Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Fisheries and Oceans Canada has a number of principles in allocating quotas. One is adjacency; another is historical or economic dependence, that is, usage. What I'm talking about is the 0B quota zone. It's just offshore here. In 0A, I don't think there's a threat of any increases going to other jurisdictions, because it's so far north.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  To buy raw soapstone, rock? I don't see why you couldn't. Pardon me for maybe being flippant, but it's just a rock, right? But I wouldn't be surprised--

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  There are a couple of rocks, lazuli lapis, or something like that--I can't remember the name exactly. It's a very bluish-toned rock, and it would be very difficult to obtain, but soapstone shouldn't be a problem. You could probably go and buy it from the guy who sells it to the carvers.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Our preference is to use the native stone, because if you're making an Inuit carving, you would like it to be on rock from Nunavut. But we have looked at bringing soapstone in from other jurisdictions.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  In my mind it is. There's now a power line to Churchill, Manitoba. Manitoba Hydro extended that power line around five years ago. You're relatively close to the 60th parallel already, so to move it up would be relatively efficient in that way, because you don't have to bring it all the way up from, say, the middle of the province.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Nunavut is one-fifth the size of Canada, so it's very hard to generalize east to west across the board. In this community, as far as the carvings you might buy in town that are actually carved here--separate from carvings from other communities--the soapstone typically comes from Cape Dorset.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'm not a civil servant. Nunavut Development Corporation employees are specifically excluded from government public service. It would be dangerous for me to say. According to Statistics Canada, the average income for a Nunavut resident who has employment earnings and is aged 15 or over is about $38,000.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  They're all important, and our focus is on the companies that I identified. Advancements in any of those infrastructure projects would benefit the communities and our companies, but we don't have necessarily a direct involvement in any of them. There is the new harbour going into the community of Pangnirtung, and we will see a benefit there.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, I'm just about there.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  There are electricity alternatives out there that need to be investigated, like wind and solar. Nunavut has not necessarily benefited from equitable application of federal programs such as small craft harbours and road construction. Another example is the DFO aboriginal fisheries strategy.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, and welcome, everybody. I'll give you a quick background on the Nunavut Development Corporation and then I'll get into a number of points. One point I didn't list is broadband, and it's critical. I support everything Mr. Doyle had to say. The Nunavut Development Corporation is a crown corporation of the Government of Nunavut, and it was created by the Nunavut Development Corporation Act.