Thank you, Mr.

Speaker. My

questions today are for the Minister of ITI. It gets back to my Member’s statement where I spoke of the fact we have had diamond mining in the Northwest Territories now for over ten years. I feel it’s long overdue that we take a look at our policy, our objectives and a strategy to deal with diamond mining in the Northwest Territories. As we see other jurisdictions across the country — Saskatchewan, Ontario and perhaps Quebec — developing potential diamond mines, there’s a great risk that these other jurisdictions are going to pass us by.

The first question I’d have for the Minister is: why can’t the Government of the Northwest Territories get access to the 10 per cent of rough, and why does it need to be 10 per cent? Why can’t we look at even 15 per cent or 20 per cent and set up a diamond exchange here in Yellowknife instead of Antwerp or London?