple what they're making. They're not going to leave this country. We have it up here. We have the resources and the federal government knows that, too. They want that gas down the Mackenzie Valley, they're going to do something. They want the mines to produce the diamonds, they'll do something.
Yesterday I went to Gameti and I flew over this country here. This land is rich. Good land. Big, you know. I think that for the corporate taxes they need to keep their money here. They need to support us. We're not going anywhere in the small communities. We're not going anywhere. We need the infrastructures in the communities. We need help. Look at those mines; they have gymnasiums and everything like that. In small communities we're still fighting for gymnasiums and recreation facilities and that. They have everything there. It's about time they start spending in our small communities and keep it here.
I don't mind, I'm in full support of the corporate taxes. Unless someone else convinces me otherwise that they're going to leave, they're not going to leave. Given that maybe we haven't done a good job in terms of providing information to the corporations in terms of the increases, that's how we come into this House here.
In saying that, Madam Chair, if this is what we have to do, then this is what we have to do. I spoke to some of the representatives from the Sahtu region and I talked about the initiatives that this federal government is looking at and they said if that's what we have to do, that's what we have to do. We'll pull through. It's not the first time. We've been here a long time. It's not the first time we're going to go through this.
I think in closing that the bigger picture is to let the federal government know that we really need to look at some of the other initiatives that this government is going to use in terms of how we're going to deal with the rebasing, how we're dealing with the deficit, the debt wall, and alternate approaches to our finances. I think that's what the community needs to know in terms of achieving a balanced budget. Madam Chair, that's more of a comment and more of my thoughts and thinking in regard to the Minister's opening comments. Thank you.