Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, I do have a few opening remarks. The departmental capital estimates, for the fiscal year 1994-95, total $10 million, $6 million for the NWT Development Corporation and $4 million for parks and visitor facilities.
NWT Development Corporation
The Northwest Territories Development Corporation receives capital funding through the department but operates at arm's-length. It is mandated to invest primarily in lesser developed communities, where jobs are needed the most. The corporation has invested in 24 enterprises, most of which utilize traditional skills.
The board of the corporation has approved $24.8 million for investment to date. Investments have generated some 300 full and part-time jobs. About 200 of these jobs are occupied by aboriginal northerners and 40 by non-aboriginal northerners. In addition, corporation activity generates work for over 300 cottage workers, hunters and fishermen. The NWT Development Corporation is contributing to the well-being of approximately 650 northerners, of whom, about 560 work in level II and III communities.
Parks And Visitor Facilities
With respect to parks and visitor services, to meet the needs of communities and tourists, the department undertakes five types of projects. Destination parks, such as Katannilik in the Baffin, serve as the focus of tourist visits. People come specifically to experience the physical beauty of an area. Surveys showed that Auyuittuq National Park was too rugged for many visitors. Katannilik Park serves this niche in the market place, as well as other adventure travellers and eco-tourists.
Tourism supports parks, like Blackstone in the Deh Cho region, complements existing attractions and provides tourists with basic campground services needed to make it easier to experience remote wilderness attractions like the Nahanni National Park. Community parks, like Hay River's territorial park, have strong local recreational use and provide basic facilities to accommodate tourists who are then able to take advantage of what communities have to offer.
Visitor centres are intended to provide information and perhaps generate interest in other areas of the north. The visitor centre in Dawson City, for example, was developed to divert Alaska Highway travellers to the Dempster Highway. Informational signs and displays and roadside pull-offs welcome and inform the traveller.
Facility development, to date, has been largely determined by tourism plans, community aspirations and visitor surveys. The government has no formal policy to determine which facilities should be developed or where they should be built. We will be developing a clear policy on park establishment in the next eight to ten months. Included in the policy development process will be the development of a means to analyze the costs and benefits of development. Staff in the department are presently working with the Bureau of Statistics to develop a model to measure direct and indirect benefits generated by parks and tourism facilities.
One measurable direct benefit of the park system is local employment. Last year, approximately 44 direct construction jobs were generated by the capital expenditures. The direct benefit of the park system is significant, when the 50 small park operations and maintenance contracts, totalling $500,000, are added to these construction jobs.
Statistics collected at 14 parks and campgrounds indicate that last year, parks utilization increased 17 per cent from 1992, from 9,608 to 11,280. Increases in traffic resulted in a 35 per cent increase in revenue, from $103,000 to $139,000. This is revenue from fees only, and does not include revenue to businesses from tourist expenditures.
We have been able to measure some of the direct benefits resulting from the establishment of Katannilik Park. This past summer, four tour operators made 11 trips into Katannalik, with 115 package tour clients. These visitors brought an estimated $88,000 in direct benefits into Lake Harbour and Iqaluit. Of this amount, $32,000 was spent on air transportation and $10,000 on services and purchases in Iqaluit. Guide training for Lake Harbour residents resulted in direct employment for a number of local guides and outfitters who earned $15,000 in fees. A total of $26,000 was spent on carvings and souvenirs. The Lake Harbour hotel earned $5,000 for accommodating tourists, and programs involving local homestay and home meals were also developed and met with resounding success.
Lake Harbour has never attracted many tourists. With very little development in this park, there was tremendous growth in tourist activity and business in the community this past summer. Investments in parks and visitor facilities are much like investments in transportation infrastructure. They will continue to generate dividends, long after the initial investments are made. The indications from operators travelling to Katannalik this summer are that growth in demand, in 1994, will be as much as 40 per cent.
It is a difficult job to attract tourists into remote areas and small communities. Attractions are needed, as are facilities to handle visitors when they come. Through the parks, program attractions and facilities have been developed. Our parks are drawing people to the north. The essential services provided make for a better stay. Recreational needs of local residents are being met and employment and business opportunities generated. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.