Bob Bromley

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister’s response. I recognize that this, and maybe much of this, has been inherited by this Minister, but now is the time and opportunity to address these and I appreciate the Minister’s commitment.

My last question is on the greater issue of our land legacy. We’re in devolution negotiations; we’re proposing to take down the existing federal land management program with no additional resources I know of. As we know, federal enforcement is no enforcement. So we’re inheriting this huge deficit and I called on the Minister during the last Assembly to...

Thank you for the response there, but that’s very lame, Mr. Minister. This is a First Nation we’re talking about here and the fundamental first thing we know in consultation on anything that we do involving the land is to talk immediately and thoroughly with the First Nation. So I hope the Minister will ask his staff, inform his staff on that protocol. It certainly should be routine by now.

Regarding the recommendations, MACA has admitted that the consultant plotting new lease sites did not even leave his office and walk the ground. Area leaseholders, a gold mine of knowledge and experience...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize and express appreciation for all the work of the Homelessness Coalition and especially mention Mr. Mayor Gordon Van Tighem, a resident of Weledeh.

I prefer to take the Minister’s word at face value there. I mean, I don’t say that this is a mechanism to gain control over the money, but in fact in practical reality that’s what it is if we don’t have some evidence that the work is continuing on these programs. I’m not talking about normal services; I realize that that’s the vast majority of our budget and those will be continuing as the Minister said, but we established a number of reviews and really some new looks and new directions in the last government, and I’m looking for assurance that those will continue to be developed with the...

Thanks again to the Minister for those remarks. Of course, the reason I’m focusing on diamonds is because we are already unsuccessfully spending millions and millions of dollars on trying to get a value-added industry, so I’m talking about taking some of those unsuccessful dollars and shifting them into a successful program. Again, the Minister mentioned it’s tough to do this. You know, a real partner might be Harry Winston, because, of course, if we were successful they’d be selling a lot more diamonds.

Of course, our greatest resource here is the artists. Will the Minister commit to ensuring...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up on my Member’s statement today, keeping the Minister of Transportation and ITI, ITI in this case, busy today. I’d like to start by seeking the Minister’s statement of principled support for the issue I raised earlier. I know ITI’s SEED program identifies value-added manufacturing as a priority sector for program support, so promoting value-added manufacturing is definitely government policy. In this case, does the Minister see the diamond jewellery industry as value-added opportunity and support the development of training programs in the skills of...

I appreciate the Minister’s response. On the migratory bird side of things, I think the hope of Environment Canada is that they would continue with an operating standards approach rather than having to permit things, but apparently there have been enough problems with jurisdictions that they are now contemplating a requirement for permits and so on, so they can have a more hands-on management of that. So I think there is an opportunity here to adhere to this and avoid that sort of more onerous situation.

With the Detah road, I realize it’s a capital project and I was really wondering if there...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks again to the Minister. I know that he’s onto this. Finally, in the consultation aspect of it, obviously we need to produce products that meet the needs of our sales outlets. In developing any training program we need to start modestly, perhaps one or two artists from each region or something, as the Minister said. Will the department include consultations with the retailers and wholesalers so that skills can be developed to produce a range of products that are relevant and well designed for the marketplace? Mahsi.

I look to the Aurora College calendar and I see a traditional arts program which offers a three-month hands-on course providing the skills to create and market high quality Aboriginal arts and crafts for local, national and international markets, so again, I see an opportunity here for a similar diamond jewellery program, and apparently the Minister does too. I’m glad to hear it. I appreciate that support.

Will the Minister commit to working with his colleague, the Minister of ECE, perhaps including inquiries of Harry Winston Diamonds on the development of a diamond jewellery skills program...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our overall approach to development of a secondary diamond manufacturing industry has missed the opportunity to tap into the amazing artistry of our people. By pouring millions into a northern diamond cutting and polishing industry, we’ve gone head to head with global producers. Their competitive advantage of rock-bottom wage rates and established expertise has proven difficult to beat. In contrast, we have a strong local, regional and national market for art, foreign tourists looking for northern-made, authentic NWT souvenirs and a motherlode of talented but untapped...