Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank the Minister for his reply. As the Minister is aware, and as was alluded to previously by my colleague, the Priority and Planning Committee has let the Minister and the department know that we have proposed an increase to the Mining Incentive Program, and the Minister has indicated to this House in the past that that program has been very successful and in fact over-subscribed. He has also indicated that our annual investment of $400,000 has resulted in additional $3.36 million in exploration spending in the NWT by companies and prospectors. I mean, that's some pretty powerful immediate impacts and benefits to be had by the territory, especially in boosting the economic development and support for resource development.
We're indicating that we would like to see an increase to that program, and if the Minister is to accept the increase it's going to be about $1 million in total. The way I look at it, if we were to crunch some basic numbers, that would equal an $8.4 million expenditure in exploration and spending. So I don't know that I would put the Minister on the spot as it relates to will he accept that at this point, but I certainly want it to be on the record to let the Minister know that this is the reason why we're standing by this increase to this particular program. It's clearly a successful one. The Minister even alluded earlier that for every $1 spent in exploration there's a return of $1.50 or more.
We did hear also down at Roundup that, you know, the Yukon and Nunavut's exploration expenditures have gone up significantly in the last couple years, and ours in fact has gone down. It's this kind of contribution to exploration that we think can have some immediate benefits and some immediate effects on our economy, so I just want to put that on the record.