Thank you. Would the Minister like to bring witnesses?

Yes, Madam Chairperson.

Thank you. Is the committee agreed?

Would the Sergeant-at-

Arms please escort the witnesses in, when they arrive, and if I could direct Members' attention, please, to page 6-29 of your Main Estimates book. Could I ask the Minister if he would please introduce his witnesses again for today's record? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. To my left, is the Deputy Minister, Ms. Penny Ballantyne, and to my right is Mr. Warren St. Germain, the director of finance and management services.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Actually, page 6-27, Mr. Erasmus.

We are on page 6-27, Department of Health and Social Services, community health programs, operations and maintenance, $20.174 million. Agreed?

Mr. Erasmus.

We are under community health programs, operations and maintenance, $20.174 million. Agreed?

Thank you. Community health programs, grants and contributions, contributions, total contributions, $19.544 million. Agreed?

Thank you. Information item, active positions. Agreed?

Thank you. Information item, boards of management, active positions. Agreed?

Work on behalf of others, details of work performed on behalf of others. Total department, $10.218 million. Agreed?

Thank you. Going back now to the program summary on page 6-7. Operations and maintenance as amended, $160.921 million. Agreed?

Thank you. Capital, $7.025 million. Agreed?

Thank you. Total expenditures as amended, $167.946 million. Agreed?

Thank you. Does the committee agree that the Department of Health and Social Services, Main Estimates, we have finished our consideration? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Minister. Thank you, Mr. St. Germain, Ms. Ballantyne. We will proceed to Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development with Mr. Kakfwi after a break. Thank you.

--Break

I would like to call the committee back to order. We are on the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development. I would like to invite the Minister to make his opening remarks. Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the mandate of the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development is both broad and complex. The department is responsible for promoting economic self-sufficiency through the sustainable development of natural resources and for enhancing the creation of the sustainable opportunities in the traditional and wage economies. The department also promotes sustainable development by managing and protecting the quality, diversity and abundance of natural resources and the integrity of the environment.

The department has made significant progress in a number of key areas this past year. Over this past year, members of the Protected Area Strategy Advisory Committee completed the Protected Area Strategy which provides a framework to protect areas of land and water with special natural and cultural values while providing greater clarity about the status, access and development options for these areas. Community consultation was an important element in developing the Protected Areas Strategy. Aboriginal organizations, industry, environmental groups and the federal government were equal partners in the process. The strategy received Cabinet approval in March and has been forwarded to the Minister of DIAND, the Honourable Jane Stewart, for her approval.

government so far.

Funding for the Northern Employment Strategy ended this past year. Over the last two years, the Northern Employment Strategy made a significant contribution to the creation of jobs for northerners and to the development of the Northwest Territories economy. This two-year program was established in 1997. It was designed to support northern businesses and communities in employing summer students, youth, social assistance recipients and unemployed Northerners. The Northern Employment Strategy also assisted communities and regions to lead their own economic development initiatives and provided support to the private sector, which is the primary vehicle for economic development. The $8.5 million provided to RWED in 1998-99 was used to increase the budgets of the Business Development Fund, the Grants to Small Business Program, the Community Initiatives Program and the Community Futures Program. For the first three-quarters of 1998-99, program funding leveraged client equity and other sources of financing to a total of $40.9 million. Of the four programs just mentioned, the Business Development Fund is the principal source of job creation and as a result of the Northern Employment Strategy enhancement, Business Development Fund contributions during the first three-quarters of 1998-99 totalled $3.4 million.

Funding available through the Northern Employment Strategy was the primary means of expanding the community economic development program, Community Futures. Community Futures organizations now exist in all regions of the NWT and under the direction of local boards, they provide advice and financial assistance to local businesses and are widely accepted as one of the most successful community economic development programs in Canada. During the past year and a half, the number of community futures boards operating in the NWT and Nunavut has increased from four to nine. These five new boards are: the Akaitcho Business Development Corporation in N'dilo; the Dogrib Area Community Futures in Rae; the Deh Cho Business Development Centre in Fort Simpson; the Sahtu Business Development Centre in Norman Wells; and the Kitikmeot Community Futures Development in Cambridge Bay. These five new boards join the four established community futures organizations in Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, Inuvik and Hay River. Together, these regional boards will play a pivotal role in our continuing efforts to build a stronger northern economy.

In developing the goals and strategies set out in this year's business plan, the department has had to re-evaluate our allocations to specific program areas to ensure that our limited financial and human resources are aligned with our current priorities. The key focus in each major program areas is as follows:

With an operating and maintenance budget of $695,000, our community economic development services division will continue to provide research and support in the areas of economic planning and resource data compilation to assist in decision making. Expanding and improving access to community, regional and territorial economic data will increase local and regional capacities in economic planning and development. To assist in this process, the division will be examining the implications of Internet technology for the NWT business community to ensure that NWT businesses have efficient and affordable access to this fast growing information medium.

The diamond projects division, with a budget of $1.6 million, will be focusing on a number of specific areas related to the creation of a northern diamond industry. These include: the development of an agreement with Diavik and Aber on supplying rough diamonds for northern diamond manufacturing; the opening of at least two more diamond manufacturing facilities in the North; the development of a strategic plan to market northern diamonds and diamond products; and the development of new training programs in diamond cutting, polishing, jewellery design and manufacturing. To further support these initiatives, the division will also be working to develop a partnership agreement with the federal government supporting value-added activities in the NWT.

The $1.3 million allocated to environmental protection services will be divided between two principal tasks. First, working jointly with a number of GNWT departments and the Regulatory Reform Secretariat, the division will develop consistent practices and standards for environmental protection to improve the northern regulatory system. This work will include the introduction of amendments to the Environmental Protection Act and the development of a mechanism for the release of environmental protection information to the public. The other major focus for the division is increasing public awareness of the benefits associated with a clean environment and the wise use of energy. The development and implementation of a strategy to control the emission of greenhouse gases and the implementation of an energy awareness program will involve extensive public consultation which should serve to initiate public discussion and awareness of the linkages between energy use and the environment.

