Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to discuss import substitution today; what it is, the opportunities it presents and the support for it that is available to people and businesses from this government. Import substitution is simply making or finding things we need from local and regional resources instead of shipping them here or importing them from far away. For example, instead of importing beef or pork from southern Canada or Australia, many people get their meat from the land, from moose or caribou, bison, ducks and grouse. Some people heat their homes with firewood they collect themselves or purchase from the local provider instead of importing extremely expensive heating oil from southern Canada. Most people drink local water rather than bottled water from far away.
Substituting imported stuff with locally derived and locally made stuff has many amazing and positive spinoffs. First, the money exchange happens within the community or the region. It’s well known that money spent locally circulates within the community, accelerating its value to the local economy six or seven times. This means, of course, that there are more jobs within the community and options for making a decent living. The resources that are being used, water, forest, wildlife, et cetera, are looked after better because they are being used regularly, monitored by the users and their value is known and recognized. The land and water is healthier and people are healthier. Further, the skills of people using local resources, either collecting them or using them to
make into value-added products increases, and with increased skills there comes an entrepreneurial spirit that further builds economic options for others.
Finally, making and deriving products from local materials draws on all the people of a community, their traditional and non-traditional knowledge and skills, and results in the strengthening of social ties and social health. The cooperative community is a strong one.
People and businesses can take advantage of the opportunities presented by the concept of import substitution by accessing funds to support their work or to start an import substitution business. A good example is the SEED program, or Support for Entrepreneurs in Economic Development, housed in the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment. Are you interested marketing fish locally, growing and selling vegetables, cutting your heating and power costs by generating your own heat from firewood or solar panels?
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted