Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The tourism industry is a very dynamic and dramatic one around the world, and here in the NWT, Mr. Speaker, we have incredible opportunity and potential to advance this industry to diversify our economy. These days, though, this is an industry under siege, Mr. Speaker. Our aurora visitation across the NWT is down considerably, Mr. Speaker, and in some quarters sports hunting, which is a lucrative aspect, because of the concern that we have for species, including polar bear and caribou, is also under some threat.

Mr. Speaker, tourism is an industry that has a strong and sustained level of competition not only from within the industry itself, but also among governments that compete with each other through taxation, through fees, through subsidies that attract and enable tourism to thrive in their various jurisdictions.

Mr. Speaker, we have a serious situation before us where the federal government has signalled that it is going to, through a change in its GST legislation, now add 6 percent to the cost of tourist packages that are sold outside of Canada. This is a brand new tax for this product, Mr. Speaker, and it is one that adds absolutely no value to what a visitor from outside of Canada is going to receive here and it hurts this industry because it is going to impose a brand new 6 percent cost barrier to our attractiveness and our competitiveness.

Mr. Speaker, this is something that the aurora industry, the sports hunting industry, conventions that attract people in from all over the world to the NWT is going to feel the pain from this and it is something that I know across Canada has raised a particular amount of protest and attention and we should be signalling our protest from the Northwest Territories as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.