Item 5, Oral Questions. Mr. Gargan.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister of Economic Development and Tourism. I am pleased to note in the Minister's announcement of December 2, 1992, that he has finally made appointments to the Board of the N.W.T. Business Credit Corporation. I am glad he got around to it, Mr. Speaker. Five appointments had expired on October 4, making it impossible for the board to meet since September 30, 1992. The Minister's statement indicated that during that interval, any application within the authority of the chairperson was addressed by the vice-chairman. Was he intending to indicate that no backlog of applications built up during that interval when the board had too few Members to make a quorum?

Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, when the board appointments ran out, there were no applications before the board that would have required the board to meet. They could be dispensed by the chairman of the board. Since that time, we have had five applications. The first one was on October 6. The others were on October 21, October 23, November 9, and November 16. I was not concerned about the board having to deal with them. When applications are received, they have to be analyzed and the information must be put together. Yes, while I admit that the board has not been able to meet up until now because of lack of board appointments, there were no loans that it would have had to deal with anyway. It does take some time to process those applications, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Item 5, Oral Questions. Supplementary, Mr. Gargan.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister tell the House the reasons for the two-month delay in making these appointments?

Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, I think I sent the letter out to the Members. I know that the return date was November 13. I was trying to consult with the Members and get those names in. They had to be contacted. They had to be looked at and taken to Cabinet. I apologize for starting late, but I wanted to make sure that I consulted with ordinary Members on this issue. Thank you.

Item 5, Oral Questions. Supplementary, Mr. Gargan.

The Minister should be aware that Greenway Holdings of Hay River received E.D.A. funding some time ago to partially finance the development of an incubator mall in Hay River. The rest of the funding was intended to come from loans through the credit corporation. I understand that an application has been resubmitted for loan funding, but the board has been unable to review it because the Minister did not make the five outstanding appointments. Recognizing that the consideration of this resubmitted loan application has now been delayed to a point where E.D.A. funding for the project may be in some danger, will the Minister indicate what action he is prepared to take to ensure that this submission is dealt with in the most efficient fashion?

Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, due to confidentiality rules, I cannot confirm whether or not there is an application in by that company. I will say that I have heard the Member's comments. If there is an application in by that company, I will advise the board that it should be dealt with in a speedy fashion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Item 5, Oral Questions. Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today, the Minister of Renewable Resources, the Honourable Titus Allooloo, in a statement, made reference to a meeting that took place last night, which I was fortunate enough to attend with some members of the Italian Fur Trade Association and Italian media. From that discussion, it became clear to me that there is a need for work to be done to help our trappers, not here on our

land, but across the ocean in Europe. This is where decisions are made. I understand that 60 per cent of the furs used in the Italian fur industry comes from our land. It is in jeopardy if we do not get involved. The politicians over there are under extreme pressure by anti-fur and anti-trapping organizations. The information they use is not accurate. The fur association that was here believes that northern politicians should meet with European politicians. Could the Minister could tell the House what sort of plan of action the department has developed to do this kind of work? Thank you.

Mr. Allooloo

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The advice that we got last night was very useful. I asked my department to see how we could help our trapping industry to get the best promotion possible in Europe. We have contacts in Europe, especially in Brussels, where the European parliament is located. The advice we have received from the people in Brussels has been taken very seriously by us. Very soon, we will be seeking their advice as to whether we need to send some politicians to talk in the European parliament, and when and how we could be the most effective in terms of representing our trappers. Thank you.

Item 5, Oral Questions. Mr. Gargan.

Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, I anticipate that they will be meeting next week.

Item 5, Oral Questions. Mr. Koe.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Economic Development and Tourism. The honourable Member for Deh Cho raised some interesting questions about an application from Greenway Holdings in Hay River to fund an incubator mall. Can the Minister advise this House as to whether or not he is knowledgeable of whether an application has been filed at his department for financing?

Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, I am knowledgeable about the number of applications that have been submitted since October 4 of this year.