Mr. Chairman, I will start off with the good things, as I usually do. I just want to reiterate, because I have close dealings with the superintendent and some staff members of the department in Baffin, which is headquartered in my riding, that the significant breakthrough made by Mr. Todd, with the full support of his deputy, I know, in devolving authority to the regions has made an enormous impact, I believe, on the morale of regional staff. I have said before in this House that it seemed like they had to get permission from Yellowknife to go to the bathroom in Baffin in the past, and now it is completely different.
I know a bit about the dynamics of government organizations. I suspect there was a touch of reluctance on the part of some of the able bureaucrats in headquarters in the department about this change, and they will be closely monitoring the situation.
But I want to say that it has given a new lease on life, in my view, to the staff in my region, and it has given my constituents and others in the Baffin region a real ability to get things done with less delay. So I want to commend the department again for this change. I think it's working well, and I sense some new energy and enthusiasm in the department that is very positive.
Sure, there are some down sides and some areas that have to be watched, with this change. I endorse the standing committee's observation that adequate support needs to be provided to the regional staff so the superintendents and others can undertake these new responsibilities. The Minister may have a comment on that. I know this is a new change and there may be some realignments still required to provide that support.
I have also noted the concern that, in some regions, staff may be marching to a little different drum than the constituents and the MLAs. I think that is a problem that is easily dealt with. In my opinion and my experience, the quickest way to deal with a problem of that kind is to approach Mr. Todd or Mr. Bailey or the particular staff member in question. I have found they have been responsive to MLAs' concerns, and I don't think that's a situation that Mr. Todd would knowingly neglect if an official was not responding appropriately to the political winds blowing in a constituency. So I think that is undoubtedly a danger, or I think it is a problem that can be addressed.
I want to say, without being too lavish in my praise, that, in my view, the superintendent and staff in the Baffin region have the confidence of myself and, by and large, of the people who have to deal with them. It is sometimes a tough job because there are limits on dollars and programs, but I think they have good credibility and good relations with the department in the region.
I am pleased that Qikiqtaaluk Corporation and Kakivak Association have now got a very much improved and close working relationship with the department in the region. I think this is critical as we plan the implementation of Nunavut and the development initiatives that will flow from the land claims.
I also want to commend the department for having made it possible for the establishment of a regional economic planning position in the Baffin. I think that, with the Baffin MLAs and mayors, we are now working actively with the Baffin Region Inuit Association and Qikiqtaaluk Corporation and other concerned agencies to develop a Baffin economic strategy. It will be made in Baffin, it will be appropriate to the region, it's off and running and will lead to, I am sure, the best utilization of resources in the region.
So all of these are good things, and I don't need to reiterate my support for tourism and parks. I am glad it's staying in the department, and I am very excited about the development of the Auyuittuq Park, which borders on my riding and that of Mr. Pudlat and has already had measurable economic benefits to both constituencies, perhaps, particularly, the community of Lake Harbour. I welcome the cost-benefit analysis that the Minister has proposed to undertake. I think it will give us measurable evidence that an investment in parks is an investment in jobs and economic opportunities in our region, at least.
I want to say that I was a bit concerned about the Minister's assertion that there's a freeze on new park development, if I understood him correctly. I hope that won't prevent some orderly planning to be done in the region, because I think that where communities come up with good ideas for park development I wouldn't want to see the department say they won't get supported. Tourism is on the move in Baffin, and I'm sure it's our priority. It may not be a priority in other regions, I don't want to speak for other regions. But in the Baffin, I think our recent leadership meeting in January, affirmed this. Tourism is a priority in the whole region and I would hope that the department will respond by supporting communities that have ideas for parks.
There is one developing in my constituency, in the fabulous Patsialluq region on south Frobisher Bay, a natural opportunity to fishing, skiing, snowmobiling, hiking, naturalists, and the Inuit of the outpost camp in that region have begun to form a venture and have begun to talk about tourism development. I would hope that the department would be able to respond and give them support to carry that idea further.
Now, Mr. Chairman, I turn to a difficult issue, but I do want to raise it and I want to raise it in an open fashion. With due respect to the success that we've had in the fishery in Baffin, particularly in Pangnirtung, and the priority that the department has given through the Development Corporation and through the departmental officials, I still want to say that I think we should take a good look at the Pangnirtung fishery to see what lessons we can learn as we plan to develop other fisheries in the Baffin region and in other regions of the Northwest Territories. I've talked already in this House about the dangers of over subsidizing and over capitalizing. I'm not going to jump to the conclusion that this is the case in Pangnirtung, but I think we should take a close look at the situation and decide for ourselves whether government support has been appropriate to the kind of small scale, in-shore, small business development that we want to encourage in the region.
Since I see Ms. Mike is squirming a little bit, I'll pose some questions that I think we should all want to have answered. I want to assure the Member and her constituents, that I want to see a policy-based discussed occur about how the Development Corporation -- which is quite new -- provides assistance to communities, and how the Development Corporation's policies ensure that there will be a long-term viability in the fishery.
I have a few questions and I'll save them for the detail, Mr. Chairman, but I have a few questions about things like market disruption which is an issue with a constituent company which feels that in some areas they have been unfairly competed with through Development Corporation dollars. I would like to ask some questions about the adequacy of the resource and whether we may have, perhaps, been premature in investing heavy capital facilities on a fishery that I understand is still exploratory, without knowing that there is a long-term sustainable harvest available in that fishery.
Mr. Chairman, I have these questions and I'm going to ask them in as open-minded a way as I can. I would also like to say that I think it would be appropriate for some MLAs to take a look at the Pangnirtung fishery. I talked to Johnny Mike, the chairman of the Pangnirtung Fisheries, and he has invited me to go and see for myself. I've known him for many years and I know many of the people involved in that fishery, so I'm going to take him up on that offer with, I'm sure, the support of the Member for Baffin Central, to take a look and see for myself because we all want this to work. We want it to be a success. We want it to be viable. We want there to be competition in the fishery in the Baffin region. We want it to be a success. So, it's in that spirit, Mr. Chairman, that I'll be asking some questions. And hopefully, later on this spring, paying a visit to the Pangnirtung fishery to look at the new plant and to look at the whole situation with a view to seeing what lessons we can learn, what's been done right, perhaps what we might want to do differently in future as we develop the fishery in the Keewatin and the Kitikmeot and other parts of Baffin.
So I hope no one will feel threatened by these enquiries. They are intended to be constructive, and intended to promote a viable fishery, rather than one that's doomed to government subsidy forever and ultimate failure. That's my concern, Mr. Chairman. Thank you very much.