Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have come into this House as a Member for Kam Lake, and I have watched us creep up against our debt borrowing limit. I recognize we are a small government serving a small population spread over one million kilometers and that our fiscal resources are spread thin to build infrastructure and provide the needed services for our residents.

This Assembly, with approval from the federal government, increased our debt borrowing limit by $500 million in 2020 and put our total debt borrowing limit up to $1.8 billion. Currently, we have just over $103 million in room to borrow before we reach our limit again. With one more fire or flood or other natural disaster, we could be in a very difficult financial situation, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we have the largest territorial borrowing limit of all of the territories and unfortunately, when compared to our neighbours, our economy is heading in the wrong direction.

Over 2019-2020, while the NWT economic shrank by 10.9 percent, Yukon and Nunavut grew by 5.2 percent and 2.6 percent respectively. Our neighbours are experiencing growth in their economy through mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction.

We are a government that is made possible by federal transfers. This has provided stability to our government through the pandemic but, over the long-term, it is concerning as our economy continues to shrink.

Mr. Speaker, we cannot let the GNWT become the NWT economy. We need to make smart investments and be proactive to stimulate growth in the private sector now more than ever. Mr. Speaker, our fiscal responsibility policy is supposed to ensure long-term fiscal sustainability. And while we are in compliance with this policy, I'm concerned whether we are truly headed in a fiscally sustainable position.

The previous Assembly recognized that the GNWT's financial situation was unsustainable with not enough money coming in to pay off growing expenses and debt. And since then, we have only increased our debt, Mr. Speaker.

We entered this Assembly to find out that there was not a lot left over for the priorities of the people we each serve, and I am concerned about the fiscal position we will leave for the next Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.