Thank you. Mr. Speaker and colleagues, welcome back. As we conclude our last sitting of the 18th Assembly and as a first term MLA representing Sahtu, consensus government has provided me with a broader perspective on collaboration and partnerships. These are fundamental principles of engagements in achieving political support for economic sustainable growth, principles to enhancing and improving the Sahtu residents to overcome challenges for improved programs and services, residents who supported my presence here in this Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, our students and residents in Colville Lake will...

Thanks to the Minister for that reply. That is good news there. Can the Minister tell me what his department is doing to support or promote this exploration and interest?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. June the 1st to the 8th is NWT Mining Week, an industry that is vibrant and a provider of benefits to many NWT residents, community donation recipients, workers, trainees, the business community, and government.

Mr. Speaker, mining is still key to the northern economy. In the earlier days, mineral potential began in the Sahtu along the shores of Great Bear Lake. Today's signs and exploration preliminary results show evidence of that continued potential in the region. There is a possibility this area can become a major player in contributions to the post-devolution GDP.

T...

Thanks to the Minister for that reply. Moving on to the next question, we have a manufacturing community in our territory. The Minister introduced the manufacturing strategy. It seems to me that a vibrant mining sector could be a good customer for manufacturing projects in the NWT. Are there any plans to link the two sectors together?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Following up on my recognition of NWT Mining Week, as we heard from the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation in his statement, the De Beers Group has made a meaningful contribution. This is an example of industry's presence in our territory, not to mention the absorbing costs of transporting fuel by imperial oil, as well.

Mr. Speaker, last week the Minister released the 2018 Socio-Economic Agreement Report for diamond mines operating in the Northwest Territories. This week is Mining Week, as mentioned, and again, we are hearing about the diamond mines. I...

O God, may your spirit and guidance be in us as we work for the benefit of all our people for peace and justice in our land and for the constant recognition of the dignity and aspirations of those whom we serve.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for that allowance. When it comes to diamond mining, we have also talked a lot in this House about opportunities to manufacture diamonds. Can the Minister give us an update on the department's work regarding the NWT secondary diamond industry? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I, too, want to recognize the chair of SCEDE and the Members, the staff, the department, and the Minister's office for everyone's collaboration to expedite this to where we are today, recognizing there are a number of candidates, a number of areas of interest, that can immediately and in the long term comply with their initiatives under this bill.

In my recent trips to my home community in Fort Good Hope, I witnessed the discussions or negotiations going on to set out a protected area upstream from Fort Good Hope and the Rampart River delta area, an area unique to a number...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Part of our correspondence came through personal presentations, written presentations. I read out for the record one of the presentations that was sent to our chair of SCEDE on May 6th from the Sahtu Renewable Resource Board. At the bottom of the first page, it says in bold:

"ENR Legislative Development Process: While the SRRB, the Sahtu Renewable Resource Board, participated in ENR's technical working group for developing bills 38 and 44, this participation was not granted to SRRB until February 13, 2018."

I am not too sure of the timeframe of the notification of...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I can't see myself supporting this motion and the previous one, as well. When I consider the existence of what we have already, we made significant progress in two candidate areas and two areas, one off the land claim settlement area and one within, so you have two examples of a system that is in front of us. It is working, and the staff are proceeding on it as we speak. Now, we are trying to change the system that is working, so I can't see what we are really trying to achieve by placing timelines and restricting the Minister's office from authority to move forward when...