Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my statement is about the status of the Giant Mine cleanup. Earlier this week my colleague from Great Slave, Mr. Braden, spoke in the House about the statement of the cleanup, or rather, the lack of cleanup, of the arsenic trioxide currently stored in the underground caverns at the mine. Mr. Speaker, residents attended public meetings in N'dilo and Yellowknife hosted by DIAND. Those residents had the opportunity to hear what they are proposing as options we should consider with respect to the arsenic trioxide problem at Giant.

Mr. Speaker, there have been meetings and information sessions hosted by DIAND on this issue, and yet it is becoming clear that we are no further now to finding a solution. We now hear that some of the options DIAND proposed in the past are no longer viable, and perhaps the best option on the table is to leave the arsenic where it is. DIAND has suggested that by June of this year, the federal government will determine a course of action to deal with this problem. One of the major obstacles seems to be that it is going to cost money to clean this up, and, Mr. Speaker, let us be clear it is a lot of money.

DIAND representatives have admitted that some of the options would be far too costly. Of particular concern to me is the statement reportedly made at a public meeting in Yellowknife, in which a DIAND representative suggested that Yellowknife has to deal with the arsenic, as this is where it came from. I sure hope he did not mean to suggest that Yellowknife residents have to come up with the solution, Mr. Speaker.