Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me just say that we never have government growth just for the sake of growth. I don't know anybody who's ever put that argument forward to us and saying give me more staff just for the sake of more staff. We put the staff in positions where we feel they can help us in our government objectives. Those are shared with the Members and that's the purpose of our budget debates. So, Mr. Speaker, we're prepared to defend every position that we put in government. If we're not able to defend it successfully, we'll remove it from the budget.

Mr. Speaker, there isn't another government, possibly with the exception of Nunavut, who spends as much on the subsidies to residents as we do. Mr. Speaker, let me say that there is over $6,000 a year per resident that is lost to us in resource revenues. It goes to the federal government. We don't see it back. That's why resource revenue sharing, Mr. Speaker, has to be an important piece. That's worth at least $6,000 per resident that we don't see. That will continue to be our top priority. Of course, government spending is an issue to us all the time, as is reducing transportation costs and so on. But the big one is to get the money that is earned in the North to stay in the North to help our people here. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.