Mahsi, Madam Speaker. My question is for the Minister responsible for Economic Development and Tourism. Last week, during committee of the whole when we were dealing with the Department of Public Works and Services, the question of manufacturing goods in the Northwest Territories came up. During the debate, I was asking the Minister of Public Works and Services about manufactured goods that are currently being purchased by the government. I told the Minister that in my constituency we have a lot of trees and a lot of forests, and that people there have developed resource management committees to try to identify the resources that we have and what to do with these resources. There is direction now to start logging and getting into sawmills, perhaps, and eventually into manufacturing. We could do a lot of manufacturing in that area.

Upon questioning the Minister of Public Works and Services, he indicated that my area should work with the Department of Economic Development and Tourism to see how to maximize benefits with regard to contracts and capital in the communities. So I would like to ask the Minister of Economic Development and Tourism if there are any plans in the works to help communities develop manufacturing abilities to provide supplies to the Government of the Northwest Territories. Mahsi.