Thank you, Mr. Chair. I find it a bit rich that my colleagues are here now excoriating the Minister for phasing in this fee increase when that was the agreement that we came to. On a $500,000 house, the increase after three years would be $350 on the land transfer. The person buying the $500,000 house would be spending an extra $350. It is my argument that if someone can afford $500,000 dollars for a house, they can afford an additional $350 for the land transfer tax.
Further, I don't want my colleagues to lose sight of the fact that this is an omnibus bill. If it is rejected, we lose the opportunity to help small landlords recover their costs, and we also lose the opportunity to give parents who are receiving child support the opportunity for a more efficient way to receive recalculation services. I would ask my colleagues to think very carefully about putting their own self-interests ahead of the interests of the people of the NWT. Thank you.
---Applause