Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when I look at our mandate I see support for tourism, for manufacturing, for economic diversification and job creation. I see support for culture and heritage and support for entrepreneurs and small business.

If there was a way to check many of these boxes in one fell swoop, I don't think there's a Member in this Chamber who would turn down that opportunity.

Mr. Speaker, the NWT Brewing Company was that opportunity. The company is owned by two fantastic young entrepreneurs, Fletcher and Miranda Stevens. They manufacture a made-in-the-North product. Their Woodyard Pub and Eatery is the gateway to Old Town and a popular tourist destination. Their pub has murals by local artists and relics that represent the culture and heritage of our community, and they create home-grown jobs right here in the North.

One would think this successful venture would receive hearty support from this government, but then the story changes. As they were just getting started with permitting and development, they were met with endless red tape and uncertainty. It required investment and commitment on their part because the permit process required approval of a finished product, even though they couldn't produce a finished product without a brewing facility. Numerous families, including tourist families, showed support and wanted to go for dinner there, but antiquated licensing policies have prevented that from happening. Afraid the local product would be so popular it would reduce tax revenues from sales of other beer, the GNWT taxed them at a rate that priced them right out of the market, and now the liquor board has made a decision about warehousing their product which will drive up the price of this manufactured good even further.

Mr. Speaker, this isn't about us versus them. It isn't about pointing fingers or slinging mud at each other. In fact, the Stevens are very grateful to the Minister of Finance and his department for reducing the tax rate. That good work was quickly lost by the board's recent decision.

In many ways this new business is the first of its kind and was a new undertaking for all of us, but our government has an excellent opportunity now to learn from this experience and make right a number of wrongs.

Mr. Speaker, let's get back to checking off the boxes in our mandate. Let's support the Stevens and the NWT Brewing Company, and let's help them become the made-in-the-North success that we all want them to be. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.