Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to make a few general comments on Economic Development and Tourism. The deputy minister is new. He just started last fall. Hopefully, he has a fresh approach to the Department of Economic Development and Tourism. In the Fort Simpson area, we have a new superintendent. Hopefully, there is another fresh look at economic development in my particular constituency. We have two new people who were involved in that area before. Hopefully, things will turn around in my constituency. In the constituency I represent, there are a number of small communities. There is nothing going on economically in any one of them. I would like to suggest to the Minister and to his new deputy minister that, if these new people could go into the communities and see what each community really wants to accomplish in terms of economic development from the community level up, this would be a good approach to take in these communities at this present time. It has been frustrating in the past, when I first got elected, that the communities were asking for a number of economic development initiatives, and nothing has happened to date, even though some of the communities have a clear idea of what they would like to accomplish. There has been frustration expressed by some of the members of the communities I represent of Wrigley, Trout Lake, Nahanni Butte and Jean Marie River, on the lack of support from department officials in my region. If improvements could be made, I would really appreciate it.
I want to continue and touch on an area that I am concerned about. It is the area of loans that were passed out. I do not know if this is true for other constituencies, but in my particular area, this was brought to my attention. Over the years and recently, it was stressed that some fairly large companies are in real financial trouble and on the verge of bankruptcy. They attribute this to the way loans have been handled within the department, where loans are given out to different companies with no follow-up. It seems as if there was no infrastructure in place to take care of them after the loans were given out. There are many inconsistencies in this area. It brings a false sense of security and creates an artificial economy. I think we are having some trouble with some of the companies because of that. It is not only that, the companies themselves have to take some responsibility for the positions they are in. If Economic Development and Tourism gives money out to companies they should have a closer look at them as they go through the years and not wait until they are far behind in their payments before any action is taken.
I would like to suggest that Economic Development and Tourism try to improve people's skills through some sort of an education plan. One specific area that needs developing is improvement in the marketing skills of different people in my region so they can continue on in the type of business they are in. Perhaps this could be done by offering seminars in different areas of the business world. Some of the people who have gotten into business and some of the communities that are attempting to get into development corporations need much developmental work. The ideas are good, the people are willing to work, the possibility of funding is there, but once they get everything going, the financial support and so forth, they need ongoing development. I would like to see that part of the program enhanced, or if it is not there, to develop a program of some sort by Economic Development and Tourism to help people, corporations or communities that want to get involved with economic development. Mahsi. Thank you.