Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Being a Friday morning, I also had the privilege doing a job shadow/teaching experience at the Weledeh Catholic School on the afternoon of May 10th. Mr. Speaker, this was the most pleasurable experience I've had in many years. As you are aware, I have spent many years teaching youth across the Northwest Territories, both wilderness and survival skills. Mr. Speaker, what I did find out from sharing our stories is how do we know each other's regions, communities and way of life, although we claim to be true northerners? Since this is a nice, Friday morning, I wanted to reflect back on the many, many stories I have listened to during the course of my lifetime from my own elders back home as I grew up in Aklavik and on to Inuvik.

In my reply to the opening address, I dedicated a sentence to those who were not indigenous to the North but came north to follow the immense opportunities that are afforded to newcomers. Mr. Speaker, many Members here will not recognize the names, but it's important to speak well of our elders who do tell stories of explorers, trappers, traders and those who immigrated to the east side of the Mackenzie Delta.

So to my friend, Buster McLeod, thank you for educating me on the important role of the now deceased who helped develop the history of our small region. The names he has given me are: Billy Phillips and Mrs. Leyland, Earl Mirander, Old Tom Throne, the Werville brothers, Pierre Tazzi, Lalu, Big Rock, Pierre Coyen from Loche Creek, Pascal Baptiste, Albert Ross, Adolf Koziak, Jim Harris, Jack Billips and the Norris family at east branch.

Mr. Speaker, the members of the pioneers of the east branch of the Mackenzie Delta bring back fond memories for those elders who remain with us today. On behalf of myself and those who participate, I would also like to thank both the teachers at Weledeh and St. Joe's Catholic schools for inviting me to share the history of the Mackenzie Delta. I also look forward to going back on June 14th and 15th to teach more about the Mackenzie Delta and the North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My written question is addressed to the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

1. Would the Minister provide a detailed explanation specifically to the following he quoted in his Return to Oral Question 23-15(3)? "In addition, this proposal included another significant change in that senior's households would now be assessed rent."
2. Would the Minister also verify if this is a major policy shift from where seniors, who do not now pay any rents to where there is contemplation to reintroduce rents to seniors?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

----Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Rarely do I have the opportunity to recognize family members in the gallery, and today I have the pleasure of recognizing Mr. Brian Campbell, my brother-in-law; my nephew, Josh, and his companion, Rose. Welcome to the gallery.

----Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I would be glad to oblige that request. I am going to ask again to the Minister responsible for seniors if he is willing to communicate to the Seniors' Society to try to alleviate some of the fears that the seniors' households would be now assessed rent based on the statement in the returns to oral questions? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I only have one question today. It is in regard to the return to oral question by the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation. He stated that significant change in housing or households would now be assessed rent. Mr. Speaker, members of our Seniors' Society should be and are concerned that this Assembly has not been made aware of any such shift in policy change where seniors' households will be assessed rent. I am going to direct my question to the Minister responsible for Seniors. Is he willing to help alleviate some of the fears that seniors' household incomes would be assessed based on a line in the reply? So I am going to ask the Minister responsible for Seniors if he has been dealing with the seniors' societies. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to follow up on the Member for Kam Lake's statement because mine is similar in context. I would like to begin my Member's statement by using a descriptive phrase we trappers grew up with. In March, as we were told by our grandparents, the weather is supposed to be roaring in like a lion and go out like a lamb. I was told this morning that my constituency in Inuvik has been the reverse this year. It came in like a lamb and it is now going out like a lion. Mr. Speaker, I raise this important issue as someone who is normally on the land, trapping muskrats, getting wind burnt, getting a good suntan at this time of year.

Mr. Speaker, there are a tremendous number of local stories told about an elder in the Mackenzie Delta during the muskrat trapping season, none of which is allowed to be retold in this Assembly. But since this is an important time of year for our trappers in the Mackenzie Delta, including my riding of Inuvik Twin Lakes, I am going to take this opportunity to send my annual muskrat trapping greetings to the following people: Edward and Jeannie Lennie, Sam and Margaret Lennie, Roger and Rose Anne, you know who they are, Big Johnny and his partner, Gilligan and Rhoda, Big Ben, just to name a few who are going to be referred to by their nicknames, Mr. Speaker. I want to leave the last for the best, and that is none other than my cousin Ian McLeod, the trapper extraordinaire in his own right. I just wanted to let the people know that I will be joining them within the next two weeks so we can trap the...(inaudible)...Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As this tax bill evolves, I will support it but I think I need to put it on the record, Mr. Chairman, that during the last couple of weeks I was raising a number of educational questions to the Minister of Finance and trying to offer some helpful suggestions and what we should do to try to develop some incentives to work alongside the Cabinet to achieve the solutions to some of the understandable problems he has. I think it's quite right, with the limited amount of information we have to ascertain whether a tax increase would be a net benefit, I think the question is always in the

back of people's minds. I think for the Fast Food Cafe in Inuvik, it doesn't differ from any other restaurant.

