Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate that. You know when we talk about integrity in the system, of course, we understand what it means.
Anyway Mr. Chairman, I did speak to some people in Whale Cove. Probably the same people that Mr. O'Brien spoke to. There was only one issue I want to address with you. The bottom line for the people of Whale Cove, they said, whatever constituency they want to be in, they want to make sure it is a Keewatin constituency. Now, whether that is Rankin Inlet,-okay let us say that clearly--whether it is Arviat or wherever, they want to be in a Keewatin constituency. They have no historical relationship with the people from Sanikiluaq. That is no disrespect to the people of Sanikiluaq. That is all they want. I would agree, which I rarely do, with my colleague that perhaps they have not been consulted with as well as we should, but they certainly were consulted on the Nunavut Boundaries Commission. As a matter of fact, I checked with the Nunavut Boundaries Commissioners, and they did ask them three times if they want to meet on this issue. For whatever reason, Whale Cove chose not to. Rightly or wrongly, that is my right. I have spoken with my constituency at some length on this issue.
The bottom line for them, and I do not want to get into a long dissertation. I do not want to get into the sort of idle rhetoric and innuendo. I want to get into what they fundamentally feel inside. The people of Whale Cove have told me that they want to be part of the Keewatin, where they belong and we have to seek some resolve to that. They do not want to be part of, and that is no disrespect to my colleagues in Sanikiluaq or Baffin Island. They have historical connections to Rankin Inlet, families in Rankin Inlet. Good people that I know and have grown up with. They have historical connections in Arviat, et cetera. In my discussions with the Mayor, Peter Kritaqliluk, I believe. I had discussions with him as my colleague did here. I am not so sure how hard or how difficult they are with respect to Whale Cove being part of Arviat. The bottom line for me is that at the end of the day, the people of Whale Cove want to be part of the Keewatin. Somehow or other, this House has to resolve that and the Nunavut Caucus has to come to some concessions on this instead of continuing to be in this destructive mode that I have seen for a number of months now. Frankly, it disappoints me.
Mr. Chairman, I would say to my colleagues, bear in mind the desires of the people of Whale Cove. They cannot in all honesty, and I spoke to them today, expect to have their own riding. It is 250 people. I think they recognize that. They are hoping that some of us will take a common sense approach to this issue, will put the interest of the people as the priority and reach an appropriate accommodation so the people of Whale Cove remain in the Keewatin, either with Arviat or with the community of Rankin Inlet. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.