Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi, colleagues. For reasons I do not understand, the Minister of ITI says now is not the time to revisit royalties, even though he is developing a new Mineral Resources Act. Instead, he would like to delay this discussion until the mines begin to close. This situation is totally unacceptable. We need the money to help close our infrastructure gap, diversify our economy, and improve the well-being of our residents.

Mr. Speaker, you may have noticed I have not mentioned either of the forthcoming taxes on carbon and cannabis. Neither is mentioned in the budget because they are not yet in place. I believe that both of these taxes should be revenue neutral. Revenue from a carbon tax needs to be invested in shifting our territory away from its dependence on fossil fuels. NWT residents are, in fact, already paying a carbon tax on freight that enters from Alberta. I have heard only a few complaints, and this is on a tax which has no benefit to the NWT at all. Likewise, the cannabis tax should be revenue neutral. There will be considerable start-up costs related to legalizing cannabis that are absent from the budget. There will also be a need for ongoing and robust public education directed to youth about the potential harmful effects of this drug, even if it is legal.

Mr. Speaker, we face declining revenue and increased forced growth in spending. Either we continue to reduce expenditures or we raise revenue. In my view, we do not really have a choice. Government has already made more than $100 million worth of cuts, yet our operating surplus will be smaller next year than last. The Finance Minister is forecasting a rebound for the final year of our term, but I am unclear what evidence that is based on or whether he is indulging in some wishful thinking.

We know now that we have additional expenses coming our way, such as completing the collective agreement with the Union of Northern Workers, meeting the increased needs of our elderly residents, and reinventing Aurora College, to name just a few examples.

It is time, Mr. Speaker, for the Finance Minister to do what he has not done before; that is, to initiate an open-ended public conversation about revenue generation in the NWT. Instead of having the Minister tell residents that all opportunities to increase revenue will not work, he needs to engage Northerners face-to-face to find solutions to this ongoing problem. The 2016 Revenue Options paper is the logical starting point for this conversation.

Once the Minister has completed this engagement, he needs to bring the results here so we can debate them and make decisions about how we are going to generate more revenue. I challenge the Minister to begin this work now so that it is ready in time for the next budget. Mahsi.