Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It has been just over a year since we entered the pandemic. It has been a year of living under orders established by the Chief Public Health Officer, orders that, for some, have limited business as usual in the NWT.
As we entered the pandemic, this government, along with the federal government, focused on addressing health concerns in order to ensure the safety of all citizens. As our borders closed, the negative impact on the economy and businesses became an immediate and harsh reality. There was little to no time for government to engage with businesses or spend months developing discussing papers on how to react. Timely decisions were needed to ensure immediate financial and in-kind support was provided to businesses that found themselves grounded and without a customer base. As businesses do every day, governments found they had to make decisions quickly, and to some surprise, they actually delivered.
Mr. Speaker, from where I sit, I sense that this government is becoming complacent and may even be starting to look at this pandemic as coming to an end, which is far from reality. Although governments have provided financial support, businesses that continue to operate will now, more than ever, require both governments to be creative with additional and continued support if survival is expected. This government is starting to roll back and eliminate some of the business supports, and I would caution that approach. As we now have somewhat of a track record and figured out how to respond in a timely manner, now is the time to engage with businesses and confirm what supports have worked, what supports need to remain in place, and what supports are required.
In saying that, it is important to remember that time continues to be of the essence in developing and implementing solutions if we expect businesses to survive. This may be as easy as getting more contracts, providing timely payments to northern vendors and contractors for goods and services purchased, or negotiating more contracts to ensure they remain in the hands of northern contractors. Whatever it is we have to do, we cannot take our foot off the gas pedal.
Mr. Speaker, this government talks about lessons learned. I would ask each Minister to consider those lessons and to build on what has worked and revise or eliminate what has not, but it has to be done quickly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
