Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to express my appreciation to the Honourable Stephen Kakfwi for his important announcement earlier on the upcoming carvers conference in October. I would like to thank the Minister and his staff for the hard-work they put into ensuring that this important economic issue is dealt with. I can say on behalf of the carvers in my constituency that they are very much appreciative that the Minister shares their concern and demonstrated that he is prepared to do what he can with the Department of Renewable Resources to assist them. Earlier this morning, Mr. Dent and I both gave speeches at the Prospects North conference here in Yellowknife and discussed economic opportunities arising as a result of division. It was a timely reminder that there are economic challenges to be addressed in advance of April 1, 1999. While I am confident that there are immense economic opportunities ahead, I have voiced my concern in the past about one key sector of the economy and that is the carving industry. All indicators are that there is a down turn in the carving industry and there is a great need to address this situation.
There is a high level of concern throughout Nunavut, and especially in the south Baffin communities that I represent, Kimmirut, Cape Dorset and Sanikiluaq. It goes without saying that carving not only fuels the imagination of carvers and their consumers, but also fuels the local economy. Carving has put food on the table, pays the bills and provides the only source of income for a large percent of my constituents. Mr. Speaker, it is my sincere hope that the upcoming carvers conference announced by Mr. Kakfwi will serve to identify the problems and outline solutions where carvers, community owned businesses, marketers and government can work together to improve the economy of these communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.