Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I am going to speak about, yes, fishing. The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment developed the NWT Commercial Fishing Strategy during the life of the last Assembly. Since its development, many people and organizations have come forward and advised that they were not adequately consulted during the creation of the initiative. In fact, some pointed to location of the building, unnecessary size, and functionality of the proposed fish plant as they fear the current viability of the business is not there. Some were quite astounded to see the bids received came in at almost twice the amount the GNWT had in its budget.
The business case as conceived by ITI focused on maximum production, beyond what fishers are capable of producing now or perhaps may ever produce. ITI's plans include inviting seasonal fishers from Alberta to maximize production. I have not seen how it rightly commits to investment in our own NWT residents. We need to create jobs here in the North and, more specifically, for the people of the North. We can accomplish this while systematically increasing production through building skilled NWT fishers in places around the lake.
Mr. Speaker, the First Nations and Metis people, who have had a historical presence in the fishery over the years, were not properly consulted to participate in the development of the strategy. Why did this happen? Because our bureaucracy determined that First Nations and Metis do not have a Section 35 right of the commercial fishery, thus consultation was not required. We are talking about an industry that is slowly dying. We are talking about an industry that barely generates a million dollars a year. We are talking about an industry that places fishers in peril every time they go out on the lake, and we have a bureaucracy citing Section 35 rights? We need to get real here.
We have a revitalization strategy in place. It is a place to start, but it has shortcomings. We as a government talk about partnerships with Indigenous governments, but fail to walk the talk in this area, the commercial fishing industry being one of them. It is important to remember that the commercial fishing industry is primarily made up of First Nations and Metis people. It is an industry that they are familiar with and, considering the antiquated equipment they work with, they continue to excel at it. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Mr. Speaker, this is just not about spending money. It is not about building a shiny new plant. It is about getting it right. I know we can build a viable industry. I know we can build a suitable plant. Mostly, I know we can improve life for NWT fishers and their families. It has to be done in collaboration with fishers, First Nations, and Metis people. I know that the Minister of ITI will do the right thing with this file. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.