Thank you, Mr. Braden. The motion is on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question has been called. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley. To the motion.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have to say that this is a motion that is important to everybody in the Northwest Territories as we approach that period of time where we are going to be filling out our income tax and realizing that little bit of savings that we put together that is going to have to go to pay for the shortfall on taxes that we have to pay out to the federal government and to the territorial government. That affects everybody. That affects all of us.

Mr. Speaker, we, on this side of the House, certainly support this motion and support all of the elements of the motion. But, Mr. Speaker, we will not be voting on this motion only because this is direction to the government. Mr. Speaker, I want to reinforce that we do support this motion, but will not vote because it is direction to our government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. To the motion. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I will start with acknowledging the Premier's support of this. This was a motion that actually we started talking about very early in our preparation last week for our sessional business here. In collaboration with the Premier and the Finance Minister, we have something that this whole Assembly can support. Acknowledging that we won't see the Premier and the Cabinet voting because of this technicality of directing them to do something does not diminish the support and appreciation that we have and that I have for doing this.

Mr. Speaker, one of the things that we avoided in this was actually setting a dollar amount by which we feel this allowance should be increased. This is something that we link to our desire that our sister territories, Nunavut and the Yukon, will also come in. It is also an acknowledgement, Mr. Speaker, that, as different taxation pictures are changed or amended, there are consequences. This is something that we have to be mindful with this change. In a federal taxation, it would result in a potential reduction in payments or contributions that are made from the federal government to the NWT, so we need to be mindful that there is a consequence here.

Further to asking the Premier and the Finance Minister to work with the counterparts in the other territories is what would seem to be the need for a concerted, well-orchestrated and unified effort to get this message through to the new government in Ottawa. Some news accounts of a few days ago that would indicate that this is just not on their list, even though it has been raised by our new Member of Parliament I believe in at least the last two elections. This is not a new idea. We are going to have to link arms if we are going to get something done on this.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I would like to say that I believe that making this adjustment can be one of the most effective, simplest and direct methods of enabling every Canadian who is living in a high-cost jurisdiction to see some recognition from the national government, from Canada, that there is a consequence, a cost, to living in northern Canada, and that it is something, in the interest of sovereignty and of making the very best of the opportunities that are up here, for northerners and for Canada. this is a very strong and positive thing that can be done and should be done for northerners, for the rest of Canada to take on, recognizing that this is an increment that makes sense, that is sustainable and that would be good for northerners and good for Canada. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. To the motion. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, will be supporting this motion in its entirety only because it is about time that our federal government recognizes, once again, that the costs, indeed, are that much higher here in the North. Yellowknife, of course, is impacted quite a bit, but even more so in the smaller communities. A lot of the bigger costs are as I spoke about and continue to speak about and how it is due to transportation and fuel costs. It has a huge bearing on it lately, as well. If there is a way of putting money back into our northern residents instead of taking it out, I think this is one of the ways that our federal government is going to recognize that. There will be more money for our residents in order to run their households in the smaller communities.

I would like to be very supportive of ongoing annual indexing that it speaks about in the motion. If that was in place the first time instead of them just enabling legislation to give us the northern residency deduction in the taxation act back in 1991, our indexing, it would have helped a bit. It would have helped a lot, actually. I think the estimate said that if it was indexed, we would have been around $6,800 for a northern residency deduction if they indexed it from 1991.

That is something that should have been in there. I would like to see it brought up again with our federal counterparts as they deliberate their new budget shortly, or in their term at least, Mr. Speaker. With that, I am very supportive of this motion. I look forward to its passage. I look forward to our honourable Premier carrying this torch to Ottawa along with many of the other needs and requests that are specific to the North that will help us improve the lives of our people and our communities. Mahsi cho.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. To the motion. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said earlier today in my Member's statement, since 1988, our cost of living, according to the Canada Statistics, has risen 147 percent. Mr. Speaker, that means if you could have bought a can of Coke in 1988 for a dollar, it would almost cost you $1.50 for that same can of Coke, Mr. Speaker. That is a shave for the cost of living. Mr. Speaker, this motion is about getting real money into the pockets of our residents, so we shouldn't be laughing or scoffing on any side of this House on this matter, Mr. Speaker. Everyone should be lending a helping hand regardless of Cabinet, if they want to sit there, make fun or joke about this issue while we are trying to raise...This side of the House is trying to lift this issue forward and say we need to do real solutions. This is a real effort here to get real money into every taxpayer's pocket who has to pay for oil, rent and everything. This affects every family.

Mr. Speaker, Yellowknife used to be known as one of the most expensive cities in Canada, but it has been quickly replaced in the most recent years by Fort McMurray. Mr. Speaker, the cost of living in Yellowknife is horrendous. Yes, we are blessed with some nice rates when it comes to pay but, Mr. Speaker, it is just deplorable the way it costs to buy a home in this town. We need ways to help offset those costs. This demonstrates, Mr. Speaker, that we are doing something. This demonstrates today that we are not sitting on our hands and watching the cost of living skyrocket with just sitting in silence. So, Mr. Speaker, I will be supporting this motion; a real motion that hopefully will make real differences to the residents of our Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. To the motion. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I, too, will be supporting the motion that is before us today. I will get back to a few things I mentioned during my Member's statement as a reason why I support this motion. Obviously, I am in favour of tax credits. This is one way I think that the federal government and our

territorial government can realize that we can give people who want to live here or relocate here an advantage for coming north and living in the North. I think, as I mentioned, arctic sovereignty is a big issue nowadays. It is important that we try to attract and retain people to live here.