Nonetheless, one key comment I would like to enter into the record, whether it's a small increase or a large increase, there's still a concern out there. Again, this is an evaluation done by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, that there may be less spending by the higher income tax bracket people to purchase services and products throughout the Northwest Territories. Just a quick comment to that, I don't know if it's relative to the principle of the bill, but if you go to northern Alberta you see about 150 NWT plates on a given weekend in the larger municipalities shopping throughout the Peace region, Grand Prairie and large municipalities south.

The other one that also concerns ourselves is the fact that if this is not communicated wisely to the employable public, I believe we will have some problem recruiting highly skilled labour into the North. That's what I think we have to be very cautious of. Even the Minister expressed that in one of his presentations to ourselves through his briefings. He stated very clearly that we have to take some precautionary measures, and I agree with him. But from a comment point of view, I just wanted to make the Minister aware that I will support this bill, but I think also we need to inform the public that we are taking some precautionary measures to make sure that it doesn't increase from beyond what he is proposing. With that, Mr. Chairman, thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to exercise my right to speak to the bill. I think it's not only important for the Minister to be concerned, but myself as well that there are potential negative impacts that may

occur in our idea of industrialization in the Mackenzie Delta/Beaufort. I am not going to speak against the bill, but highlight some of the important points I have been making the last few weeks in trying to look at different tax initiatives that would help facilitate the investment we need in the Northwest Territories.

Again if I could bundle it all up together, I'm still concerned that with the way the federal government is treating us, that it still becomes one of several sovereignty issues that should be raised by this Assembly throughout the course of our tenure.

Madam Chair, also I want to make reference to the open letter that was submitted to the Honourable Joe Handley and the Honourable Floyd Roland, Minister of Finance, by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business which really establishes some of my rationale in supporting and trying to see if can attract great investment to the North through a number of different mechanisms. One of the things that interested me is they suggest perhaps eliminating the whole issue of the corporate tax or lowering it even further would go a long way in attracting greater investment to the North who, in turn, would pay more territorial income and property taxes. I ask the basic question: Has the Government of the Northwest Territories considered eliminating corporate tax as an alternative to the perverse calculation of the tax factor?

Another analysis that was provided says here, "Lowering corporate income tax is one of the best ways to allow firms to retain more of their earnings, that they can feed back into the NWT coming through new investment, jobs, lower prices, creating a more sustainable and diversified economy." That's the point I'm trying to make, Madam Chair, in asking the Minister and his Cabinet colleagues if they would take a look at some of these different tax initiatives and use some imagination to that effect and see if we could use that process to encourage economic and business investment in the Northwest Territories, rather than having to always look at tax initiatives to raise revenue.

It concerns me simply because at some point we're going to hit a threshold where you won't be able to afford to sustain social program costs, unless you continue to increase taxes. That's my concern in the long term, is if you don't address and readdress our expenditure problems, then I don't think we have the ability if I was to follow your chronology of events and your many different statements to that effect, Madam Chair. Not that I'm opposing your tax initiative, but I'm always trying to encourage looking at other ways to try to raise new levels of investment in the North and the way we do it. I think that's the key here. How do we continue to ask industry to come north if we continue to go against what we call the economic freedom and prosperity and allowing different industries to come north and invest in exploration and a number of other things?

Another thing that rightly concerns myself and the people who advise me accordingly is the fact that we should try to work on skill development, and I raise this in the context of an article that was in the Edmonton Journal. I think we need to combine some kind of a corporate tax culture with education and trying to produce our own skilled labour force. I think if we don't do that, then somewhere along the line, it will impact upon your ability to increase the payroll tax, and that's certainly one of the things we can somehow at this moment or in the very near future give further thought to.

One other thing I would like to do is speak briefly to having this mandate built into the joint parkland committees so we have some idea of what we're going to do in the long term. Certainly my idea is to work with yourselves in trying to develop a system where rewarding spending money in the territory should be afforded to all levels of industry, whether it be diamonds, oil and gas, or the...(inaudible)...sector.

One last comment I would like to make, Madam Chair, in the context of this bill, I still think we need to look at a tax credit versus one where we offer grants and other tax incentives to try to promote our northern economy. With that, Madam Chair, I want to thank you for allowing me to speak to the bill. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to make reference to the letter. They indicate that their funding to provide the essential services under the alcohol and drug program, as well as to help facilitate the issue of homelessness, has been withdrawn. I'm just going to ask the Minister if he would make a commitment to provide a detailed response to myself so I can convey that to the committee in Inuvik? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.