Mr. Speaker, I rise today to say how profoundly disappointed I am with the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs and their response to our efforts to establish a diamond sorting and valuation facility in the NWT.
The federal government is in the process of dropping the diamond valuation ball squarely on its own foot. I have spoken about the need to locate a diamond valuation and sorting plant in Yellowknife. It means jobs, money and renewed prosperity for the city.
Mr. Speaker, Yellowknife is in trouble. We have lost 800 government jobs in recent years. Plummeting gold prices have rendered our gold mines unprofitable and layoffs have already started. We are in the middle of a terrible economic downturn. Now our potential salvation is bungled by Ottawa.
Recently the City of Yellowknife assembled a diamond task force of 20 people to lobby for value-added benefits from the diamond industry. I had hoped to come today with news from my task force meeting last Friday, but instead I can only report how we were profoundly insulted by federal officials. Joe Lazarovich is Department of Indian and Northern Affairs is director of mineral and resources. He is the person who advises the Minister on northern diamond mining industry and the rewriting of the mining regulations. A month ago, the Yellowknife task force set up a meeting with Mr. Lazarovich, set up for last Friday. He came to town for the geoscience forum and on Thursday he made his speech and then left town without warning, presumably under the instructions of his bosses in DIAND.
We are appalled to have been treated so poorly on so important an issue, Mr. Speaker. We are also angry the feds appear to be back peddling now on issues relating to BHP's mine that should have been resolved a long time ago. We are now learning that Ottawa made a mistake. Under international trade agreements, it cannot insist the sorting and valuation plant even be built in Canada, let alone the Northwest Territories. This does a great disservice to all Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.