Mr. Speaker, I rise today because I refuse to be influenced by harsh words of others. I refuse to remain silent anymore. I rise today to applaud the government on their stance on the diamond industry.

--Applause

I applaud their insistence that valuation and sorting must occur off site and in a northern community. I applaud their stance on value-added secondary industry, that they want to work with the industry to ensure access to a constant, reliable supply of diamonds at fair market value. Mr. Speaker, it is the government's responsibility to ensure that northern residents benefit from northern resources, not just to allow people to fly in and fly out or drive in and drive out, as the case may be. Mr. Speaker, we have heard that on average, the federal government will get annual revenues of something like almost $200 million a year, while the Government of the Northwest Territories will receive $17 million a year. That is less than we will have to spend on infrastructure and social programs in support of the mines. Mr. Speaker, I would rather see diamonds stay in the ground than receive less benefit than we spend on social programs caused by the mines. Yes, Mr. Speaker, I applaud this government's stance on the diamond industry. Thank you.

--Applause