Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It is my honour to provide this motion to the House for consideration. It's just one of the things that constituents of mine and the artistic communities throughout the North have always been looking for assistance to help them develop their trade, their craft and, indeed, too, all the micro industries like all the basket makers in Fort Liard and the slipper makers in Wrigley and just throughout the valley, Mr. Speaker.
I had the opportunity to travel to Alaska, Mr. Speaker, and I saw this in action. We actually went to visit a hospital in Alaska and we toured the facility, it was a very nice facility. On every floor there was these glass display cases. There was, like, well, totem poles are still part of their culture in Alaska, there were all these arts and aboriginal crafts displayed everywhere and I said oh, that's pretty neat that the hospital is taking the time to purchase these products. But they had indicated to me there was actually a law passed by the state legislature there that offers one percent...It's actual law that one percent of all infrastructure be produced to purchase arts and crafts to display in their buildings. I thought what a huge opportunity to bolster our own arts and culture and industry in the North if we're able to do that. So that's why this motion is here before you today, Mr. Speaker.
I'd just like to say that it's a long time coming I believe, because just back in my own riding we've got Nats'enelu, it was run by the notable Mr. Darcy Moses for the longest time, but it had to shut down just because he wasn't able to turn over the product fast enough. It created a real good economy in Fort Simpson alone. It was called Nats'enelu, which means let's sew together. Just using that as a base it just means that the people were able to get together and share stories, but most of all it was able to keep the sewing alive, the crafts alive and it just created a bit of an economy, but our North wasn't prepared for it yet. There was not enough disposable income and even though they had just started the online sale of those products too, Mr. Speaker, but it really didn't take off because it was five, even seven years ago, being online wasn't a big thing, but they weren't about to successfully use that. So eventually that Nats'enelu closed down in Fort Simpson and it remains vacant to this day.
We do have one small business in Fort Simpson that sells crafts, but it's too small that it can't really turn over the crafts enough. As well, the people that are sewing out there, the people that are making arts and crafts, and drums and snowshoes, there's just not enough market for them and they're just not turning over fast enough. As well as in Fort Liard, we've got a beautiful craft shop there. It's big and with the help of our government we're able to use that one and turn over the products fast enough, but it's very a capital intensive marketing program for that.
Having a program like this by our government would be a huge shot in the arm for the arts and culture industry throughout the North, Mr. Speaker. Just take, for instance, we've got a $40 million courthouse scheduled for Yellowknife. If you take up to one percent of the value of that building, that's $400,000, Mr. Speaker.
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Can you imagine a $400,000 shot in the arm for the arts and culture industry? It's huge. We can create a mini industry and a sustainable industry. When I look at $400,000 I just see all these elders sewing away like crazy, trying to keep up the product to provide for this building.
Also in the news of late as well, about two months ago one of our famed northern artists had to leave the North because there was not enough work here in the North. By having this motion pass, by having our government support this type of industry is just one small way of bringing our northerners back and giving our northerners a place to do their business, a place to work and a place to expand on what was there.
As I was thinking about the motion here earlier today too, Mr. Speaker, I'd just like to mention that growing up as a child and watching my mother sew and do her arts and crafts and tan her moose hide, you know, it's probably a story that's given throughout all the small communities. You know, they keep saying it's a dying art and lots of people spend lots of time and try to tan hides and take the time to bring their children out there and it's very labour intensive. To keep it going is very hard work, but people aren't doing it as much. I'm thinking perhaps because it's time nowadays has to be done for other things. Time is spent in survival. We need money to run our households and I think a lot of people are leaning towards that way. But if we can make money from a hobby, all the better, and if we can make money from something that we love, something that's ingrained in us, something that we were brought up with and it was around us all the time, then I say I support that 100 percent.
That's something that my mother and father did. Like many small units throughout the North and back in the old days, is that they were independent, completely autonomous, independent and they only went to town to pick up the supplies they needed like sugar and salt, basic supplies, but everything else was made, Mr. Speaker. The blankets were made, the stoves were made. In fact, the stoves were made from discarded drums, from 45 gallon drums that were left by the surveyors back in those days, but everything was made. Canoes were made, paddles were made, dog sleighs were made, knives were made, pretty well everything that we needed to survive on the land was made. If we simulate this and if we bring it back and get our youth out there...
One of the things that Trout Lake always talks about is that we bring our children onto the land, we give them an option, you know, give them a choice of how they want their future to be. I often think about that and often share that with people as I travel throughout the North, Mr. Speaker, and they're absolutely right and they're absolutely on the right track. Even though we've got this new modern world where we have to work on a pipeline, but that's not true. If we want to maintain a simple lifestyle with arts and culture, I believe that should happen and this is one small way in which we can do that. We can support this form of life and give our arts and culture a big shot in the arm, Mr. Speaker.
With that, I'm really proud to have this motion before us today. Mahsi cho.
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