Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to exercise my right to speak to the bill. I think it's not only important for the Minister to be concerned, but myself as well that there are potential negative impacts that may
occur in our idea of industrialization in the Mackenzie Delta/Beaufort. I am not going to speak against the bill, but highlight some of the important points I have been making the last few weeks in trying to look at different tax initiatives that would help facilitate the investment we need in the Northwest Territories.
Again if I could bundle it all up together, I'm still concerned that with the way the federal government is treating us, that it still becomes one of several sovereignty issues that should be raised by this Assembly throughout the course of our tenure.
Madam Chair, also I want to make reference to the open letter that was submitted to the Honourable Joe Handley and the Honourable Floyd Roland, Minister of Finance, by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business which really establishes some of my rationale in supporting and trying to see if can attract great investment to the North through a number of different mechanisms. One of the things that interested me is they suggest perhaps eliminating the whole issue of the corporate tax or lowering it even further would go a long way in attracting greater investment to the North who, in turn, would pay more territorial income and property taxes. I ask the basic question: Has the Government of the Northwest Territories considered eliminating corporate tax as an alternative to the perverse calculation of the tax factor?
Another analysis that was provided says here, "Lowering corporate income tax is one of the best ways to allow firms to retain more of their earnings, that they can feed back into the NWT coming through new investment, jobs, lower prices, creating a more sustainable and diversified economy." That's the point I'm trying to make, Madam Chair, in asking the Minister and his Cabinet colleagues if they would take a look at some of these different tax initiatives and use some imagination to that effect and see if we could use that process to encourage economic and business investment in the Northwest Territories, rather than having to always look at tax initiatives to raise revenue.
It concerns me simply because at some point we're going to hit a threshold where you won't be able to afford to sustain social program costs, unless you continue to increase taxes. That's my concern in the long term, is if you don't address and readdress our expenditure problems, then I don't think we have the ability if I was to follow your chronology of events and your many different statements to that effect, Madam Chair. Not that I'm opposing your tax initiative, but I'm always trying to encourage looking at other ways to try to raise new levels of investment in the North and the way we do it. I think that's the key here. How do we continue to ask industry to come north if we continue to go against what we call the economic freedom and prosperity and allowing different industries to come north and invest in exploration and a number of other things?
Another thing that rightly concerns myself and the people who advise me accordingly is the fact that we should try to work on skill development, and I raise this in the context of an article that was in the Edmonton Journal. I think we need to combine some kind of a corporate tax culture with education and trying to produce our own skilled labour force. I think if we don't do that, then somewhere along the line, it will impact upon your ability to increase the payroll tax, and that's certainly one of the things we can somehow at this moment or in the very near future give further thought to.
One other thing I would like to do is speak briefly to having this mandate built into the joint parkland committees so we have some idea of what we're going to do in the long term. Certainly my idea is to work with yourselves in trying to develop a system where rewarding spending money in the territory should be afforded to all levels of industry, whether it be diamonds, oil and gas, or the...(inaudible)...sector.
One last comment I would like to make, Madam Chair, in the context of this bill, I still think we need to look at a tax credit versus one where we offer grants and other tax incentives to try to promote our northern economy. With that, Madam Chair, I want to thank you for allowing me to speak to the bill. Thank you.