Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This week, in recognition of Small Business Week, I've been speaking about the importance of small business. Small businesses are important everywhere, in any economy, but even more so in the NWT. Businesses in our communities face unique challenges related to high costs, large distances, and small markets. Yet, our communities are full of business success stories, and we all know a healthy small business environment is good for our communities and regions. It provides opportunities and diversification and makes our economies more robust and stable.
So what can the rest of us do to support small business? Consumers have a lot of choices these days as to where they can spend their dollars. Online shopping is pervasive and more internet sellers are established every day. That puts local small businesses at a huge disadvantage. So how can we help them compete? Each individual can do their bit, but as a government, we have the opportunity to make larger changes to the playing field. One thing we all should do as individuals and as government can be summed up very simply: buy local.
Mr. Speaker, the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce knows how important this is, so every year it promotes the local economy with the Shop YK Passport Program. We need to find ways to do the same thing at the territorial level. We must establish policy that ensures that government and industry operating in the NWT are doing the bulk of their spending and employing here, too. We can help local businesses get started, but government and industry need to be their customers as well.
Mr. Speaker, every dollar spent here is an investment in our families, businesses and communities. I encourage my colleagues, my constituents, and all the residents of the NWT to spend your money at home, shop local, and government policies much encourage the same approach across the board. For our economy, our community, and our neighbours, it's the right thing to do. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.