Mr. Speaker, the turn around can be very quick if the proposal meets the expectations of our government. We laid out the criteria and guidelines we would like the proposals to meet and those are shared with interested parties. In the first instance, any interested party is required to first get some access agreement with BHP. That is the first requirement and then, they would bring a proposal to us to finalize. In many of the cases, there are proposals flying around. Some have been submitted and in some cases resubmitted with advice and some suggestions from us on what is required before we can more realistically deal with them. It is not a question of how long it takes for us to deal with these, because you can deal with them fairly quickly. It is more a matter of getting realistic proposals submitted. Certainly, they would have access to some of the diamonds that are now being produced by BHP diamonds.
Stephen Kakfwi on Question 203-13(6): Diamond Opportunities In The Nwt
In the Legislative Assembly on November 10th, 1998. See this statement in context.
Further Return To Question 203-13(6): Diamond Opportunities In The Nwt
Question 203-13(6): Diamond Opportunities In The Nwt
Item 6: Oral Questions
November 9th, 1998
Page 355
See context to find out what was said next.