Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the issue of the status of the business incentive policy was raised in this session last week. The Minister responded with a reference to a consultation process to determine the opinion of northern businesses surrounding the business incentive policy. I would be very interested in hearing how effective businesses feel the BIP is working and how it benefits them or not.
My initial inclination is that a tax reduction across the board to small business would actually have a more positive impact on the bottom line of small business than does the BIP. The BIP has no effect with northern business competing with northern registered business. It is an important adjustment on contracts for goods and services when northern business is competing with southern business, with the economy as heated as it is and as it is anticipated to be in the next while. The GNWT is not the same engine for the economy that it once was. In this regard, a reduced tax rate effects all profits generated by business, not just those potential earnings from GNWT contracts affected by a contract price preference margin.
Mr. Speaker, we have other ways of effecting our procurement methods to recognize northern investment and content through such things as request for proposals and negotiated contracts.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward, with interest, to what the business community will have to say about our business incentive policy versus a lower business tax rate. I will have questions, later on, how that process is going to roll out, for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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