Thank you, Madam Speaker. Members of the Nunavut Caucus have been provided with a copy of a letter written to the federal Minister of National Defence and the federal Minister of Supply and Services from James Eetoolook, acting president of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated. Madam Speaker, the letter protests the awarding of a contract to operate core campsites in 1994 to a Quebec firm rather than Avati, a subsidiary of Nunasi Corporation and the Inuvialuit Development Corporation which makes it 100 per cent Inuit owned.

Avati carried out the contract successfully last year, which was to erect, maintain and disassemble working camps for other contractors that were upgrading or constructing the new Distant Early Warning stations. Avati completed this task with a workforce made up of 82 per cent Inuit. This contract is worth several million dollars, Madam Speaker, and it is the first large contract awarded by the federal government in Nunavut since the ratification of the Nunavut land claims.

Section 24 of the land claim commits the federal government to not only include Inuit firms in the solicitization of bids, but also commits the federal government to develop, implement and maintain policies to provide support and assistance to Inuit firms to compete for government contracts. It was agreed that these policies would be in place one year from ratification of the claim which is coming up this summer. Madam Speaker, it is very disheartening that these policies to provide support to Inuit companies to compete for government contracts have been completely disregarded in the awarding of this contract. We had expected that the spirit expressed...