Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m happy to see all the green in the House today. Everybody knows I’m a green guy on the inside too. Go, Brendan, go!
A Weledeh business that has provided local food security through responsible harvesting of sustainable resources and years of local employment is passing into environmentally responsible hands. The story about new owners taking over the business of Archie Buckley selling our top quality Great Slave Lake whitefish and other fish to the community and, they hope, the world is spreading.
I met with Brian Abbott, one of the new owners, in the fall when he proudly shared his plans to make a green business even greener in every way. Mr. Abbott will continue fishing the rich stocks for dockside and in-town sales. He’s upgraded with high-efficiency propane refrigeration, a biomass boiler for heat, added some solar power, and will be harvesting ice in the winter, drawing down his ice lockers as he processes his summer fish. He’s upgraded his systems for purification of water used in fish processing and plans to use every bit of the fish: the best parts for people, scraps for dog and cat food, and the rest for organic agriculture-quality fertilizer.
As Mr. Abbott has reported to have said: “This is an opportunity you don’t get anywhere else in the world. A fishery like this with great quality and it’s dormant? We’re going to create a world-class product.”
Mr. Abbott has some hurdles to cross, including getting adequate harvest quotas and government inspection service for export markets. I hope our ITI officials are knocking on his door to offer their help.
I understand the Fishermen’s Federation has voted in favour of the Northwest Territories opting out of the federal Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation. Fishers have complained for years that the FFMC is their biggest obstacle to prosperity. I commend the Minister of ITI for any enabling action he may have taken to facilitate this discussion and for taking the next steps.
This business and a revitalized fisheries industry is the kind of business that will see us through the years as megaprojects boom and bust. I applaud Mr. Abbott and the Fishermen’s Federation for taking the future into their hands. They deserve every bit of support that we can give.
I will be asking the Minister of ITI questions with respect to these topics.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
