Thank you, Mr. Chairman. If I might make two comments, I do not know if the Minister necessarily has to answer them, as opposed to maybe taking them as suggestions, more than anything else.

There has been, in some of the communities a concern about the development of arts or crafts, because number one, materials, is one issue and secondly, because buildings have not been established to accommodate the development of those products. I just want to ask the Minister, or the Government Leader, who is the acting Minister at this time, and the department, to review this situation and consider how we might be able to assist the communities in finding locations or purchasing bulk material, so they can, in fact, accommodate the requests that have been made in some communities.

I can say to you, in the case of being part of a community on the Dempster, that there was a desire for products, but we did not have them purchased, or the people did not have the materials to meet the market. I would ask you to maybe review that situation, and see how we might be able to address it in the short and the long-term.

Secondly, one other aspect that I know probably could have been dealt with under directorate, but I wanted to deal with it here, that is the matter of taxation. I know that it will be dealt with by Mr. Pollard, if he returns, or by yourself, Ms. Cournoyea, but the matter of taxation is pretty important in terms of ensuring that there is long-term viability for businesses in the community. I would ask in developing new businesses that you look at the consequences of new taxes and/or requirements to pay back the government.

I say that because if our intention is to improve the economy in the north, then we have to ensure that there is viability for the businesses that we put money into and encourage the establishment of them in and throughout the Northwest Territories. I just wanted to make that comments, and you can take it as maybe advice and review the situation, not necessarily today, but on an ongoing basis.

Thank you. Member for Keewatin central.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Member for Natilikmiot.

---Laughter

I guess the concern that I would have, and it is something that we have spoken about before, with respect to

the Business Loan Fund, or the Business Credit Corporation, as it is now called. I think there is a feeling, certainly amongst the standing committee, and I know at a personal level, that this Business Credit Corporation should really be at arms length.

It should not be necessarily Chaired by a bureaucrat, as it currently is. I think it not only has to be seen as independent, and the control the government has is through its board of director appointees, it all has to be appointed by the Minister, anyway, and the same with its chairmanship.

While I appreciate, and I did say yesterday that I commended the department and the increased loan authority at the regional level, I still do not think it is satisfactory. $50,000 really cannot do a heck of a lot, if you look at it in quantitative terms, and the cost of doing business in some of these Arctic communities.

While I applaud you for moving in that direction, and actually giving the authority to the regional superintendents, I understand, without having to say "please" to Yellowknife, I am not sure that $50,000 goes a long way in today's world when you are trying to develop a small business.

Two things, on the loan board, Mr. Chairman. I would like to see an acceleration of it becoming more independent. I certainly want to see the Chair being a non-bureaucrat, because I think there is a sense of fairness then, an appearance of fairness, and there may be no political intervention, say, if it is bureaucrat reporting to the Minister. I would think that it would be in the best interest, frankly, of the Minister for that to happen.

I would also like to say that we need to clearly, again, in my opinion, increase the level of authority at the regional level. The frustration is felt by a lot of people, in my opinion, is that it is the small loans, it is up to the $75,000 or $100,000 loans, you hear every time you turn around.

A guy is trying to get a boat, it takes so long, by the time they get the boat, the ice is in, so you have lost a year. We have all got horror stories, and we have also got stories of success that the former Deputy Minister had alluded to when he defended the department in the committee.

I have the belief that if you expand the authority at the regional level, the real authority, where the guy can say, yes, this is good, I believe that things will run a lot smoother, and then we will get the statement which say the ones who care, rather than the ones who do not.

On natural resources, I think we have some exciting prospects out there in terms of the fishery. Of course, my friend from Pangnirtung has spoken eloquently about that. It is my understanding that in the project over in Cumberland Sound, there is somewhere around 20 to 30 people employed in that fishery. I think we should see an expansion in that.

I know that some of that is currently being done by the E.D.A. in terms of the research, and if we are fortunate enough, and I hope we are fortunate enough, to find sufficient fish resources, then I think the department has got to be ready to gear up, because it does provide a significant employment component to people who want to earn a living in a somewhat traditional manner.

My third point, if I may, is in the business services task summary, and that is with respect to the S.T.E.P. program. I had spoken to the Government Leader earlier about this. The S.T.E.P. program provides money to do community-based employment programs. The department has cut it significantly, and we spoke about it yesterday.

