Mr. Speaker, it is no secret when I say that Yellowknife's economy, like that of other communities in the north, is in desperate need of stimulation.
Today I want to talk about two areas that have the potential to provide some good news. I stress the word potential, for the initiatives I will speak about are by no means reality yet.
For the past six months, a number of us legislators have been working to have diamond valuation and sorting done here in the north. Those of us who are working on this initiative want the federal government to understand the seriousness of our intent that employment and spin-off benefits from diamond mining must accrue to northerners.
Federal Minister Stewart better understand that detailed sorting of diamonds and valuation must be done here, not out of country and not at the mine site. It is not acceptable to put the diamonds in a bag and ship them off to be sorted and valued in Europe. We must get value-added benefits from northern diamond mines.
Another one of my priorities, Mr. Speaker, is to ensure that the federal government transfer jobs related to the north that they are actually located here in the north. During the spring Session I introduced a motion, seconded by the honourable Member for Iqaluit, Mr. Picco, and passed by this Legislature, asking for the transfer of federal civil servants to the north. The motion asked the Premier to communicate this request to the Prime Minister.
It is my view that federal civil servants, whose jobs require them to make decisions that will affect us all, live here. Perhaps Mr. Lazarovich's position should be here because he is affecting our lifestyle. I intend to follow this topic up and will be asking the Premier if he has communicated with the federal government and what their response has been. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.