Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the two levels that we come on in the 15th Assembly is, one, we are faced with a problem and that is we don't have enough revenues to run the existing level of programs and services. We've committed, and in the budget address I have committed and laid out the fact that we've found $10 million through this existing fiscal year and that we are going forward looking for another $20 million in the upcoming fiscal year and a further $20 million. So we are going through the exercise of restraint in the sense of trying to limit the growth of the Government of the Northwest Territories. At the same time, we are getting requests for continuing programs that have either sunsetted or a requirement to enhance or add new programs to the level of service we deliver in the Northwest Territories. So trying to find a balance in that is a difficult one, and it's difficult as Finance Minister to try to find a balance of either restraint measures or trying to find new ways of spending existing dollars we have.
The Member is correct; when you take in our capital program, we take in over $1 billion annually. That's a large amount of money for the Northwest Territories. One of those reasons, as the Member has touched on, is the cost of doing business in the North. So it's not without serious thought and consideration as we put these initiatives forward for some new revenue, but without that, Mr. Chairman, we end up getting hit from both ends. One if we aren't seen to be doing our part through the eyes of the federal government when it comes to the formula financing situation, we are penalized. On top of that, we continue to deal with existing growth and having to try to scale that back. The exercise in the 13th Assembly started with major reductions right from the start and by the time division came, I think numbers were provided to Members what our workforce was like. We continue to do that through the geographic tracking cost exercise that I have just recently signed off and gave to Members for their information.
Yes, we have a number of initiatives going forward and we have to look at all areas to see where we can come up with the savings required to ensure that we end up having a balanced budget. Thank you.