Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think the exercise on this budget is, the intention in the end of this process is to create a very conducive climate to ensure that we have a very invigorating economy, so that we create opportunities for that, at the pan-territorial level, at the same time right down to the community level. We’re trying to create a very good climate so economic development and investment could happen and so people at the local level have opportunities and take advantage of them.

One of the things that I’ve always emphasized is that in order for us to reach that point, this government needs to at least be in a position to be supportive of the various land claims and self-government negotiations that are happening. I think it’s a given that there are three parties to the negotiations and fundamentally there has been a long-standing bilateral relationship between First Nations, plus with the federal government. At this point, as you kind of move towards a trilateral process, governments need to do all they can to ensure that at the end of the day there are very amicable and equitable arrangements in terms of lands and resources and self-government arrangements. In that sense I think governments have to be supportive in trying to encourage a level

of certainty here in the Northwest Territories in order for economic development to happen. I emphasize that.

The other matter is, again I’ve been consistently trying to profile communities in terms of the dynamics at the local level. I think we all come from small communities at one point or another, but I think that the dilemma that communities face here in the North is rather different because, I mean, for one, we’re trying to make it our home, and two, we’re trying to raise our families, and three, we’re trying to ensure that it’s a place we can live and continue to live and ensure that the children that come after us enjoy at least the investments that we make today. Community economies, I think sometimes we neglect to perhaps highlight it and in terms of how local businesses play an integral role in the economy of the Northwest Territories. They provide a service to consumers at the same time that they create jobs and opportunities for the local economy. At the same time, we’re still going through almost like a passage of a very land-based culture to at the point where most people are living in the communities. We’re at kind of a crossroads where we’ve come from very deep traditional roots and beliefs and now the younger generation seems to be embracing the wage economy of trying to take advantage of the very material things that they see on TV. In that respect, I think there’s a higher expectation of a better living condition for people at the community level and I think we need to try to at least be in a supportive position so that communities become have communities, not just to persist in the outskirts of larger centres. There has to be an equal share between have communities and have-not communities.

For those reasons, which kind of leads me to tourism, I think what we’re doing is good, but what’s concerning me is that we seem to be really always pitching that yes, the potential is there, the potential is there, it’s great. We’ve got the northern lights. We’ve got TV and documentaries profiling the North. Yes, I think we need to do more. You know, $4 million is good but you compare ourselves to the Yukon and yes, yes, they’re right next door to a larger American state, but the fact of the matter is that we’re trying to create local economies and local opportunities, and the best logical thing, of course, is tourism. We need to really try and develop that sector of the economy.

Economic strategy, as I’ve pointed out consistently, yes, the diamond industry or the mineral industry has been very integral in laying the foundation of the economy that we enjoy at this point. I think we need to make efforts to try and diversify our economy so that each sector, whether it be tourism, manufacturing, fisheries, you know, we develop it to the fullest and we try to take advantage of it so that we bring equal opportunities to all levels of people who live and make the North their home. If we

could do that then, of course, we have done our homework and we’re delivering a very good service and doing what is right for the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.