Thank you. Mr. Koe.

Do you have agents in the north who are buying products to supply this kiosk in Toronto? How do you supply the kiosk?

Thank you. Mr. Minister.

Mr. Chairman, the manager of the kiosk has been here and is getting to know many people in the Northwest Territories, albeit sometimes just over the telephone. She may buy directly or she may request from the development corporation some assistance in acquiring some products. The development corporation may ask the department what we know of different products. We may have some new products we would like to try out and we would send them over to the development corporation to send to the manager for assessment. Things are acquired through any one of those means. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. Mr. Koe.

Back to the development of natural resources. The development of packaged foods, meats and fish, especially meats, one of the concerns of mass production of caribou is the lack of meat inspection facilities or services in the north. What is this government doing to develop the ability to have inspectors in the north?

Thank you. Mr. Minister.

Mr. Chairman, regarding the muskox harvest conducted by the Inuvialuit in Sachs Harbour, we actually brought in the meat inspectors from Agriculture Canada and they are on-site. There is the ability to bring these people in, although it is expensive. The actual meat inspection falls within the Department of Renewable Resources and we have been working with Renewable Resources in that regard. One of our big problems is that when you have to meet the standards required by the federal government for shipment of meat products across territorial, provincial or international borders, the task becomes somewhat onerous. The standards of the buildings and so on are very high and we have not had much experience in trying to work with them to bring a plan together whereby it would be a federally inspected plant. At the present time the only federally inspected area is in the muskox harvest by the Inuvialuit. In other areas we are just working with the Department of Renewable Resources to come up with the standards and work towards the meat inspection protocol. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. Business development. Total O and M $12,788 million. Agreed?

Agreed.

---Agreed

Economic Development Agreement

Thank you. Page 15-14. Economic development agreement. Total O and M $8.443 million. Mr. Koe.

Under EDA and previous EDAs, one of the criticisms from the clients in the communities was the ability to access program monies. Previously, there have been many committees which you had to go through in order to access the money. Committees met perhaps once every three or four months. Does this new EDA agreement streamline the application process and committee process so funds are more easily accessible by clients?

Thank you. Mr. Minister.

Mr. Chairman, it is better than it was, but it is still not as fast as everyone would like to see it. There are a number of federal agencies involved with us in this EDA agreement. Of course, they have their input into how these funds are going to be accessed and who will get the funds. There are regional subcommittees, but they still have to deal with a central agency. If you remember the old EDA, and I am sure Mr. Koe does, you had to send the documents down to Ottawa to get them signed. That is not the case any more. They are at least signed in the Northwest Territories. It is better

than it was. It is not as good as we would like it to be, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Koe.

Do you have any idea of the time frame it takes from the date of an application to cheque issuance? I know, in certain sub-agreements, it used to take in excess of 60 to 70 days. These statistics were kept. How streamlined is the process now in terms of the number of days?

Thank you. Mr. Minister.

Not as short as the BCC, Mr. Chairman, or our contribution agreements and not as long as CAEDS. It does take some considerable time because there are specific banking days and so on and so forth. It could take as long as three months, Mr. Chairman. There is no question about that.

Thank you. Economic Development Agreement, total O and M, $8.443 million. Agreed?

Agreed.

---Agreed

Finance And Administration

Thank you. Page 15-15, finance and administration. Total O and M, $1.524 million. Agreed?

Agreed.

---Agreed

Thank you. Details of grants and contributions. Grants, $435,000. Agreed?

Agreed.

---Agreed