Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. A couple of comments first. Through our audits, a lot of our audits over the years have been clean audits in the sense that the Auditor General of Canada who does our audits has given non-qualified opinions on our audits. There is no indication of misuse of dollars. In terms of dollars being wasted, there are good intentions. We are trying to create employment and generate businesses in the communities by creating these factories and assisting other small businesses through joint ventures. The intention is to create viable ventures and viable businesses to create jobs.
The focus in the past has been very much production-oriented. Buildings were put up, machinery was put into buildings and people were hired to make products whatever they were. Then the intent was to try to sell those, try to find the markets and we know that that type of environment does not work. So what the focus today and in the past year is focusing on is the market. What is it that the market wants? What do customers want? Then we look at whether or not we can produce what they want at the price point that the customer is willing to pay and the price point that our factories can make them at and in between, the people that handle the product also have to make a dollar in doing business. They are all independent businesses. That has been the major focus change, to become more market-oriented. Now we are looking at each company. In Fort McPherson we just hired a new manager and we have a plan now to hire local people in terms of production and looking at focusing on the markets. What can we sell? What are people willing to buy? What new products can we make that people want? It is similar with Aklavik.
In Aklavik and Tuktoyaktuk, we just had a major initiative here. We went and visited both communities. We had meetings with producers, we had meetings with the public and the same intention is there. What is it that we can make that people want to buy in the general marketplace and can we make it in the quantity that is going to make these businesses viable?