Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not aware of any case where companies or development corporations have lost money on a negotiated contract totally. Our

government sits down and facilitates a negotiated contract, for example, with the Gwich'in people on the highway maintenance or the building of buildings. It is a fairly tight negotiation. We always get complaints from the aboriginal groups that our government people are too tough to negotiate with. They do not allow them enough of a profit margin, for example. We keep pretty strong ties on negotiated contracts. We keep a very close eye on them as well. We try to make sure that we do get value for dollars. But what is most important is that all Members must remember back to the days 18 months ago when you did get elected, that we were given presentations in Caucus at that time about the economic conditions of the Northwest Territories. If you look back over the four previous years, the best economic indicator that we had where we had growth was through negotiated contracts as well as the manufacturing policy. That was the only great blip in the chart that we saw that says that what government was doing was right and was good. Communities were benefitting and people were benefitting, or the majority of that money would have ended up probably in Yellowknife or major contractors in the north.

I know that in the past we have had a great amount of disagreement with the NWT Construction Association. As previous Minister of DPW, Mr. Speaker, I talked to many contractors throughout the north. They did not agree with what the NWT Construction Association, basically the executive director, was saying. He was not representing all the contractors throughout the Northwest Territories. In general, the feedback I have received over the years, is business people, in general, support negotiated contracts in those communities in which we are doing it. Thank you.