We need to, I have said on a number of occasions prior to being elected, and now that I have been elected, develop programs that are going to provide employment opportunities for a number of people who are on social assistance, or cannot get into the government. This will, at least, provide them with sufficient employment opportunities that they can then seek, as every other Canadian does, access to the Unemployment Insurance Act.

The S.T.E.P. program, while it has small dollars in it, $846,000 last year, is one example where that could take place. I think, you have to develop your fishery the same way, rather than paying a person per pound for fish, we should be paying them, hypothetically let us say, a fishermen comes in, he has one hundred pounds of fish, he gets a dollar a pound, he has $100.00. We should develop, as we did in the old days, not that long ago, in the early 1970s, these impressed accounts at the community levels, where you would then provide him with a pay cheque, take the appropriate deductions, and 10 or 12 weeks down the road these people would then be able to access legitimately, unemployment insurance programs.

We have to think a little more creatively in terms of the way in which we do these programs. We have to look beyond the budget. We have to look at how can we tag people on to another program that is going to make them feel good about themselves, continue to pay their rent, and feed their families. I think this department has an equal responsibility, as other departments, and they should be looking at it. When they look at there fishery and there arts and crafts, they should be looking at those kinds of fundamental changes.

Thank you.

Thank you. Madam Premier.

Mr. Chairman, just for the record, the Minister responsible for Economic Development did make a commitment to look at increased authority at the regional level. In regards to the fishery, I think that the ongoing support from the Minister of Economic Development is certainly there.

On the S.T.E.P. program, that has been referred to the Department of Education, so official change has already taken place. As for the Business Credit Corporation, and the Standing Committee on Finance's very strong recommendation to make it arms length, I believe the Minister, Mr. Pollard, has made a commitment to move in that area as quick as possible, and also to replace the Chairman with an independent Chairman, as was suggested. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Business development. Mr. Koe.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Can someone tell me where the cost of operating, managing and running the Expo '92 operations are recorded in this budget.

Thank you, Mr. Koe. Madam Premier.

Mr. Chairman, I am informed that if there is a profit or a loss, it would come under this section, business development. In this section here, however, there is a revolving fund that is a separate entity on how Expo was taken care of, in terms of their expenditures today, and the reporting nature of that particular fund. The Department of

Economic Development would have to report under the act. I would assume that now is the time to bring it up, because it is closest to the particular activity mandate of this section of Economic Development for the revolving fund.

Thank you. Business development, total O and M. Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, there is no reference anywhere in this budget, under this section, to the revolving fund or to any of the expenditures or revenues from the operations. I am really curious if there is a separate entity called the revolving fund. Can we get documentation on that? Do you have documentation?

Thank you. Madam Premier.

Mr. Chairman, statements have been tabled monthly in this House regarding that revolving fund. The revolving fund is a separate piece of legislation, and we can provide additional information as well.

Thank you. Business development, total O and M of $12,724 million. Mr. Koe.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Will the monies being spent on Expo include the costs incurred by full-time staff, the resources, time, and energy, that they spent, will that be included in calculating the total costs of our Expo operation?

Thank you. Madam Premier.

Mr. Chairman, I would have to take that question, I know all direct costs are charged to that account, and I believe the question is if a person that is an employee, a regular employee, under the business development fund and salaried would that be charged against the account? I do not know that answer. I would have to find that out.

Thank you. Business development. Mr. Koe.

Thank you. I did not expect an answer or numbers, but can the department then work out or inform this House some time in the future of how much extra costs are being incurred by full-time staff, and other people in the territories devoted to Expo, the Expo operations.

Thank you. Madam Premier.

Mr. Chairman, I will make sure that those indirect costs get calculated for reference to this committee.

Qujannamiik. Business development. Mr. Koe.

Just a couple of comments on the renewable resource sectors. In the speech yesterday mention was made of contributions to eight fishermen for turbot fishery, $40,000 to seven char fishermen, and mention of the commercial fishery assistance to Great Slave fisheries, which I think is a freight subsidy.

What kind of priority does the department, or this government, have for the commercial fishing industry in Great Slave Lake?