Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have concerns about the Mackenzie and Liard Rivers. My constituency is in the middle of the confluence of the Liard River and the Mackenzie River. I was raised along the river and am very concerned about the river. About three years ago there were a lot of fish floating down the river in the middle of summer. There were fish such as suckers, arctic grayling, et cetera. Over the last couple of summers, we have not been able to catch arctic grayling. We call them bluefish. Last summer, I went to all the traditional fishing spots; however, I was not able to catch arctic grayling. We, in my area, are all concerned that something is going wrong with our river.

I spoke about this in December with regard to clear-cutting in British Columbia, and the possibility of environmental damage in that area. Recently, members of the Fort Simpson Dene Band travelled to northern Saskatchewan. They found out that there is an environmental process going on for the development of five more uranium mines. Presently, there are three uranium mines operating there. I am told that the rivers in that part of the country eventually flow into our part of the country. We are concerned that any type of pollution that may be dumped into the river eventually makes its way into the Liard River or the Mackenzie River. I think everybody in the North should be concerned about this, especially the government.

Let it be known that we are concerned about it. I will be asking more questions later on in question period. Mahsi.