Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With regard to this bill, I was probably the lone wolf in the wilderness on this one because I was yee-yawing back and forth. At the end of the day the original intent of the bill that was brought in in the early 1990s was in regard to the closure of two lodges on Great Bear Lake and some means of protection for the consumer. I think there’s still that type of need in the Northwest Territories from what we’re seeing with the big game outfitters in the area of caribou hunts and polar bears. I think that we have to be cognizant of the fact that we are unique in our tourism ventures and we have some unique challenges in the Northwest Territories such as isolation, transportation, logistical challenges getting people in and out of the lodges, and our distance from southern urban centres.

I just wanted to state that as a member of the committee I was the only one who sort of opposed the bill, but for the sake of progress I will not respond to the bill or vote on it. I want to put that on the public record, because I do have concerns of

not having it there to protect the consumer in an industry that basically has had to bring in legislation because of what happened in two lodges on Great Bear Lake. We are not immune to that today. We’ve talked to the tourism industry. We’ve talked to the lodge owners, and even they weren’t all unanimously on side when it came to this issue before committee. Again, I’d like to leave it at that and just like to state for the record where I stand on this. Thank you.