Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I am once again going to speak about the cost of living here in the Northwest Territories. It is an issue that all Members of this House share in addressing the concerns of the people that we represent.

Regular members passed a motion last year calling on the government to take some immediate action on the rising cost of living. This, at that time, was precipitated by the geopolitical and natural disasters that were pushing fuel costs to unprecedented levels.

The GNWT has acknowledged that it had to look in the mirror and challenge itself on its own consumption while, at the same time, offering residents incentives and programs designed to help ease the pain of these inflated prices. Prices have backed up somewhat but, as a government, we must continue to push forward with the programming and new innovative ways to cut back on consumption. It is an excellent idea to offer a break for residents servicing their furnaces, but it would make more sense to do this in the fall when people would be doing that, instead of the dead of winter, so you would have more uptake on it.

Energy prices are just part of the issue of the rising cost of living here in the Northwest Territories. The motion last year also put pressure on the government to publicly discuss their plans for dealing with the high cost of living. We have had that meeting just a few weeks ago. In my opinion, the GNWT did a great job at making a case that it is a very expensive place to live. Thanks very much, guys. No one can dispute the facts, Mr. Speaker. We need to find real solutions and take the action necessary to carry them out. Some of the ideas that I have brought forward in this House that I would like to see pursued, are such things as a permanent trust fund for all residents here in the Northwest Territories, value-added industry from the oil and gas developments like a refinery, tax credits for interest paid on mortgages, and while we are

discussing that, we should include rent as well, the exclusion of GST being paid on energy bills, tax credits for northern residency and an overall exemption for the three northern territories on paying the GST.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to discussing these issues with the Premier at the appropriate time. Thank you.

---Applause