Mahsi cho, Madam Speaker. Today, I would like to talk about financial security and the high cost of living in the Northwest Territories. Last week, on Friday, February 28, 2020, the NWT Bureau of Statistics released a report on the state of financial security for residents of the NWT. The findings were based on the results of the 2019 NWT Community Survey. Overall, the results were pretty bleak, in my opinion, for many people across the territory.

Madam Speaker, 20 percent of households, that's one out of every five households across the NWT, have reported they had difficulties in making ends meet for their household expenses in terms of transportation, food, clothing, housing, and other expenses. The data also states that 23 percent of households reported that they were either "often" or "sometimes" worried about having enough money for food at any given time over the previous 12 months.

Madam Speaker, we as a Legislature need to start addressing these issues, and better sooner rather than later because, as I've said once already in a previous Member's statement, there are many folks across the NWT who live on very tight and fixed budgets. The results of this survey only confirm what I've said before.

Madam Speaker, there are no simple solutions to reducing the cost of living for our people. This is a multi-faceted issue that will need discipline and political will to properly addressed them and overcome them. This daunting issue will be addressed with a whole-of-government approach, starting first with the home, with prudent budgeting of household finances; followed by actions by local leaders, businesses, and us as legislators.

You've seen the like in news reports before, about the high cost of foods and stuff. I would love to see a show like the Price is Right come up here and to really highlight how much our food costs. I would like to see the Price is Right to go up to Tulita and say, "Oh, my god. There is a watermelon here. It cannot be $40 for a watermelon," just to drive home the point that a lot of us are trying to make. It's just too much to make ends meet for a lot of our residents, and I am hoping we can do that.

In closing, Madam Speaker, our goals must be simple, measurable, and achievable: lower costs of living, keep people in the North, and aim for people to thrive and not just to survive. Mahsi cho, Madam Speaker.