Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to raise an issue in the House today that pertains to many ridings in the southern Northwest Territories in regard to the lumbering issue. Logging and lumbering have been done for decades in the South Slave and Deh Cho. It has evolved to the point where the parties involved that form the Northwest Territories Forestry Industry Association. They not only harvest logs, they rough cut the lumber and then finish it as well to the Canadian lumber standards or creditation board standards. The problem they face, are that this manufactured product they produce is not covered under the northern manufactured policy. This puts local businesses who employ local people and support local economies at a distinct disadvantage when their product is not considered a northern manufactured product when you bid on houses under the Housing Corporation or if you bid on tenders and contracts put out by Public Works. This is a significant issue for this new association and they have, in fact, written to the Ministers, Minister Kakfwi and Minister Arlooktoo, about this concern.
I raise this issue in the House today because it is important, there are contracts going out every day where this critical component of construction is not recognized as a northern manufactured product. At the appropriate time, I will be asking the Ministers involved how we can best deal with this issue. As well, I will raise this issue in the business planning process and would like to give the government and the departments involved enough lead time to address this very important issue and hopefully it will be addressed and resolved in a satisfactory way so that the next building season will see northern lumber graded to Canadian standards as considered a northern manufactured product and making the playing field that much more level and recognizing the investment northern business makes in the north and in our communities to provide that kind of service. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.