Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I listened to a CBC news report this morning in which a Mr. George Burne from the Central Selling Organization, De Beers was interviewed. Mr. Burne told us in a nutshell to pay attention to the jobs the northerners can obtain through diamond mining and not worry about other activities after that diamond process. I would invite Mr. Burne to spend some time in the north and listen to what northerners would like and find out what they would like from their diamond industry. Sometimes, Mr. Speaker, mining companies mine diamonds. The Central Selling Organizations or a similar organization market diamonds. The Central Selling Organization charges the mining companies 11 percent for that service to sort and market their diamonds. BHP's annual production is scheduled to start later on this year and it is estimated between $50 million and $600 million a year. From my calculation, that service to market their diamonds is going to cost them, regardless whether they go with CSO or some other organization, it is going to cost them $55 million a year.
I visited London and Antwerp, Mr. Speaker, and I found the costs to be extremely high. Much higher than I found them to be in Yellowknife. What I would suggest is that De Beers, with some consultation with the mining industry and our government, look at spending as much of that $55 million in the Northwest Territories as possibly can be accomplished.
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Mr. Speaker, if that service is provided in the north, the sorting for marketing, it will create infrastructure in the north. It will provide employment for northerners through security personnel that will be employed, maintenance people who will fix the equipment, banking and brokerage houses that will also come as part of that industry. It has been said we do not have the expertise to provide many of these services in the north. Mr. Speaker, I suggest that there are many things we do not have the expertise for, but we could bring it in. I would encourage that mining companies and so forth, do the same.
I would also demand, Mr. Speaker, that the federal government, the mining companies and the CSO, along with De Beers, listen to what the GNWT want for northerners so we can have some semblance in the north of self-sufficiency. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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