The other big reason is the increase is overdue, in my mind, Mr. Speaker. In 1988 and again in 2003, figures and statistics will clearly show that the Northwest Territories tax filers paid more federal income tax as a proportion of total income than the average Canadian did. If that doesn't tell us that this deduction increase is long overdue, then nothing else will, Mr. Speaker. I would encourage everyone to support this motion and to work with our other two sister territories to get this on the agenda in Ottawa and to support our new Member of Parliament, Mr. Bevington, in his pursuit to have this increase. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. To the motion. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I, too, wish to speak in favour of this motion. Following what my colleague from Hay River South said, I do believe that a motion like this is an important statement. It is a formal motion coming out of an elected body of a territory in Canada. It is a message to the new federal government. It is a multi-partisan pan-territorial message to the federal government that is very specific. It is a message to the new MP for Western Arctic, Mr. Bevington. It is sort of an assignment we are asking him to undertake. He has already made a commitment to do that, but, certainly, we are putting some wind behind him so he knows that he has the support of this House with respect to this issue. It is also a message to the Premier to work with the other territorial Premiers to push this agenda. It is also a message to other northern MPs, of course, because we know that this cannot be achieved without the support and help from everyone. I think it is an issue that has the consent and support of everyone in the North. I am very optimistic that this will go a long way in pushing this forward in what is assumed to be a short time of this government as this being a minority government.

Mr. Speaker, I believe this is a motion that speaks to our desire in this Legislature to do something to help with the high cost of living and doing business in the North. We are asking the federal government to take a few million dollars less from our income tax, which I know they are not going to miss at all because they are just not going to miss it. It is just so little, but it will make a huge difference for everyone in our territory.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Braden mentioned earlier that we are reluctant to give a figure on how much the increase the reduction should be. I think the Member's statement earlier stated quite clearly that almost everything here, whether it is fuel, water and sewer, oil and gas, housing, everything is at least 30 percent higher. I think 30 to 50 percent of it. I think water and sewer was about 90 percent higher. I don't think it is far beyond being reasonable to suggest that it should go at least up to $8,500. That is about 30 percent, about a half an increase. Given that, about 50 percent increase from what it is now. Given that there has not been any kind of increase since 1991, that is a good figure for the federal government to work on. With that, Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to support this motion. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. To the motion. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to speak in favour of the motion. I don't think that this increase in the tax credit would be the be-all and end-all. I don't think people will look at it and say I think I will move to the Northwest Territories so I can get a tax credit. However, it is one thing in what should be a number of things which could make the cost of living, and living in the North, easier.

Not so long ago, one of the diamond companies decided to forfeit the deduction that they would take from the paycheques of their employees if they flew them from southern Canada to the mine. I think it was $250 for a round trip, but they decided to do away with that. So not only was that a distance end of people to live in the North, that was actually taking northern families, like living in Tlicho communities and work at a diamond mine, they were looking at southern Canada and the suburbs of Edmonton and going, hey, this is cheaper for us to leave the North. Pretty soon, it is not only a matter of attracting to the North, it is trying to keep the people who were born and raised here to live in the North. This is just one small piece in what needs to be done to make living in the North more affordable. I will certainly be in support of it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. To the motion. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Villeneuve.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I rise, also, to offer my support for the motion for the very fact that my colleague Mr. Ramsay stated, and various other colleagues, that it is an old policy. It is 15 years old. It is due for some change. I think it is right around the time when the Liberals took over government that no changes happened.

---Applause

Now that we have a new government in Ottawa, I think that there is a good chance that we could realize some unprecedented changes and some requests that the territorial governments, Nunavut and Yukon, come together and push at the national level. I think we will get a better response given the new government that we have in place in Ottawa.

I don't think that the changes, like the northern residency deduction, would have any real significant consequences on our negotiation process with resource revenue sharing and devolution and on the federal transfer initiative that we are going for. I think the change is very insignificant. It is only going to be beneficial for northerners. I think that would make, on a national level...I know that the Conservative government was stressing during the campaign that they want to strengthen rural Canada and they recognize the remoteness and the uniqueness of Northern Canada and that the hardships and the high cost of living that we live with. I guess any small, positive change like this for northerners will be regarded for

northerners and by northerners as a really positive step to addressing the high cost of living in the NWT. I think that it is something that this government should really adamantly pursue and look forward to resolving before the end of this sitting. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. To the motion. I will allow Mr. Braden some closing comments to the motion. Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The support demonstrated across the chamber today indicates this is something that we are all committed to. The Premier and the Finance Minister can continue to count on our support. I would hope that as they do our bidding and talk to their counterparts in the Yukon and the Nunavut, those assemblies, too, will come behind us, our Members of Parliament, that we will see this very long-overdue and progressive thing come into reality. I welcome the vote, Mr. Chair.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. To the motion.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

---Applause

Motions. Before we go on, colleagues, I would like to ask you to join me and I am sure our honourable Finance Minister in welcoming to the House his wife, Shawna, and kids Mitchell and Samuel.

---Applause

First reading of bills. Second reading of bills. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Weledeh, that Bill 20, An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act, No. 2, be read for the second time. Mr. Speaker, this bill decreases the general corporate tax income tax rate effective July 1, 2006. Thank you.