Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, and I welcome that answer because that now leads -- or I should say dovetails into the next one is part of that efficiency in revisiting the work that they do and examining the overall cost of government, we also have to think about the burden on the taxpayer hence the question is are they looking at eliminating the fees of particular services where it costs more to provide the service than it actually does in the sense of the process of what the fee is worth? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions will be going to the Premier about the culture of Cabinet, not specific to any one department because this crosses multiple departments. So specifically to the Premier, Mr. Speaker, my question is about cost of living and what type of direction is he providing to the Ministers at the Cabinet table to find ways to do business either more efficient or smarter, I guess could be the same way of looking at it, but what direction is he providing his Cabinet colleagues to provide the efficiency culture at the Cabinet table when it comes to cost of living? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to talk about cost of living and how it impacts all Northerners, especially from the side of this particular House, my colleagues and I, where we work together and we share in some of the collective burden talking about these issues and sharing them with the government about what Northerners struggle.

Mr. Speaker, cost of living isn't just an individual issue, it's a territorial issue. And if anything, I'd certainly identify it as a crisis that needs to be a hallmark of this Assembly where we chip away and find ways to make lives not only better but just certainly more affordable. Mr. Speaker, you know, if you live in Yellowknife as an example, you're paying at least 30 cents per kilowatt. You know, you can say, well our tax burden is different than other places like Ontario. But when you're paying 10 or 12 cents a kilowatt, you know, there is a huge disparity in the sense of the challenges Northerners get through day to day. So our tax burden may not be the same but that said, our burden on getting through the day to day is certainly not comparable to anywhere else in Canada.

Mr. Speaker, this touches the lives and families of everyday Northerners. So whether you live in Tsiigehtchic or you live in a Tu Nedhe riding, trying to put food on the table and you're always worrying about the shrinking dollar to reach that goal of feeding your family, taking care of them, or even simply buying birthday presents and, you know, kitchen table economics may not seem a lot or it may not be on the attention of this government, but the fact is it's on the attention and the eye of every one of our community members here working together.

Mr. Speaker, I hear whether you're in Inuvik that power bills are outrageous. I hear that whether you're in a Tlicho community that they have to make strong burdensome choices that families should not have to face by themselves. But there's also the hidden costs of the cost of living that we tend not to spend a lot of time on. You know, such as not being able to participate in curling or hockey, which we all know is certainly a pride of most Northerners here, or being able to afford to buy skis for their kids so they can get out and do these types of things or, heck, engage in other types of social activities that mean so much.

Mr. Speaker, the cost of living affects us more than just the power bill. It affects us as who we are and who we identify as people of the North. Mr. Speaker, I'll have questions for the Premier on this particular subject. Now, he'll have the idea of maybe or the excitement of passing it on to the Finance Minister, but my questions will be more about what type of general government policy he's going to extend to his Ministers to make sure that they are working as hard as they can on this burden to help support all Northerners on this crisis. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I appreciate the question from the Member just to further clarify. It does not. This guidance has been -- this guidance is offered and given by the independent review committee and passed on to the Assembly for final direction.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Member. I believe if I understand it correctly, most of this is set by the independent commission and given the direction to the Assembly on that. If I need a further -- there is maybe one further comment provided by our clerk who can elaborate. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for the question. I believe if I have it correctly, the change is to bring consistency over a five-year period that reflect the consumer price index. If it went year by year, it would be influenced by major spikes, be it up and down, therefore this brought longer-term consistency. I look to the -- I look to the clerk for maybe some further explanation beyond that.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, to my left is the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Rutland; and, to my right is deputy clerk, Ms. Wickens.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to speak to Bill 1, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, in my capacity as a Member of the Board of Management.

In the previous Assembly, changes were made to the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act to adjust pay by the average percentage increase or decrease in the consumer price index for Canada in a period of five years. This bill aligns the maximum amounts allowed annually for Members' expenses to the same consumer price index to make sure the act is uniformly using the same measurements. That concludes my remarks on Bill 1. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 8.2(7) and to have Bill 1, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council, moved to the Committee of the Whole for consideration later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.