"Are not the ordinary people of the NWT entitled to the same kind of treatment as the bankers and the money men?" asked Thebacha MLA Michael Miltenberger of Deputy Premier Goo Arlooktoo when the house resumed.

The meeting also irked a number of non-business observers interested in the budget.

"The next time we come here we'll wear business suits," offered one woman.

"It's for bankers and Northern business leaders, it ain't for us," said Ben McDonald of the Union of Northern Workers.

But Todd bridled at Miltenberger's suggestion that the meeting was indicative of the government's two-tiered approach to the people of the North.

"It was a private discussion in which I was introducing some of the bankers to the business community to enhance and support the policies we're bringing forward."

Among those policies are three initiatives designed to spur investment in the North.

The Northwest Territories Tax Credit Program will provide tax breaks to those who invest in Northern businesses.

The government also hopes to enter into partnerships with private developers to develop infrastructure, which it would then lease for government use.

The government is anticipating these partnerships will allow for an additional $100 million in infrastructure development in each of the next two years.

The business community welcomed the budget, and initiatives contained in it.

"I think it's very positive," said Yellowknife businessman Tony Chang. "I think the (public-private partnership) initiative is a very good move. I think the tax credit will ... encourage Northerners to invest in the North rather than sending their RRSP dollars down south."

Another city businessman, Alan Vaughan, agreed with Chang's analysis, saying the government has brought "a sense of stability and confidence to the economy."

McDonald said the budget, particularly the private-public partnership initiative, continues a government initiative to "dismantle and destroy," the public sector.

The budget does contain a few new social initiatives.

Starting in July, the NWT Child Tax benefit will provide a minimum of $330 per child annually for families with incomes lower than $20,921.

It is also adding $1 million to adjust the rates paid for food within the income-support program. Those rates have not changed since 1992.

But those initiatives were a drop in the bucket compared with what's needed, said community services leaders.

Social activist and executive director of the Yellowknife Women's Centre Arlene Hache said the budget was more of the same.

"Every budget presented in the NWT in the last 25 years is oriented toward business, though every year they say our children are our most valuable resource."

Hache said this budget makes the same mistake as the rest in assuming the solution to social problems is getting a job.

"The government consistently pretends to target poverty through supporting special business interests," Hache said.