Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the honourable Member is asking what this government is doing in regard to taking care of the business sector in the small communities. We have been separated from Nunavut for just 21 days. One of the elements of the Agenda for the New North is to focus and put our energies towards what we have here in the new Northwest Territories. In that line the Minister responsible for Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development is taking the lead role in the economic strategy that we are proposing here. We have already initiated that last year, in the fall, and he has the lead role in this case to pursue. It is a general bigger picture.
Before, when we were all together we still had the same policies, but now that we have our own jurisdiction to take care of we should turn our attention and focus on to what we have. We should have an assessment of what we have. We should look at what we have in all sectors, not only in the businesses that are in the smaller communities, but look at what we have in terms of resources like oil and gas, forestry, tourism, mining, diamond mines. We should look at the infrastructure we have in the communities and we should look at the people that we have, the human resources that we currently have in the Northwest Territories and have a good assessment of what is there now.
I think that the economic strategy will attempt to do this, to look at all the different issues. I think it will be a good forum to discuss all issues including the concern of the honourable Member who is asking what is this government doing to protect these businesses in the small communities and, now that we have our own territory, why do we not turn our attention and focus to look at and assess the total Northwest Territories, including what the honourable Member is requesting of this government. Thank you.