Merci, Mr. Speaker. For several days, approaching weeks now, we've been hearing about the frustrations in the beef industry from Alberta, resulting from the discovery of a single animal with BSE -- I won't try to pronounce the full name -- or Mad Cow Disease and how it's affecting the lives of many, many people across the Canadian farming and meat processing industry. Like a number of other issues of a national and international nature, Mr. Speaker, this is now starting to have an impact here in the NWT. Specifically it refers to the situation that some of our big game outfitters are finding because of cancellations or potential cancellations of US hunters coming into Canada because they cannot bring their trophies or meat byproducts back to the United States.

Mr. Speaker, there is a ban now on the import of ruminant animals and their meat and products. This includes things like the cape and the horns of trophies. Of course, our caribou, musk ox and bison are among some of the coveted trophies that these hunters come up here to seek. The value of hunting to the NWT is something in the neighbourhood of $18 million, and fully 80 percent of the hunters who come here are from the United States, Mr. Speaker, so we have something that's of considerable importance to our tourism and our outfitting industry.

I'm told that as of today there's some confusion at the Agriculture Canada level with the American government's position and with our Canadian tourism agency as well, and I'm going to be asking the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development the status of this situation during question period. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause