Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, it's very tempting to just say yes to the question, but it's a very difficult question, Mr. Speaker, for a number of reasons. One of the things that we've recognized is that government procurement is no longer the only game in town. With mines and oil and gas, we've got a very vibrant private sector. There are businesses taking good advantage of that sector and making their livelihood that way. So the BIP isn't as relevant as it used to be.
I've had discussions with the Finance Minister about potential removal of the BIP. If we are able to remove the BIP, we know we'd save some administrative money. I know, and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business has told us that NWT businesses are interested in reduction of red tape and a more competitive taxation regime. We think we can trade that for the BIP which is no longer as compelling as it was in the past. But I'm open to discussion with businesses. We are consulting. The Chamber of Commerce is out hearing from businesses. We want to know that they think, Mr. Speaker. I think that's the important part.
What I'm not interested in is an overly convoluted, complex, additional bureaucratic regime. If we talk about ensuring that only true northern businesses with only northern employees would reap the rewards of some sort of protectionist policy, it's very obvious to recognize that we can't be policing and auditing everybody to ensure that they spend all of their time in the Northwest Territories, all of the money stays here. I don't want to add layers of bureaucracy and complexity. So I'm open to discussion. But let's keep the goals in mind: competitive taxation and reduction of the regulatory burden. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.