Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On the mandate of the 18th Assembly, this government committed to lowering the cost of living in the NWT in order to improve our residents' quality of life and attract more people to make their homes in the territory. I am so surprised to see a new tax proposal, that this government will not only be failing to live up to this mandate commitment, but adding an unnecessary new burden to anyone considering relocating up North or buying a home and therefore counteracting their stated public policy proposal.

I will, of course, remind this House that when the Minister was asked about the public policy object of his proposal, he was silent on anything other than increasing revenues for government. We must ask ourselves if this is really the time to be considering placing more weight on the shoulders of middle-class families and those seeking to join the middle class who live across the territory in our tax-based communities. I, for one, certainly think not.

The median price for a home in my community of Yellowknife is $336,000. According to the CMHC activity and the resale market in Yellowknife, it was strong in 2016, and housing construction was strong, particularly in the single-family segment, which in 2016 saw a 41 per cent increase compared to the previous year. It was expected to be a stable year as well in 2017, but no data has yet been released. However, national home sales have decreased by 14 per cent from December to January of this year. The number of newly listed homes plunged 21.6 per cent from December 2017 to January 2018. This indicates a severe weakness in the market. Now is not the time to go tampering with the tax formula that would directly affect our local market at a time of admitted economic instability throughout our territory.

To speak more directly on the current land tax and fee regime, we pay through mortgage and land title fees on average much lower than those jurisdictions who have implemented a land transfer tax. I see no benefit in this, other than an unimaginative way to break the backs of my hard-working middle-class constituents in order to fill government coffers. I find this proposal unacceptable, Mr. Speaker.

Yellowknife just received a new form of taxation last year when this government decided that our tourism sector was starting to grow at a fast rate, so we should have an airport tax. Why does this government not care about financial burdens it puts on its citizens?

I do not support this tax, and I hope the Minister withdraws this tax proposal. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.