Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity late last week to participate in the 1997 National Aboriginal Achievement Awards in Calgary. As I previously mentioned, I was deeply moved by what I saw there. The celebration of achievements of the past and of the present gives me a lot of hope for the future of aboriginal people.

Mr. Speaker, since the achievement awards, I have been thinking a lot about what the future holds for the aboriginal people and, more specifically, about what lies ahead for Inuit with the creation of Nunavut. This is a time of great promise for us and for everyone who will be part of Nunavut. It is also a time when I believe we need to be careful about what we build and how we build it.

In this regard, Mr. Speaker, I have been disappointed by recent developments on the road to Nunavut. I have hesitated now for more than a week about commenting on recent statements made by the Chief Commissioner of the Nunavut Implementation Commission and by the President of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, about Members of this Assembly.

Mr. Amagoalik, who we all respect for the important role he has played in helping Nunavut move beyond idea to reality, made statements on CBC in late January in which he went out of his way to say that "Pudlanak tend to get confused. Some are very easily confused." He made this comment in relation to MLAs which, in my view, showed great disrespect for this Assembly and for our Members elected to serve here. This is very disappointing to me.

Mr. Speaker, as we move towards Nunavut, we must do what we can to make sure the foundation we construct our future on is strong. Attacking people on the basis of race and promoting intolerance can only weaken those foundations, and put at risk our future as a strong, tolerant and just society. Mr. Amagoalik knows full well that aboriginal people, including Inuit, have too often been on the wrong end of prejudice and racism. Mr. Speaker, I would like to conclude my statement.