Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was sad to hear the news that the Inuvik native arts program is going to be cancelled. Mr. Speaker, I think it's essential for the North's economy and also for the people who don't find themselves in the oil and gas or the mining business that they have just as much right to expand their arts and crafts businesses, from the men and women who sew, to those who carve or make prints. They expand our economy and also build on something that's unique to the Northwest Territories and the North, which is arts and crafts.

Mr. Speaker, we, as a government, spend something like $900 million a year in the budget, but we can't find $50,000 to run a program for arts and crafts in our colleges. Mr. Speaker, how do we expect the different economic initiatives that we have such as tourism, arts and crafts ... those businesses that don't seem to have the sparkle of multi-million dollar projects ... compete with this government's tendency to focus in only where they get the big dollar amounts. Mr. Speaker, when the bust and the boom is over, what's left? The people. Without taking advantage of the people we have in the Northwest Territories, especially our artists, we do not have anything to promote to the outside world.

Mr. Speaker, as a government, it's crucial that the programs we develop enhance our industries rather than simply catering to large business. Mr. Speaker, I, for one, have always supported the arts and crafts...