Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of the fishery in Baffin Island. My constituency, and those of other Baffin MLAs, lies next to waters in Davis Strait which contain a lot of turbot. In fact, Canada is about to allocate a quota of 12,500 tonnes in this area, which is called area "0." Mr. Speaker, these waters are next to our communities. Article 15 of our Inuit land claim agreement requires that the Government of Canada recognize and give special consideration to "the principles of adjacency and economic dependence of Nunavut communities" in allocating commercial fishing licences.

Mr. Speaker, four licences are being applied for from the Baffin region totalling 3,000 tonnes. They are from Pangnirtung Fisheries, Broughton Island HTA, Qikiqtaaluk Corporation and the Qikiqtaaluk Wildlife Board. The last two applications will represent the entire Baffin region, which means that all communities of Baffin will benefit if these licences are granted.

Mr. Speaker, we know that we are facing strong competition from the South for these licences, even though the fish are in our waters. I pledge my full support to these applicants from my region. If we can obtain our requested allocation of 3,000 tonnes, this will be worth about $12 million.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.