Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On Friday there were several questions about economic development. I note this weekend in Edmonton at the Hotel MacDonald, the Canadian Polar Commission met and the subject of the conference was circumpolar trade and the Canadian agenda. Mr. Speaker, I raise this today because this polar commission, which has been in existence for over a year, has chosen economic development as the focus for its work. The workshops which were held on the weekend included large scale interests of some major companies, the issue of export readiness, the natural resources of the north, tourism, and trade among the circumpolar nations. Mr. Bailey, the deputy minister of Economic Development and Tourism attended this meeting. It is of obvious interest to our government.
I raise this issue, not because I question what the Canadian Polar Commission's mandate is or how it chooses to use its resources, because they chose this subject of economic development as the focus for their work and their major recommendation was that the federal government develop an economic development strategy for the north. This is worrisome because our government has this kind of mandate. This commission, and all the players who took part in this weekend conference, decided that there was a vacuum and that something should be done. I urge our government to get on with it, so that we can have a clear idea of where we are going. Thank you.