Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, I either can do it individually or after Members are done their general comments. I'm open to either way. I think I can respond to Mr. Braden's one comment at this point.

First of all, just to say thanks for the support on a lot of the initiatives. We've worked hard as Members of the 15th Assembly to put this budget together. There were some difficult decisions that had to be made on moving forward with this, trying to bring some balance to our expenditure requirements as well as increasing our revenues. I really believe this budget puts us on a footing going forward that is much better than we've seen in the past. As well, we're moving out and reaching out into the communities to start helping them with their difficulties on the infrastructure side.

As the Member pointed out, we're estimating another banner year in the Northwest Territories when it looks at our economic growth. We're looking at the area of 10 percent for this year we're in. Tying it to the previous four years, yes, we've done very well in the Northwest Territories. But we also recognize that there are still many difficulties being felt out there by residents of the North in communities. We do have the second highest employment rate, but at the same time when you look at the difference in the North between our larger and smaller communities, we still have a fair bit of work to do and we recognize that.

As well, I'd like to thank Members for their support around the fiscal responsibility policy. That is something that I think is another area that we're showing that we as legislators for the Northwest Territories and the Government of the Northwest Territories are moving on into another area, and are more able to take care of our own fiscal picture instead of relying on the federal government setting out some mandatory limits for us. It will make this government and future governments accountable to those who elect them, as well as a Cabinet to the Members of the House.

When we look at the work that's ongoing with the equalization panel that is looking at equalization for the provinces as well as formula financing for the territories, that is an area that we, as well, are anxious about to see what details begin to flow, and we are waiting for the opportunity to once again plug in with our views of how it is worked or not worked and what should be in a formula. Should we be moving along in that area or should we be sticking to formula financing as we know it? Those are things we will have to deal with in a short time coming up. I think in that area, because it impacts all of the provinces and territories, we will see movement on that. It's in the best interest of the country to get on and bring that to conclusion in the timeline that's been set out. We're looking at 10 months. It does leave us with some apprehension as to what may be the future for our fiscal situation in the Northwest Territories. That just means that from our end, where we have control, we need to continue to be vigilant with how we deal with the dollars we have available to us.

As well, we've heard the Premier say many times, and the support of this House, is to see a successful conclusion to the resource revenue sharing negotiations that are tied to devolution. So that is something I think again, with the commitment from the Prime Minister, that has added to the work that's going to get done on it and the commitment on the part of the federal government. But it's something that we need to continue to pursue aggressively for the benefit of the residents of the Northwest Territories.

I look forward to having Members and departments go through each section of the budget and bring it hopefully to a successful conclusion when we've completed this budget process. Again, thanks for the comments and the support. I look forward to some of the questions and comments as we get into the detail. Thank you.