Thanks, Mr. Chairman. Just to reiterate some of my earlier comments on Bill 10, and I appreciate my colleague Mr. Abernethy’s take on the dividend and what it means to people, but from the way I look at it, I was looking for an opportunity for the government to set aside money that would eventually end up in the pockets of our residents so that they could help offset the high cost of living, it would help attract potential employees, and it would give the residents across the territory a sense of us all being in this together. Instead of the government hiving off 5 percent as it sees fit after the initial 20-year period to do with what they want with the 5 percent share to go to programs and services, but it just evaporates into government largess and it doesn’t end up, like I said, in the pockets of our residents where I think
we should have been going with this bill. But, again, it’s a step in the right direction.
The regulations and everything that is associated with that will be worked out. There might come a day where that actually does happen. It’s a ways off, but again, it’s like we’re opening a savings account but we don’t have any money. It’s a weird situation for us to be looking at this legislation, although I think the vehicle is right, it’s just the fact of the matter is right now we have no money to put aside into this savings account, and Mr. Beaulieu has some very good observations on the needs that are out there in the small communities and the fact that it would be kind of strange for the government to take $10 million, if we had it, and put it into this fund when we all know there are pressing social needs out there in almost all of the communities across the Northwest Territories. So, again, this is going to be good when we’re flushed with cash, but right now we’re not.
Again, I’m going to have to support it because I think it has to be the vehicle that is there that gets us started on saving some money for the future, which I think is a prudent thing to do and the right thing to do. With that, thank you, Mr. Chairman.