Good morning. Thanks, and good job on pronouncing my last name correctly.
Thank you to the committee and staff for including Northwest Territories Chamber of Commerce in these important pre-budget consultations. For today, the NWT Chamber of Commerce was asked to provide input on two specific questions. We welcome this opportunity to provide input on key northern issues for consideration by the finance committee and the pre-budget consultations.
The overall message will be fairly similar to what you've heard so far in terms of energy and infrastructure. On the first question, of what federal measures can help Canadians be more productive, I have a couple of examples. One is training and increased funding to the Aurora College to deliver an industry-led training program. That training is an immediate need for industry. Another example is the extension and expansion of the Canada-N.W.T. job grant.
In terms of mobility, transportation infrastructure is a problem. The N.W.T. represents a vast land mass with very little transportation infrastructure available to connect communities. The limited infrastructure that is available is aging and unable to support future growth opportunities, while in part contributing to the high cost of living, poor delivery of sustainable health care, and lack of socio-economic wellness.
Another example for mobility is affordable energy, which is currently non-existent in the N.W.T. as compared to more southern parts of Canada. This is one of the single largest drivers of the high cost of living for people in the north, and contributes to the stagnant productive growth in the territory, as well as limiting opportunity for its residents because the majority of their income is directed towards struggling to support basic living necessities.
The federal government's carbon tax plan is further exacerbating this cycle and is especially harmful in the Northwest Territories, where advanced technology and sustainable green energy solutions are not available and cannot be feasibly supported with the existing infrastructure. We need to see the revenue generated through any carbon tax diverted back to advancing made-in-the-north solutions to promote more sustainable energy solutions, rather than seeing those funds funnelled into unfamiliar pools.
On the second question regarding what federal measures could help Canadian businesses be more productive or competitive, again—you've probably heard this a few times now—the answer relates to the proposed changes to the small and medium enterprise tax regulations. The proposed regulations will be disastrous to small and medium-sized enterprises, despite what the federal minister is saying. Small and medium enterprises are the backbone of any diversified economy, and to propose changes that would essentially handicap them is entirely counterproductive. This is especially true in the Northwest Territories. Although our economy is augmented by the contributions of large corporations, primarily with the operating diamond mines, we are largely reliant upon ongoing contributions of small and medium-sized businesses to provide essential goods and services, as well as employment opportunities.
These same small and medium-sized businesses contribute to their local communities in all conceivable aspects, through good corporate citizenship, community social involvement, and charitable support. The owners of these businesses are not the elite one per cent that everybody assumes. These are hard-working, humble people who have worked, sometimes for generations, to build their businesses and often sacrifice their own well-being in order to keep the business afloat and generate employment during economic slow times.
In regard to the carbon tax plan, as mentioned earlier, a made-in-the-north solution is the only solution to support the carbon tax. An off-the-shelf version that may work in the southern one-third of the country will only further escalate the unsustainable costs of living and doing business in the Northwest Territories, where there are no realistic options for greener technology.
In terms of infrastructure, energy, and transportation, the Northwest Territories is a source of vast wealth to the Canadian economy. This has largely remained untapped, due primarily to a lack of dependable infrastructure. Major transportation corridors, upgrades to airports, and upgrades to underutilized hydro power are essential to promote economic development in the Northwest Territories. In many instances, the required investment to link some of these existing infrastructure projects is very minimal, but will pay dividends for generations to come. At the very least, these are nation-building projects that would further support the federal government's commitment to northern sovereignty.
Although we are grateful for recently announced financial injections from the federal government for infrastructure projects, the allocated funds are woefully inadequate to make a meaningful and long-lasting impact. We would encourage the decision-makers in Ottawa to visit the Northwest Territories and meet with key stakeholders to get an honest, first-hand view of what we're dealing with and the level of involvement required.
That's what we have. There are obviously lots of other key things that we're working on, but for a five-minute presentation, these are the highlights.