"It recognizes the bitter pills of cutbacks have already been swallowed," added Harper.

The budget predicts the accumulated debt of the NWT at division will be $28 million. During the 1998-99 fiscal year, the government plans to spend about $2 million less than it takes in.

Those figures could be dramatically altered if a settlement is reached on an outstanding pay-equity dispute the government, and Union of Northern Workers are currently trying to settle.

The budget doesn't take into account any payout to hundreds of employees, mostly women, the union says were underpaid. The union has previously said it believes the government owes the employees at least $70 million.

Harper was among a host of Northern businessmen and bankers who attended the budget address.

During a public reception that followed the budget address, more than a few people noticed the absence of Finance Minister John Todd.

Todd spent the break in a boardroom with bankers and Northern businessmen, discussing new investment incentives.

When the assembly resumed, he and Deputy Premier Goo Arlooktoo were called to task for the private meeting.

"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.

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 a "two-tiered" approach the government is taking.

"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 similar to Registered Retirement Savings Plans 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.