Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I hope you've all had the opportunity this week to sample the jerky, pepperoni, sausages and the roasts all made from muskox. These products were processed in the Kitikmeot foods facility located in Cambridge Bay. I hope you all enjoyed them as I was happy to have been able to provide them. As we all know, we have also had the pleasure of sampling the local white fish and pickerel provided by Mr. Lewis, and buffalo from Mr. Gargan's road kill program. I believe the qualities of these products have clearly shown that our northern country foods can, and should, displace some of the southern imports.
Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding, in discussions with my honourable colleague from Yellowknife Centre, that he entered into a negotiated contract for the cooking of his white fish and pickerel which he so graciously supplied last week. As we all know, Mr. Lewis has raised concerns regarding negotiated contracts. I'm sure he agonized over the decision of whether or not to negotiate this particular contract. Mr. Speaker, I, as well, carefully contemplated the possibility of entering into a negotiated contract. However, in the end, my political intuition advised me against it. I wasn't quite satisfied that I could identify significant economic benefits to local individuals, with the exception of one cook. The other critical factor in my decision against a negotiated contract was the fact that a large majority of the muskox products, specifically the roast, were precooked in Cambridge Bay. Mr. Speaker, although I support the concept of negotiating a contract where significant local economic benefits will be derived as a result of the contract, I'm sorry to say that in this particular circumstance it couldn't be done. Thank you.
---Applause