Thank you, Madam Chair. I have thought about this expenditure of these funds, and initially, I had said that, when it came to this road, I had no interest in it whatsoever, but at the same time, I reflected on that, and I don't look at this as an infrastructure project versus people. What we have to look at, we have to look at it as a balanced approach to growing the NWT. The NWT, right now, we need an economy. Right now, besides the government, our main economy really is mining, and we know that it's going to end at some point. The diamond mines might end there, but something else might take its place.
I still believe that we have to support our education system, our health system, our public housing requirements, but we also have to support the business sector. When you look at the money that comes into the Northwest Territories, over a billion of that goes into health, goes into education, and goes into housing. If you take a look at, really, what goes into the business or the economic side, it's very little. I want to make sure, when we go forward, that it is balanced. I know that we have different opinions here with some of us, but that's okay. That's what I like about it, that we hear everything.
In saying that, one thing that my colleague had mentioned is that the jobs are going to come from the South to do this work. The money is going to go south, and it's up to us to make sure that doesn't happen. We have to make sure that anybody doing work for the GNWT has to have a stake in the Northwest Territories. They have to have an office here. We have to hold their feet to the fire to make sure that they hire people here. They have to have some ownership in land, buildings, and infrastructure themselves in the Northwest Territories. If we don't do that, then I would have to agree with my colleague that we don't need it. As long as the government can, you know, assure me that that's going to happen, then I have no problem allowing the expenditure to go through.
I guess, the motion that is before us right now, I won't be supporting it for the very reason that the economy is very important to me, and there are businesses in the Northwest Territories that are struggling and there are people who are struggling. We have to make sure that we have a diversified economy, and that means looking at all aspects of it. Thank you, Madam Chair.