Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I'd like to know if the Minister could provide us with statistical information concerning this particular park. What are the numbers of people that utilize this park?

This park hasn't been built yet so it's hard to determine. I know there are different individuals who have used this area in the past. The only records that we could probably get would probably be from different individuals who followed this trail. They register through the RCMP, so we don't have the numbers. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, through our committee, I believe the number is fairly low. I think it's in the single digit numbers. I think it was 23 last year. I'm just wondering if there's a demand for this park and the justification of the budget that's allocated for the creation of this park. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

This Canol Historic Park is an historical area. In the '40s there was a pipeline built to take oil from Norman Wells across the mountains to the Yukon to Alaska during the Second World War. So this is a very historical area. It's through the mountains. I guess it's very awesome country there when you walk through the mountains there. The old Canol Trail has deteriorated and in some cases there are erosions over in the canyon area, so we need to build it. At this point in time, people have to go at their own risk to try to traverse it, but it's apparently a very beautiful area of the Northwest Territories. I think that if we invest our dollars into it and we advertise it, I think there are many people who would have an opportunity to hike this trail. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I understand it's an historical park and that we're planning to spend a lot of dollars in that area. Do we have any projection as to the number of people that might be utilizing this, and any kind of revenues that we could project in this area? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, it's a territorial park and it has very important historical significance. Not only that, but it will make a great tourist attraction. We don't know what kind of numbers we're going to get. The intention here is not the amount of money we're going to make out of it, but at least it will attract tourists to come to that park. In terms of tourists coming to that part of the country, they will then spend their dollars in the surrounding communities to generate revenue that way. So I don't know the spin-off. Once we build it and once we advertise it, we anticipate that the whole tourism industry will be enhanced by that because people are looking for destinations and if we advertise it through the trade shows and through the trade business, I think it will become a destination. That way we will generate revenue for the surrounding economy. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I think that's a good idea. I do support tourism. I like his answer where he says we will promote it at trade shows, et cetera, et cetera. Why aren't we doing that for other territorial parks and other communities at this point in time, Mr. Chairman? It seems that the promotional dollars for tourism that we spend in the Northwest Territories are benefiting only a few communities and not the entire Northwest Territories. Can we develop that plan so it would be a blanket tourism for all our communities and all the regions? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, I think that's a very good suggestion. I also would like to see a very well thought out tourism strategy, and the department has been developing such a strategy. Currently the advertising for the other parks in the North is done through the Arctic Tourism Association and through RWED staff who are involved in this area as well. So we're trying to do that, but we're working on a more comprehensive strategy for tourism. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, on the 60th Parallel Territorial Park that's there, RWED did an options paper looking at how we could approach it and took it to Cabinet. Cabinet directed that they would take the option of keeping that 60th Parallel Territorial Park in place, and renovating it and establishing it; keep it there as an establishment. Thank you.

The staff of the South Slave region were taking the role in doing the consultation. But the main instrument was through meetings and talking to people. We also wrote letters to all the different communities south of the lake, and we received a response from all of them. Thank you.