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.

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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.

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