Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Member is correct about the lack of coordination in government for spending our own money. Many times this department finds out after the fact that a business or a partnership was trying to get some government contracts, and we get told after the fact of the difficulties that they encountered. I think it is getting better. However, there are times when we can certainly act as an advisor to a person on how to do business with the government. I would stress this department is trying to make sure that where we spend money in the Northwest Territories as a government, that we ensure those departments do spend it in the north. There are all kinds of frustrating examples, as Mr. Koe has pointed out. We are endeavouring to address this. Mr. Bailey sits on the BIP committee, the EDA committee and he is playing an active role in any of the new things which the government is doing such as the committee of deputies who are going to review the way in which the Department of Renewable Resources fights forest fires. By having us around, we hope that we are able to
influence those things and point out just how we should be looking at government spending of money and how it can influence our economy. Having a position at the table is doing us some good.
What are we doing in other areas? I have talked at length about some of the initiatives, whether it be forestry, fisheries, mining or looking at a tannery in the Delta. We are keenly interested in any of those things. I must say, Mr. Chairman, and I have said before in this House, and that is when you are looking at a business and you want to get someone going in a business or you want to start something, you want to be realistic about it also. Is it going to stand the test of time? They say that if a business has been around five years chances are it is going to survive. Most businesses fail in the first year or two or possibly three. In as much as we are going to be there assisting people and telling people we would like to help them, at the same time, we only want to do that in a realistic manner so that we know they are let with something meaningful and something which they are not going to come back to us several years later and say "I have lost all of that money and I need some more."
There are two ways to do this. One is to go in realistically, give them the facts so that they know what they are getting into, to look at the business plan and inform them this will work if they do certain particular things. The second thing is to follow-up with them on a regular basis so that we can help them along the way. Sometimes we have to hold the hands of these people for a considerable time.
The other thing is to make all of the government departments aware of the fact that we have formed a new business, we have assisted them, and that it is together and it is operating, and try to encourage those government departments to use this business. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.