This is page numbers 1397 - 1454 of the Hansard for the 14th 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 tlicho.

Topics

Supplementary To Question 428-14(6): Subsidy Payments To Daycare Operators
Question 428-14(6): Subsidy Payments To Daycare Operators
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1412

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Further Return To Question 428-14(6): Subsidy Payments To Daycare Operators
Question 428-14(6): Subsidy Payments To Daycare Operators
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1412

Jake Ootes

Jake Ootes Yellowknife Centre

You know, this is great, Mr. Speaker. I have to go back and check my facts. I think my facts were fairly accurate, but we'll certainly do a bit of homework on this so that the Member has a lot of information on her side to be able to respond to her constituent, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 428-14(6): Subsidy Payments To Daycare Operators
Question 428-14(6): Subsidy Payments To Daycare Operators
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1412

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Charles Dent

Charles Dent Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development. Mr. Speaker, I welcome the Minister's statement outlining the $500,000 to market aurora tourism in Japan today. This sector has been hard hit since 9-11, the SARS outbreak, West Nile and mad cow scares. Other tourism areas have also been hard hit; outfitters, hunting and fishing lodges are struggling, as well. Will the Minister direct his department to put more funding to help market tourism in the business plan and draft budget for next year?

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Antoine.

Return To Question 429-14(6): Increase Funding For Tourism Marketing Initiatives
Question 429-14(6): Increase Funding For Tourism Marketing Initiatives
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1412

Jim Antoine Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, there is an Arctic tourism conference coming up in Inuvik the beginning of November and there will be a number of presentations made and a lot of discussions will take place. We see this conference as important for the continuing development of how to pursue tourism development in the North. Up to this point in time we've been dealing with BSE, SARS and so forth, and at this conference we will be talking about how to pursue tourism in the future. Thank you.

Return To Question 429-14(6): Increase Funding For Tourism Marketing Initiatives
Question 429-14(6): Increase Funding For Tourism Marketing Initiatives
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1412

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Supplementary To Question 429-14(6): Increase Funding For Tourism Marketing Initiatives
Question 429-14(6): Increase Funding For Tourism Marketing Initiatives
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1413

Charles Dent

Charles Dent Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister talking about coordinating with the tourism industry. But any sort of response to deal with the problems facing the tourism industry in the North is going to require money. Will the Minister direct his department to start the process now of identifying funds in the business plan and the budget for next year?

Supplementary To Question 429-14(6): Increase Funding For Tourism Marketing Initiatives
Question 429-14(6): Increase Funding For Tourism Marketing Initiatives
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1413

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister of RWED, Mr. Antoine.

Further Return To Question 429-14(6): Increase Funding For Tourism Marketing Initiatives
Question 429-14(6): Increase Funding For Tourism Marketing Initiatives
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1413

Jim Antoine Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the $250,000 that I finally got approved was part of a large package similar to what the Member is talking about. Because of fiscal restraint, I was only allowed to receive what I received at this point in time. Certainly we will continue to pursue it. I think it's needed and all our arguments on getting more dollars into the tourism industry have been put together by the department already, we just have to go through the proper process to try to pursue that. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 429-14(6): Increase Funding For Tourism Marketing Initiatives
Question 429-14(6): Increase Funding For Tourism Marketing Initiatives
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1413

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Supplementary To Question 429-14(6): Increase Funding For Tourism Marketing Initiatives
Question 429-14(6): Increase Funding For Tourism Marketing Initiatives
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1413

Charles Dent

Charles Dent Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just for the record, I was asking the Minister to get his department working on funds for next year. Ecotourism and cultural tourism are fast growing areas in tourism and they benefit the smaller communities in the North in particular. What is his department doing right now to support ecotourism and cultural tourism?

Supplementary To Question 429-14(6): Increase Funding For Tourism Marketing Initiatives
Question 429-14(6): Increase Funding For Tourism Marketing Initiatives
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1413

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The honourable Minister of RWED, Mr. Antoine.

