Mr. Chairman, I too will be voting in favour of creation of this day. Like my colleagues, I would like to reflect on some of the issues that came up in this debate and in this discussion and give you some reflection of where they came to rest for me.
The cost was certainly the most obvious and the most tangible impact of this for our economy. I learned through it and with the assistance of the department and others that a day of production, if you will, or a regular day of work in the Northwest Territories across all sectors, government, private sector, non-government organizations, is about $8 million. That is no small change, Mr. Chairman.
It is obvious as well that June 21st comes at the height of a very busy time of year, a very busy point in the activity cycle. It is, of course, at the top of the building and construction season for outside work. It is very much an important time of the year for tourism.
I also tried to reflect on those people who, by virtue of the jobs they have or the projects they are on, would not be able to celebrate the specific day, June 21st. I also looked at the idea of the exchange with a different day, to see where the merits would be of taking one day, if you will, and reprofiling it.
As well, Mr. Chairman, I had to consider the impact on some students in the Northwest Territories and their families. As we know, this is right at the end of the high school or the school semester. For those grade 12 graduates who would be writing departmental examinations, that schedule is set to mesh with the Alberta curriculum and for some students who would be scheduled to write exams on that day, they may not be able to avoid it or other work might have to be done to reschedule things. Anyway, there is an impact there that we tried to consider.
I also looked, Mr. Chairman, at taking the value of this day but wondering whether this coming year, 2002, is the year to start it. A holiday in a non-aboriginal culture, anyway, is a day where you celebrate or commemorate something; something that is earned or achieved or already behind you. In that respect, I was wondering whether this is a holiday something like Labour Day, which was created at some point, I do not know the history of it, but there was a need and then a consensus to celebrate the achievements of labourers and workers in our society, so we have Labour Day. It might be a bit of a stretch, Mr. Chairman, but is Remembrance Day, just coming up, also something that is done in a much more somber way, of course, a much more serious way, but it celebrates and marks the end of something and an ongoing purpose.
You know, here in the Northwest Territories, we are on the verge of so many advances for aboriginal people and aboriginal rights; self-government, devolution, resource-revenue sharing, things that are barely touched in other parts of Canada. We are doing them here, though we do not yet have them in our grasp.
I was wondering, would there be some point, maybe a few years down the pipe, that when we do have a lot of these things achieved and done and implemented, is that a time then that we should really say okay, now we can celebrate it?
Within aboriginal culture itself, something that I have not heard of would be the concept of -- especially prior to European contact -- taking a day in the year to celebrate something, to have a party. Is that part of aboriginal culture itself? I have not heard much of it. It certainly is part of non-aboriginal culture.
In considering all of these aspects, I talked to a lot of people about it, especially business owners. I got the general response that this would be something that would be more appreciated among their workforce, especially at one of the best times of the year that we have. There was a readiness among employers, the few that I talked to, to do this.
I think the best advice that I got, and this is what really helped me to decide that this bill was worth supporting and supporting wholeheartedly, is that it is not about cost and it should not be about trade-offs. It is about our values in Canadian society. It is about the recognition of aboriginal cultures and what they are striving to do and what we in a consensus government are trying to do. It is about mutual respect, Mr. Chairman. I think it is about bringing cultures together.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, I think it is about demonstrating leadership to the rest of Canada that this is indeed something that should be celebrated and a full holiday is an appropriate way to do it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.