Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Regretfully, I can’t support this motion on the addition to our budget. We all heard on this side of the House how we’ll be faced with up to a $30 million reduction in our budget and we have to work hard after we pass this budget to do it.

I’m concerned because these reductions are coming and we want to add more money to the budget. I would like to say that sometimes the MLAs’ jobs are not about what we’re getting or what we’re adding, it’s what we hang on to. That exercise is coming, Mr. Chair.

For example, the reduction of half a position, point five of a position, or the reduction of programming dollars as small as $10,000 has serious effects in small and remote communities. Those resources are very, very hard to come by. Even though they’re small, they have a big impact in the small communities and I represent six of them.

Members spoke about the lack of strategy, but there is a new Aboriginal Wellness Strategy in office that is going to be established in this upcoming budget.

With that alone, I can’t support any addition to the budget knowing we have cutbacks coming up. I will be voting against the motion. Thank you.