Further Return To Question 429-14(6): Increase Funding For Tourism Marketing Initiatives
Question 429-14(6): Increase Funding For Tourism Marketing Initiatives
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1413

Jim Antoine Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department has been working and trying to develop the tourism industry. We're encouraging businesses that want to pursue this in the North and we're working very closely with NWT Arctic Tourism. The last few years we've been putting a number of dollars into them. In the meantime, the department has the existing programs that we currently have that are available and that is the approach that we've been taking. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 429-14(6): Increase Funding For Tourism Marketing Initiatives
Question 429-14(6): Increase Funding For Tourism Marketing Initiatives
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1413

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development. We're hoping that there would have been some sort of tabling of the draft legislation for the Wildlife Act provisions but, as we all know, it's probably not going to happen.

This government has expended some $1.375 million since 1999-2000. Mr. Speaker, a lot of those dollars have been expended on drafting consultation and whatnot. Yet, Mr. Speaker, one of the concerns that is apparent, especially from the Inuvialuit Game Council and the Gwich'in Tribal Council, is that there's no intervener funding on behalf of those organizations to have their own drafters or lawyers look at the implications of what's in their land claims agreement and drafting that legislation along with the government. Right now, you're basically stating that you're consulting with those groups by way of the consultation process.

Mr. Speaker, I raised this issue last week in the House about what exactly consultation really means. Consultation under the land claims agreements is pretty clear. It's that consultation is to provide the party with consultation and notice that the matter of discussion is significant in form and detail, and allow the party to prepare its views and matters.

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Can we have a question, please?

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Mr. Speaker, in regard to that statement, it's clear to me that it means more than just sitting down and talking. I'd like to ask the Minister, have you considered the Inuvialuit request that they do get intervener funding so they can have their own drafters make amendments to the Wildlife Act and bring it forth to this government?

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister of RWED, Mr. Antoine.

Return To Question 430-14(6): Amendments To The Wildlife Act
Question 430-14(6): Amendments To The Wildlife Act
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1413

Jim Antoine Nahendeh

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Justice is drafting the wildlife legislation. We're working with them in RWED. The land claims organizations and the wildlife co-management boards are required to integrate the wildlife harvesting management provisions of their land claims agreements into the draft legislation. So you have a number of them. You have the Inuvialuit, you have the Gwich'in, you have the Sahtu and now you have the Tlicho that all want to take their wildlife harvesting management provisions of their claims and have it put into the draft legislation. There's a difference of opinion on how to do it. The land claims organizations have requested that further consultations not be undertaken until initial draft legislation is complete. That's what we're trying to do. Each of the land claims organizations have received funding to assist with the cost of the legal review of the proposed legislation. That is the approach at this time. Thank you.

Return To Question 430-14(6): Amendments To The Wildlife Act
Question 430-14(6): Amendments To The Wildlife Act
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1413

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Supplementary To Question 430-14(6): Amendments To The Wildlife Act
Question 430-14(6): Amendments To The Wildlife Act
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1413

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the request I'm making to the Minister is, will the Minister allow for the First Nations organizations that do have land claims the ability to have their own legal drafters at the table to present their comments and provisions to the legislation so that they can feel a part of this process, and not simply give them funding to have consultation with no legal presence at the table? Will he allow the First Nation groups with land claims agreements, who we're obligated to work with, to have their own legal drafters at the table when drafting this legislation?

Supplementary To Question 430-14(6): Amendments To The Wildlife Act
Question 430-14(6): Amendments To The Wildlife Act
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1414

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister of RWED, Mr. Antoine.

Further Return To Question 430-14(6): Amendments To The Wildlife Act
Question 430-14(6): Amendments To The Wildlife Act
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1414

Jim Antoine Nahendeh

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, the Department of Justice is the one that is drafting this legislation. Even though RWED is involved, this is the drafting procedure of this government. The request from the aboriginal governments is that they want to have their own lawyers actually sit with the Department of Justice lawyers to actually draft the document themselves. The approach that Cabinet has directed us to do is to do the normal process of drafting legislation, whereas the Department of Justice is drafting it and we're working with the aboriginal groups as we come up with the provisions. So at this point in time, it's a Cabinet decision for us to continue drafting legislation the way that we normally do it. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 430-14(6): Amendments To The Wildlife Act
Question 430-14(6): Amendments To The Wildlife Act
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 1414

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.