This is page numbers 825 - 862 of the Hansard for the 12th Assembly, 6th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was chairman.

Topics

Bill 18: Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 4, 1993-94
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 854

Some Hon. Members

Agreed.

---Agreed

Bill 18: Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 4, 1993-94
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 854

The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

Does the committee agree that this matter is ready for third reading?

Bill 18: Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 4, 1993-94
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 854

Some Hon. Members

Agreed.

---Agreed

Bill 18: Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 4, 1993-94
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 854

The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

We have agreement. I would like to thank the Minister, on behalf of the committee, for assisting us in this matter. We had previously agreed to now move to Committee Report 16-12(6), Toward an Economic Development Strategy. Agreed?

Bill 18: Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 4, 1993-94
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 854

Some Hon. Members

Agreed.

---Agreed

Committee Report 16-12(6): Toward An Economic Development Strategy
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 854

The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

We have agreement. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Zoe.

Committee Report 16-12(6): Toward An Economic Development Strategy
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Henry Zoe

Henry Zoe North Slave

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I'll go to the specific areas that relate to the recommendations from the committee on Public Accounts.

Strategic Focus

With regard to the strategic focus section, many people agree, Mr. Chairman, that government support of one kind or another is needed to stimulate and sustain economic development in the north. With limited resources, the government must focus and coordinate its economic efforts. This requires a clear, central strategy, and all participants must understand their role in achieving the best results.

Although the department and corporations under review have primary responsibility for economic development, all government departments and agencies share this responsibility through initiatives such as the business incentive policy. Specific individual departments must be actively involved because of the direct link between economic development and other government initiatives such as the income security reform initiative, commercial fish marketing strategy and the fur strategy.

Goals And Objectives

Committee Members were unable to determine the primary overall goal of economic development in the Northwest Territories. There are two overall goals that in practice can be contradictory. One goal focuses on creating jobs so that more citizens would be employed and feeling productive, and fewer people would be reliant on social assistance. Achieving this goal, however, usually requires continuous government funding.

A second goal directs the government to assist businesses to become viable and self-sufficient. Fewer businesses would rely on the government for survival. To achieve this goal, the government must make wise long-term investment decisions.

Both auditors and committee Members feel that the mandate for the department is based on some combination of both goals. We believe that it is not possible to develop coherent policies and programs with two different ideas of the organization's primary responsibility. In fact, this lack of clarity in the overall goal for developing the economy of the north underlies a number of the issues and problems identified by the audit and the committee review. Therefore, our committee makes the following recommendation, Mr. Chairman.

Committee Motion 76-12(6): To Adopt Recommendation 1, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Henry Zoe

Henry Zoe North Slave

I move that the committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories, under the direction of the Department of the Executive, develop and implement a comprehensive economic development strategy which encompasses all government departments and agencies. The strategy should highlight major government initiatives such as income security reform and should cover the period 1995 to 1999.

Committee Motion 76-12(6): To Adopt Recommendation 1, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Zoe. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Committee Motion 76-12(6): To Adopt Recommendation 1, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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An Hon. Member

Question.

Committee Motion 76-12(6): To Adopt Recommendation 1, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

Question has been called. All those in favour of the motion? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

The chair continues to recognizes the Member for North Slave, Mr. Zoe.

Planning Departmental And Corporation Activities

Committee Motion 76-12(6): To Adopt Recommendation 1, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Henry Zoe

Henry Zoe North Slave

Mr. Chairman, with regard to planning departmental and corporation activities, the committee Members noted during the review that the department and the corporation seems to be operating without the benefit of a long-term plan. Members agree that departmental managers should develop a territory-wide plan that clearly identifies opportunities, the strategies for developing opportunities and the associated costs of benefits. Therefore, our committee makes the following recommendation.

Committee Motion 77-12(6): To Adopt Recommendation 2, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

November 8th, 1994

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Henry Zoe

Henry Zoe North Slave

I move that the committee recommends that the Department of Economic Development and Tourism develop a territory-wide plan for long-term economic development.

Further, the committee recommends that the plan should address division of the Northwest Territories in 1999.

Committee Motion 77-12(6): To Adopt Recommendation 2, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Zoe. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Committee Motion 77-12(6): To Adopt Recommendation 2, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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An Hon. Member

Question.

Committee Motion 77-12(6): To Adopt Recommendation 2, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 855

The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Motion is carried.

---Carried

The chair recognizes the Member for North Slave, Mr. Zoe.

Strategic Directions

Focus On Small Businesses

Committee Motion 77-12(6): To Adopt Recommendation 2, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Henry Zoe

Henry Zoe North Slave

With regard to focus on strategic directions and focus on small businesses, Mr. Chairman. One of the points made over and over again is the need to focus on small businesses and on entrepreneurs. Committee Members noted that the potential for significant returns flowing from small businesses is great. They related examples where investing small amounts of money created jobs and self-sufficiency for people.

If value for money is assessed, committee Members believe that these small investments would prove to be the most cost-beneficial. In spite of this observation, many programs, the Development Corporation in particular, have tended to fund big projects. Large projects create a relatively large number of jobs in a limited number of communities. While the strategy has been successful in some communities, committee Members believe that more could be gained by making smaller investments in a larger number of communities.

Committee Members feel it is important to investigate the relative advantages and disadvantages to Northwest Territories communities of small versus large-scale investment. Therefore, our committee makes the following recommendation.

Committee Motion 78-12(6): To Adopt Recommendation 3, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 855

Henry Zoe

Henry Zoe North Slave

I move that the committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories conduct a cost-benefit analysis to compare the value for money achieved from small, as opposed to large scale, investments. Further, the committee recommends that the government review and adjust its policies for issuing grants, loans and contributions, as required, based on the results of the analysis.

Committee Motion 78-12(6): To Adopt Recommendation 3, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 855

The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Zoe. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Committee Motion 78-12(6): To Adopt Recommendation 3, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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An Hon. Member

Question.

Committee Motion 78-12(6): To Adopt Recommendation 3, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 855

The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Motion is carried.

---Carried

The chair continues to recognize the Member for North Slave.

Marketing

Committee Motion 78-12(6): To Adopt Recommendation 3, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Henry Zoe

Henry Zoe North Slave

Thank you. The auditors noted that Economic Development and Tourism does not have an effective, overall marketing strategy that matches product to demand. They emphasized this need in their discussion of arts and crafts. They suggest that a marketing strategy should focus on maximizing benefits to the communities.

Committee Members feel that an essential element of the marketing strategy is collecting and distributing market information to people in the communities who need to be aware of the outside market. They need to know whether there will be buyers for the products that the community produces. The auditors noted that a marketing strategy is also required to govern the tourist industry.

In the summer of 1994, Economic Development and Tourism produced the Northwest Territories tourism marketing strategy, 1994-95 to 1998-99. The strategy is based on data that its author describes as failed. Further, they said, "we've had to make some educated guesses about the status of the industry's current customer base."

Given these qualifiers, committee Members question the utility of this strategy. Therefore, our committee makes the following recommendation:

Committee Motion 79-12(6): To Adopt Recommendation 4, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

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Henry Zoe

Henry Zoe North Slave

I move that the committee recommends that the Department of Economic Development and Tourism develop a comprehensive marketing strategy that focuses on the collection and distribution of reliable market information.

Committee Motion 79-12(6): To Adopt Recommendation 4, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 855

The Chair

The Chair Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Zoe. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Committee Motion 79-12(6): To Adopt Recommendation 4, Carried
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 855

An Hon. Member

Question.