The federal government will eliminate its deficit in three years' time, says Treasury Board president Tony Clement.

Clement, in Whitehorse on Monday and today, gave a keynote speech to members of the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce yesterday.

He delivered his speech at the Gold Rush Inn and spent the evening with Yukon MP Ryan Leef at a food bank charity fund-raiser.

"We received a strong mandate from Canadians to eliminate the deficit, amongst other things,” said Clement. "People want to see a return to balanced budgets.”

The government's plan to save around $4 billion in just a few years?

Cut the fat from federal departments themselves.

Clement explained the government has asked 67 organizations to review their operating expenses and report back to him before next year's budget.

Each department will have to come back to the Treasury Board with two savings scenarios: one that would cut five per cent of the department's total spending, and one that would reduce it by 10 per cent.

Clement explained that the questions each department are to ask themselves are: are we spending on the right things and getting intended results? Is there a way we can do this better?

Is there a way we can continue to deliver high-quality services in a better way? And, can we modernize the way we do business?

"This is really no different than small business or families do each year,” said Clement, an Ontario MP.

"They sit around the boardroom table, or sit around the kitchen table and do their annual budgets.”

This type of departmental spending review has not been completed in 15 years.

"Failure is not an option,” said Clement.

He assured the luncheon crowd that the government will not be cutting any transfers to the territory or to individuals, like unemployment insurance or old age security.

"Our challenge is to find the savings in the $80 billion of spending by the federal government itself, rather than the $200 billion that's allocated to individuals or governments,” he said.

Clement was unable to tell the media after his speech where he thought what departments might be affected by the cuts in the Yukon.

"I wouldn't want to speculate on that,” he said.

He did, though, say the government is trying to be "fair and equitable across the regions.

"Everyone will have some sort of impact,” said Clement. "But the goal is it won't impact most Canadians' every day life and what they expect out of essential services out of the government, like health and safety.”

At the lunch event, Clement also announced federal funding for two chamber of commerce initiatives.

The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor), for which Clement is the minister, is giving the chambermore than $650,000 for the Yukon Business Development Program.

CanNor is also helping fund the organization's Partnering for Success program.

By Nadine Sander-Green

Star Reporter