Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I spoke in this House about my concern with the Department of ITI and its Minister for not sharing a current roadmap of our outdated secondary diamond manufacturing strategy. Recently the Minister took to the world stage to drum up business for the North. Now, as noble as this may sound, the concern of many is what map or compass was he using.

The following questions for the Minister of ITI are to help understand what our course is in the diamond manufacturing area, what is its direction, have we cleaned up the mess from the first go around, and

are we ready to proceed on this international stage with this second opportunity.

My first question has to do with the apparent secrecy of the recent signing of Deepak International Ltd. as an approved diamond manufacturer. Now, we are all aware that the Minister has the authority to designate this approved status of NWT diamond producers, but why did the Minister take it upon himself not to consult the Standing Committee of EDI, nor the Member for Range Lake where the manufacturing is taking place, prior to signing this agreement?