Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. I have a couple of comments on the statement the Minister made. I take exception to the comments made on page 6 about the Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards and Commissions and their inability to schedule hearings. The Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards and Commissions, which I chair, will take criticism where it is rightfully due. In this case, I think the comments are a bit unwarranted, in the sense that meetings were set up, but it is an issue that concerns all Members of the Assembly and there are other standing committees that made suggestions that hearings be rescheduled. For various reasons, they didn't proceed.

I would just like to state that it wasn't solely because of the inability of the Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards and Commissions that we did not have the hearing. I'm not sure what the qualification at the end means: "...the consensus territorial-wide..." You are the one who travelled the north and talked to different people. I believe you probably have a better sense than I would on what the consensus was, but through my contacts, I know there wasn't consensus in the north on the concept of privatization. But, it is not because we couldn't schedule our hearings that that consensus wasn't reached. And it wasn't because of our inability to schedule hearings that we didn't receive consensus in this House.

On other issues, I have some concerns about some of the policies used by the Power Corporation, and these aren't new. There are two basic concerns, the buy north and hire north policies. I still hear in my travels across the north about the Power Corporation not using as many northern goods and services as they should. I don't have any concrete evidence to say that they are or they aren't, but you hear it from suppliers and on the street. I want the Minister, if she can, to confirm that the buy north, hire north policies, and the BIP are used by the Power Corporation.