We did not go up north, and I think while he's not a representative of the Yukon or Nunavut, at the same time he still represents a very important one third of our northern country.
We often use the expression “coast to coast to...coast”—I put the pause in there for the blues—but it's important to recognize, I think, that perhaps there is still more we could be doing.
To me, waiting another year is too long, because if we wait until the fall of next year, essentially that's another 10 months. Whether we have a special meeting to hear from the Premier of the Northwest Territories about the issues facing the Northwest Territories, to have on the record some special consideration of what's going on up north, with issues not only of suicide but also of transportation and energy, I think we could find an hour for this gentleman.
If we can find an hour for the chair of the Economic Council of Canada to testify from South Korea, I'm sure if the premier is willing to come here to Ottawa in the week of November 21, we could at least hear him out, ask a few questions, and gain a better understanding of one of the only territories in the country where the federal government has a direct responsibility for almost all of the services.