Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk a bit about the Prospectors' and Developers' Association of Canada conference, which took place earlier this week in Toronto. This is probably the largest mining conference in Canada, bringing together players from the mining industry from not just Canada or North America, but from all around the world.
Mr. Speaker, at this year's conference there were a large number of delegates from Yellowknife and region: the mayor and a few aldermen were there; representatives from the Dogrib Nation; representatives from the Yellowknives Dene Band; and, probably more than 30 business representatives.
Mr. Speaker, we were there, generally, to talk about and promote mining in the north; to let companies know that we want their business, but that there are conditions. As the Premier said in her keynote address to the conference on Monday night: "Northerners respect the need for a mining company to achieve a healthy bottom line, but northerners expect mining companies to respect our bottom line. The need for environmentally-sensitive operations, which provide real benefits for northerners."