Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As my colleagues in this House know, I am the eternal optimist. I believe that even though this is a difficult task, we will be able to reach an agreement on the northern accord with the aboriginal groups in the territories, and if we reach an acceptable agreement, then we can move forward with the federal government.
That doesn't mean to say, as my colleague asked, that we are not looking at options. I am not a man of one option. We need to ensure that whatever takes place in this part of the country benefits the north first and everywhere else second. So we are looking, particularly in the diamond area, at other diamond-producing countries to see what mechanisms they have in place to ensure that they get their fair portion, if you want, of the benefits.
With respect to my department's action plan, we are looking at the possibility of doing some research with respect to the possibility of further processing and value-added opportunities that go with diamonds. We are looking at the sorting and valuing of diamonds and the impact that will have.
I think that one of the ones that my colleague is really looking for is that we are also, should all else fail, looking at policy options including taxation, taking royalties in kind, or the establishment of marketing boards.
However, Mr. Speaker, I do want to say that this is a second position that we are looking at right now. As I said earlier, I am an eternal optimist. I am confident that northerners will see the need to reach a compromise. We were still at the table, I understand, yesterday, and I am confident that by June 30th we will be able to move forward with a common position to get an accord in place that will ensure that all northerners benefit from the significant mineral and mining development that takes place in this country. Thank you.
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