Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to talk about the sad decline in agriculture in the north. You see the sun shining, the snow is melting, the soil is starting to warm up and it will soon be ready to do some planting if people are so inclined. However, Mr. Speaker, with the exception of a few small private gardens and the Paradise Gardens of Hay River, the vast fields of vegetables and fruits that I remember seeing when I was growing up appear to be a thing of the past. People used to grow potatoes, cabbage, carrots, beets, turnips and lettuce; fruits included raspberries, saskatoons and rhubarb. All this produce flourished in and around the communities of Fort Smith, Fort Resolution, Fort Simpson, Hay River and as far down as Aklavik.

When I was growing up in Fort Smith, I used to help my grandfather plough the fields that he owned and those that he used. He planted and harvested all of these products that I previously mentioned. The Roman Catholic mission there established a farm on the flats of the Salt River about 20 miles west of Fort Smith. The St. Bruno farm flourished for a good many years producing milk, beef and grains, and were able to supply these goods to the parish at Fort Smith and to the St. Anne's Hospital there.

Today, we have the technology that has improved methods of planting. We also produce seeds that can withstand our coldest spring temperatures. In spite of our successful history in agriculture here in the north and the potentially productive soils, our fields remain unplanted and fallow. Where some of the most bountiful produce once grew, only weeds grow now. The meadows that once grew hay are now almost overgrown with willows.

The need for produce is still there. The soil is still there. What seems to be missing is the incentive and the encouragement that northerners might need to help them return to an agriculture success that our parents and grandparents once enjoyed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause