Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. I do not think there was any question there. Would the Minister like to reply to those comments?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The only thing I could say, Mr. Chairman, is that I agree that government should not be involved in business where the private sector can handle it. I think the role of the Development Corporation, as I said earlier, is to assist new ventures where there is some likelihood that the venture is going to be able to stand on its own two feet and buy out the preferred shares. We are not, as a government or as a Development Corporation, in the business of competing in the private market. We should get ourselves out of that.

There are cases where, for a period of time, a venture does need some backing if it is not able to operate on its own within a period of time, and that differs from venture to venture, than it has to close its doors. We cannot stay in it forever. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. The Chair recognizes Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I have problems regarding projects or investments that we have made in communities. For example, the Fort McPherson Canvas Shop has been there since the late 1970's. It has been a problem with regard to marketing tents, tee-pees, canvas bags.

One thing I find awfully hard to accept is they are boycotted from selling their products at wholesale in the city of Yellowknife because of concerns from people that storefront operators come up here and sell stuff in their stores that were made in Taiwan or China, as artifacts made in the Northwest Territories which are replicas of aboriginal art, yet they are not aboriginal art.

We have a product which is made by aboriginal people, produced in the Northwest Territories by aboriginal people and yet there are these roadblocks we put in front of ourselves to promote our manufacturers and the business sector to market our products, in which we, as Northerners, are putting roadblocks in front of the people in the North who produce these products.

I would like to ask the Minister, why is it that as a government, we do not allow our products to be sold anywhere in the Northwest Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. I would again like to remind Members that we are on general comments on this whole thing. We have been dealing with the Development Corporation for the past two speakers now, and it will come up under 11-21. I will allow the Minister to respond.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I will speak in general to the principle of what we are doing. It is our objective, in manufacturing northern products, to first of all have northern people manufacture them in the North; secondly, to get the retailers in the North to handle them in their stores and other services they provide. Then you have a normal market, where our products are sold by the northern stores and the Co-op, private sector and so on.

If we were to continue to sell the products ourselves in competition with the private sector, they would all just back away from it and we would end up with no stores carrying northern manufactured products. In order to not compete with them, but with an unfair advantage of the government, then we have to say that we will not sell directly if there is a privately-owned retail business selling the product.

In the case of the Fort McPherson tents, there are retail outlets who sell them. We cannot compete with them, otherwise they are going to say take your tents and sell them yourself. We would lose on that count. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I believe we are already losing because you cannot sell that product wholesale. You have to sell with a market cost built into the price. The person who is selling it makes a profit out of somebody else's craft or item they produced. That is where I have a problem.

People have taken advantage of First Nations people for how long when it comes to crafts, moccasins, et cetera. People at the YCI are making carvings and selling them for next to a dollar. The guy then turns around and sells it at the storefront operations and they make a mint out of it. That is where I have a problem.

This government has a responsibility to ensure there is an open market and people have the right to sell their products without having someone who has a storefront operation dictating to them exactly what the price of that item should be. If Joe wants to sell some in the corner store or out in front of the post office, he should be able to do that. But because he is competing against Walmart or Canadian Tire or these large conglomerates who can eat you up any day of the week, you can never compete against that type of competition. I think this government has to do more to ensure the regulations and restrictions that are put in place, especially for northern manufacturers and producers, are taken out. We need to allow those products to be sold on the open market. Imposing these measures on our own people is where I have a problem.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I suppose the long-term answer, and I am not being flippant in saying it, but the long-term answer will be for more northern and northern aboriginal people to become retailers, so they are the ones who are benefiting from the sale of their products.

I do not think it would be a good business practice for us to sell at whole sale price and, at the same time, expect that retailers are going to carry the product. It would not work. I cannot agree that it would be a good environment for us to compete against people we are asking to sell things. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Also, in regard to the policies that this government has in place, we have the Business Incentive Policy, we have the manufacture policies in place for businesses to produce products in the Northwest Territories.

One area that I feel we have to do more in is the secondary industries. I think we have to realize that any strong economy in the world, or even in Canada for that matter, you look at the provinces that have a high GDP in regard to gross domestic product, are those provinces that have those secondary manufactured industries built into their society.

I think for us here in the North, we have to do more to promote that, especially when it comes to...one problem that I have is that government, across the board, is not following that policy. In some areas, some departments do but other departments do not.

The Housing Corporation is a good example. I raised a question about what is happening in Alaska. I raised a question in regard to companies in my riding, or even in Inuvik, you have Bob's Welding, Tetlodge Development Corporation. These groups have demonstrated they can produce their own doors, windows, frames, and other items. They use tanks, and what not, in regard to businesses here in Yellowknife that have taken the time, established their own businesses, especially in the manufacturer side, and are starting to promote it.

But this government has to do more to ensure that it is carried out right across the board, not just in this department, but it is this department's responsibility to ensure that those policies are being enforced and they are carried out by all departments in the government.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will take the Member's advice. The manufacturing directive and so on do apply to all government departments and agencies and we will do what we can to make sure everybody follows it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Krutko.

Maybe the Minister can tell us what happens if they do not follow it?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, if departments and agencies are not following it and we catch it in time, then correction is made to make sure that the department understands what the responsibility is. Quite often, though, we do not find out until after. It is very hard to do more than remind them that that policy does apply to every department.

If a department, and we have not had a case yet, consistently ignores it, then we would have to look at what action would have to be taken in that case. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Krutko, do you have any more general comments?

Mr. Chairman, in regard to the reply from the committee to the Minister, especially in communities where we do not have the potential for oil, gas or any major developments happening, we have to start promoting the renewable, non-renewable businesses that are there, especially in the trapping and crafts area and fishing and the marketing of wheat products and what not.

There has been very little emphasis put on the importance of that sector in regard to dollars that have been spent in the past. Unknowingly that what happened in the fur industry, which we have seen in our communities, that there have been some major effects on that, especially when it comes to aboriginal abilities to subsistence. Where they used to have hundreds of trappers going out every year to trap, now we are down to a very small handful of them in our communities.

I am wondering, can the Minister tell us exactly what initiatives he is willing to take or bring forth to ensure that we improve that sector of our economy?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, we do spend a considerable amount of money on the renewable resource sector, particularly with traditional economy. So in the fur sector, for example, we are probably spending in the neighborhood of a couple million dollars supporting that industry, even though the value of the fur sold does not come anywhere near that amount.

In the fishing area, we have worked out a fishery strategy. We have given it to the Great Slave Fishery Advisory Board and we are waiting for their response to it.

The other areas, like agriculture, we are ready to look at creating some policies around agriculture at the municipal levels. Forestry, the same thing, we are reviewing our forestry practices.

So we are spending, in total, a lot of money and we do recognize that the renewable resource side of the department is very important in terms of people's lifestyle and traditional experiences. So it may not generate as much in corporate taxes and so on, but it is important to people and we do recognize that within the department. Thank you.