Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I apologize. Today, I am recycling one of my earlier statements on the NWT commercial fishing industry. On September 21, 2018, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard announced the establishment of a ministerial advisory panel to examine alternate governance and ownership models for the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation which better reflect the environment and market conditions in today's industry. The panel was directed to explore models that support collaboration and cooperation amongst fishers and involve them in decision making.

Mr. Speaker, the report also stressed a change in governance of FFMC by, and I quote, "Increase fisher participation in FFMC by drawing board members from fishers and fisher organizations. Fisher board members should be chosen to reflect the regional geographic diversity of FFMC operations and the demographic pattern of Indigenous participation in the fishery."

Mr. Speaker, after our government received this document, and I am assuming it was never read as the decision was made to do the exact opposite, this government removed the representative who was a fisher and replaced him with a GNWT bureaucrat. We need a fisher from the NWT sitting on the board of FFMC, and when I say "NWT" I do not mean transient Alberta fishers.

Mr. Speaker, this government talks about building relationships and working in partnership with our home-grown industries. In actuality, what is happening is that we are dictating to them and saying that we know better. We do know better when it comes to slowing a process down or not providing timely decisions or delivery of projects. That is an area we excel. When it comes to the industry itself, it is the fishers that know best. It is the fishers who are putting their lives on the line.

Mr. Speaker, I need to know and the fishers need to know that the approximately $9 million to be spent on a fish plant in Hay River is based on sound and factual data. If we ever expect to maximize financial returns to the fishers for their product they deliver, we need their support and their participation at all levels of the business case. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.