Oral questions. Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to address the Minister of Economic Development. Last Friday, in the discussion about sending the Hon. Titus Allooloo to Japan to promote Inuit art, the discussion was about that, and Mr. Pollard made a statement saying that we are talking art; he said we are not talking crafts or handicrafts in this instance. Later on in the discussion on Economic Development, he indicated that the Japanese market was targeted for true Inuit sculpture and art, and that handicrafts and crafts were targeted for Toronto, I believe.

You know, after talking to a lot of Dene people, it is like an insult, that the decision is already made by somebody on your side to market only Inuit art. We have Dene art too, birch bark, moose hair tufting. We have art, too, on our side, and if the government is going to be spending money to send a delegation to Japan, they should also include Dene art in this situation. So I want to know if this could be done; if Dene art could be included with Inuit art when you go to Japan. Thank you.

Minister of Economic Development and Tourism, Mr. Pollard

Mr. Speaker, I did not mean to insult anybody. What has happened is that the Japanese people seem to have taken great interest in Inuit people, their culture and their art, particularly in the soapstone, Mr. Speaker. Also in prints to a certain extent, and wall hangings. So when we get a person from Japan who comes to us and says, 'We are very interested in this form of art that you have in the Northwest Territories," then we are going to supply that person with the product that he or she is requesting. When the market opens up and it is there, it is our job to do everything we can to promote that particular product that the Japanese have indicated to us that they are interested in.

So it is not as if we selectively took something there and said, "Look, this is all we have got." The approach was made to us when Mr. Mulroney was there last year. I think Mr. Patterson was there as well. Amway had taken a display over there and met with great success, and we are merely following up on that success, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like I said, we are going to be spending money sending people there, and a certain portion of the Northwest Territories are Dene. Is there a possibility to include Dene art work in this display or whatever is going to happen over there? Thank you.

Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Niimi San came to Canada, purchased $70,000 worth of carvings and also a number of wall hangings, and that is the inventory that is going to Japan, that which he owns, that he is going to put on display. We are not taking things over there. He is going to be having an art exhibition. He has purchased that stuff from the co-op already, and I was asked

to attend on behalf of the Northwest Territories. I felt it would be much better if Mr. Allooloo was there, because it is an Inuit art collection that is going to be on display and for sale, and that is our part in it. We are not putting on the display ourselves. We are merely participating as representatives of the government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Antoine.

Mr. Speaker, some of the people from here came with me to play hockey in Liard, and had an opportunity to visit the craft shop there, and you could see that the craft shop was full of art work from the Dene in that area. It is not the only community that provides art work, and there needs to be an opportunity like this, a world market, to have that type of art work exposed, and that is the opportunity I am looking for. That is what I am asking. Is there a possibility at all to have something included in there that says that we have something other than Inuit carvings in the Northwest Territories, like Dene art? Thank you.

Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, I will make sure that Niimi San is made aware of what else is available in the Northwest Territories. He has been around to all the stores. He has seen what we have available. I will reiterate that to him, Mr. Speaker. I would also remind the Member that we are sending a considerable amount of Dene art and handicrafts to Seville, and also to the store in Toronto. In Toronto, although there will be some carvings on display, that will not be the main feature. We will be looking more at Dene arts and crafts. As I say, I will make him aware of the availability and we will see what he says. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Todd.

My question is to the Minister of Economic Development. While I can appreciate that this is an entrepreneurial initiative in Japan, there is a cost attached to the territorial government. I wonder if the Minister can provide us with the anticipated costs of this joint marketing strategy of Inuit art in Japan.

Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know that one staff member from of my department is going to travel with Mr. Allooloo. Mr. Allooloo, of course, will be going. It has not been decided yet if there will be other people. As soon as we have the itinerary worked out and the budget, I will gladly provide it to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Todd.

Thank you. Can the Minister also monitor or provide us with the projected sales on an ongoing basis? In

other words, we are paying a price to go there. What are we getting back in return? What we need to know is, what kind of anticipated sales are we expecting for this venture into the East.

Mr. Pollard.

I think there has been $70,000 spent already at Arctic Co-operatives, Mr. Speaker, so I will start out with that number. I will commit to keep the House updated on how sales are going in the Japanese market. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Todd.

Last but not least, considering that we are selling Inuit art and we understand it is prestigious to send Mr. Allooloo to Japan, would we be sending an Inuit delegate from the department, or would it be someone who is not Inuit; somebody who speaks Japanese, perhaps?

Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, we are sending our director of arts and crafts along with Mr. Allooloo. I said before that we had not completely decided on who else would go. There has been a request from the Japanese that we provide two throat singers and a drummer, and I think Mr. Allooloo is working on that at the present time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.