Thank you, Madam Chair. I have to concur with the other Members that on the short time that we've been allowed to review and respond to these taxation changes and I can appreciate the public's concerns with the changes as far as the Chamber of Commerce and the Construction Association are concerned.
Just to comment on some of the newer Members' concerns about the business plan review and such. I have to give some consideration to the government's staff that has probably reviewed a lot of the options that are being brought forward today in this committee with the concerns about lowering the change and perhaps going with 13 or 13.5 percent. I'm just going to give some consideration to the finance staff. I'm sure they've looked at all the possible options available and I'm sure they've come up with the best possible option to get the best possible return for the change that they are proposing at 14 percent.
I would say that being new Members, and saying we have to put some faith in the staff that they have and say they've probably already reviewed the possibilities and are going with the 14 percent because that's the best return for our buck. I know that it's gone from 12 to 14 percent, if it does go through today or tomorrow, and I know over the last two years it's gone from 14 to 12 percent and now two years later we want to look at going back to 14 percent. I think there has to be some weight given to the circumstances surrounding the new change and I think a lot of the onus is on this government's ability to expedite the negotiations on our resource revenue and devolution negotiations at next week's meetings in Hay River. I think this government has to really listen to what the other aboriginal governments and northern leaders have to say as far as getting the process underway and getting some kind of agreement-in-principle in 2005 and probably implementation hopefully in 2006 or 2007. I think something like this tax change, which has been changed before in the last two years, could change again in another two years. Then who knows, we could be in competition with Alberta on having the lowest corporate tax rate by that time after some resource revenue and devolution agreements have been made.
But I don't think it's going out on a limb by this current change here that we're proposing and I don't think it will be detrimental to the survival of a lot of small businesses in the NWT and a lot of the large industries, for that matter. I think they've dug their heels into the NWT economy and definitely dug into the NWT resources and I think they're just willing to stay here for the long time and if we have to demand a little more return on their investments and a little more bucks to put into our social programs that they are basically one of the major contributors to the rising cost of our social programs and such that we have to meet these budget restraints with. I'm in full support of this change in Bill 2 to amend this taxation act and I think it's something this government could come back and review in two or three years when we actually have some agreements-in-principle so far as resource revenue and devolution are concerned.
On the other income tax initiatives, I think we have to give some consideration to the finance people in saying that they probably considered every option that is made available to them and how it will affect this government. I think we just have to have a little more faith, I guess that's hard to say, in our government because we're always running into budget restraints and deficit walls.
When the member from the public meeting was pertaining to overall in Canada we're still one of the lowest insofar as corporate tax of large corporations in Canada, I don't think that's a bad thing. I think it's something that we can live with and we could substantiate it with the oil and gas industries. I'm sure they can come to grips with it and realize that the amount of return they are getting out of our health and justice and education systems to work with them to get some programs and apprenticeships and training and all that going, they need the government to work alongside them and I think we can't do that and can't keep up with them without more dollars in the social aspect of our operation. I'd support this initiative. Thank you, Madam Chair.