With a budget of $28.3 million, the forest management division comprises the largest allocation of departmental operations and maintenance. Ninety percent of this budget is dedicated to activities related to forest fire management. In our ongoing effort to better understand and respond to forest fires, the forest management division will continue to support the international crown fire modelling experiment in the Fort Providence area, providing northern fire managers with the best tools available to make informed decisions on forest fire events. The remaining 10 percent of the forest management budget is dedicated to forest development. The major forest development activities planned for the coming year include: forest inventory programs in the Slave River Lowlands; a revised analysis of forest harvesting potential of the Cameron Hills area near Hay River; development of a framework document on forest management agreements to support shared management of forest resources with communities; and development of a forest tree nursery pilot project with the private sector in the South Slave region.

The mineral, oils and gas division is working in a variety of areas with an emphasis on encouraging exploration and development in the mining, oil and gas sectors. Expanding programs that provide assistance to prospectors and small companies like the Advanced Mineral Exploration Program, developing integrated information tools for development planning and supporting regional development activities are the principal areas to which the division's $3.2 million budget will be allocated. The mineral, gas and oil division will also continue to work with the federal government to seek competitive tolls and tariffs on pipelines carrying oil and gas to markets to expand our current market potential. The division is also working closely with several communities in the Deh Cho to maximize the economic benefits from current drilling activity and to ensure that communities are provided with an opportunity to indicate their expectations for benefits and compensation with the use of pre-bid qualifications in the call for bids process.

With the completion and anticipated federal approval of the Protected Areas Strategy in the next month, the parks and tourism division will turn its focus to implementations of the strategy. Providing technical assistance to our partners in the strategy and identifying candidate sites for designation will be the major areas of emphasis. With its budget of $4.1 million, the division will also be working with the NWT Tourism Association and the Tourism Training Group to prepare a tourism strategy for the NWT that will establish standards and direction for the industry.

With a budget of $7.7 million, the third largest allocation in the department, the trade and investment division will continue to promote new investment in the North, develop and foster new markets for northern products, and encourage the development of a northern manufacturing capacity. Specific initiatives in each of these areas will emphasize: the creation of partnerships that result in a new investment and technology transfers; the relocation of companies to the North; the identification of new market opportunities and support to companies entering those markets; and the development of cooperative intergovernmental agreements to improve access to markets. Approximately $4.3 million of this budget is dedicated to a number of grant and contribution programs including the Business Development Fund, Community Futures, Grants to Small Business and economic development officer contributions. Further support for these and other economic development programs may be available through the new Immigrant Investor Program recently announced by the federal government.

Mr. Chairman, success in all of our program areas has come largely as a result of the hard work of our regional staff. In our efforts to continually improve program and service delivery, we have continued to transfer staff and budgets to our regional offices. Of the 459 active positions in the department this year, 55 percent of them are located in the regions. Forest management, a principally regional activity, accounts for 39 percent of our entire budget. The remaining 61 percent of our budget is divided equally between the regional offices and headquarters. This year we will continue efforts to increase flexibility in how our programs and service are administered to ensure that we can respond to the unique demands and aspirations of each region and tailor our support to meet these needs.

Recent consultation with Members of the Legislative Assembly has reaffirmed the need for a Development Corporation in the new Western Territory and the need to re-examine the direction that the corporation should be heading. The department is examining options for redesigning the Development Corporation to align both its structure and management philosophy with the new realities of division and increased fiscal restraint. A newly appointed western board of directors will be working with a newly appointed president to develop and implement a new NWT Development Corporation business plan.

The Business Credit Corporation will continue to reassess its role in the new Western Territory. Emphasis for the BCC in the coming year will be on increasing local decision making, enhancing capacity, encouraging self-reliance and improving access to capital for business enterprises. Based on recommendations from recent consultation with Members of the Legislative Assembly, the department will examine options for streamlining the Business Credit Corporation and Community Futures organizations. In its efforts to improve services to clients, the Business Credit Corporation has recently taken steps to include members from regional Community Futures organizations on its board of directors.

Finally, after having assumed responsibility for the development of an economic strategy for the NWT earlier this year, I have engaged in dialogue with a number of groups, advocating a collaborative approach to develop an economic strategy for the Western Arctic. So far I have had the opportunity to meet with the aboriginal business and community groups to discuss the need for an economic strategy. Several meetings have been held with the Aboriginal Summit. In addition, meetings were held by the Premier and the Minister of Finance with groups such as the NWT Chamber of Commerce, Dene chiefs, our Western MLAs and the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Drawing on the favourable response and experience in developing the Protected Areas Strategy, I propose to establish an advisory panel with representation from various stakeholders to guide the process.

Mr. Chairman, with matters relating to the division of the territory behind us, I believe my department is well positioned to concentrate its efforts and resources on the creation of a sustainable northern economy, the maintenance of a healthy northern environment, and the secured future of our children. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Before I ask

Mr. Henry to read the report for the committee review of the department, I would like to recognize several people in the gallery. I would like to recognize Mr. Calvin Helin, who is president of the Native Investment and Trade Association, and he is here today with Mr. Darryl Beaulieu, former chief of N'dilo and now president of Deton'Cho Corporation and an executive of the Native Investment and Trade Association. I believe the association is looking at holding a conference here in the North this coming summer. Welcome gentlemen. I would also like to recognize other people in the gallery. Welcome to the Assembly. Mr. Henry, will you present the report of the committee that reviewed this department please.

Thank you, Mr. Henry.