Mahsi, Madam Chair. When the carbon tax came into effect -- I'm not sure what year it was, but I think it was after industry was well established, all the mines were already in place. So anything there may have been grandfathered. The tax was set up to -- well, supposedly to penalize the large emitters, large industries. But what we've seen since, from that time, that's not what was actually happening because we got some numbers back from our research in our committee meetings that the large emitters were getting 72 percent of their dollars back and that kind of, like, defeats the whole purpose of what the carbon tax was all about. It's befuddling. Like, why did they -- why did they bother with it to begin with because the people that are actually getting hurt are the little people up in the Northwest Territories, think they did that brush, you know, with the territories and the provinces without really considering the implications to the Northwest Territories, and to the three northern territories. The large emitters are really winning in this instance, and we're not. Even though they dangle the rebates in front of people -- I think the last numbers I think I got was like $546 per person per year. That's just chump change, you know. Even I would put out a press release to -- you know, to tell my residents not to accept it. That's not enough to cover their bills.

A couple years ago the diesel, it was over a dollar. Now when I go to fill up my tank, I'm over $2, not as much as the residents up in Nunakput but we're still over $2. Now we've got this escalating sliding scale that we're looking at where it's going to increase every year, the carbon tax. And I don't think the diesel fuel will ever go down, neither will our power bills. And also it truly affects the trucking industry which delivers all our groceries and goods. So we don't know where we're really going.

This carbon tax is really hurting us. The emitters are the ones that are gaining. Large emitters are gaining, and our government has never ever said, hey -- never cried foul. And I don't understand why they didn't cry foul in that regard. There was no fairness, the large emitters getting their money back, yet the little guys are getting the full brunt of the tax. There's no fairness in that. Our government should have been yelling, kicking, and screaming in parliament. You needed to go there. You're saying, well we just only got one Member of Parliament. Well, you would have had many more voices if you were down there busting down those doors in parliament, and you got seven Cabinet Ministers and seven voices and that's not what's been happening.

We need to send a message to the federal government that we don't agree with the carbon tax and by us not accepting to move ahead with the carbon tax should be sending that message to them that we don't accept any increases to the carbon tax. That's a big message. You know, when you send that message and we all -- we're all together in this, that's a loud voice to tell them that we do not agree with this carbon tax, especially on our residents up in the northern parts of Canada where the cost of living is higher than any place in the south. Having said that, Madam Chair, I will not be supporting the carbon tax as is. Mahsi.