Thank you, Mr. Speaker; thank you, colleagues. More recently, the MV Arctic, the world's only icebreaker ore-carrying ship was built to service the Nanisivik and Polaris Mines. The mining industry also offers significant employment opportunities for our aboriginal population. The Colomac Mine has already formed a comprehensive employment agreement with local communities, as did Echo
Bay's Lupin Mine.
On the other side of the coin, our modern mining must also respond to the new environmental standards that meet the expectations of our aboriginal communities and the people of the Northwest Territories government's regulations. Ongoing environmental assessments will monitor the impact of any change, such as caribou migration or air pollution. All things considered, we may all agree with the mining industry's claim that mining is helping to dig Canada out of debt. It certainly has contributed largely to our economy here in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause