Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, art is a reflection on society and the aspirations, beliefs, and observations of its members. The expression and enjoyment of art is an essential element in the health of any free and democratic society. Art is not created or defined by government, and government's role is to recognize the social, cultural, economic, and spiritual contribution that art makes to our communities. These communities of individual artists, art organizations, and art consumers, they serve in a system and the achievement of these objectives.

Mr. Speaker, the reason I am talking about the arts and the importance of the arts is that, yesterday, the Standing Committee on Government Operations held a public hearing and were overwhelmed by the number of witnesses. We had standing room only in our Chamber, and it was very clear that Northerners care about the arts. What they do not want to see is a battle between arts and sports, which is something we have heard a lot about in the news and also from our constituents. We should not have two organizations or two stakeholder groups that contribute so much to our society and in particular so much to the lives of young people and young Northerners having to battle it out for limited funding dollars, scraps from the table. This is not just about enhancing our culture or enhancing the artistic or sports programs. This is about the economy, Mr. Speaker. The arts and culture sector is a $54.6-billion industry in Canada, a cornerstone of our economy.

In 2016, the Government of Canada made a historic investment of $1.9 billion over five years to foster innovation, creativity, and growth in our cultural sector. As part of this investment, the government invested $550 million to foster the development of the arts in Canada by doubling the budget of the Canada Council for the Arts between 2016 and 2021. This government has not increased the endowment to the Arts Council, the NWT, for 10 years. Over that time, arts organizations have had to struggle to find available funding. It is time that we changed our track record on the arts. It is time that we invested in the council of arts, and it is time that we gave artists a stronger economic basis for their craft, create real creative jobs, and grow our creative industry so that we can give Northerners the health and economic success that they deserve. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.