Thank you, Minister Bell. Next on the list I have Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is probably going to be my last comments to the Minister. I would like to ask the Minister, if not today, sometime in the next couple of days, about tourism dollars and the Sahtu region and the number of outfitters. I wonder about the amount of dollars they have brought into the Government of the Northwest Territories and into our region, as opposed to other outfitters that have commercial licences at Great Bear Lake. I am really interested. I think, Mr. Bell, tourism is going to be a key initiative in the future. It's going to be a real key ingredient in terms of overall economics and working together. It's important that we have a real strong balance. I spoke earlier about the aboriginal perspective and that hasn't been there, so I am going to follow up with a question later on, Mr. Chair. If I could ask the Minister if he could provide me with that type of detailed information, not right now. I just want to look at the amount of dollars, for example, to get one sheep in the Mackenzie Mountains. I have been told $10,000. I don't know. I have been told. I would like to see that type of information.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Just to caution you a little bit, you have to stay with the bill. That information I think you can get from the Minister at a later time. Mr. Minister, please.

I will certainly provide the data we have on what the industry is worth and we can give some examples of that. In the end, how much money stays in the region is hard for us to quantify at times, but

we do have some data and I will provide that to the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Bell. General comments. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do apologize. I thank you for allowing me the flexibility to go into another area. I do acknowledge the bill here. Mr. Chairman, I was hoping I would make a connection in terms of the new Tourism Act, let it speak to if there is a low level of animals, low levels of caribou, sheep, moose, and we have to take care of our own needs in the Sahtu region, does this bill, this act, speak to some form of compensation? I may be again on the border of my questions, but I wanted to ask about the Tourism Act. There is a tourism operation that we are talking about. I guess I am looking in to the future, Mr. Chairman.

Mahsi, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister Bell.

Mr. Chairman, there is no section in this bill or envisioned in the regs where we speak to compensation, per se. I would say that it's ENR who are responsible for the issuance of tags. As we have seen recently with some of the plans for caribou, some of the concerns we've had, the subsistence hunting and harvesting takes precedence. That's the first interest that has to be protected far before tourism outfitting. Mr. Chairman, I imagine that will continue to be the practice. Obviously we have great deference and legal deference to the co-management boards in the areas and they really are the ones who are consulted and make the judgment call on when it's time. We would provide scientific help as well, but when it's time to start talking about limiting the number of tags and these kinds of things, that will remain in place. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Mr. Yakeleya.

I've looked forward to speaking with the Department of ENR and the Minister has to work closely with that department in terms of this bill here. To this bill here, Mr. Chairman, my last question is, would the Tourism Act bill here give, provide, instruct, regulate a sort of a meeting with the outfitters and the people in our region in terms of drafting up some sort of an access and benefit agreement? Right now it's on a gentleman's acknowledgment. It's good for us, so we better go into the communities and talk with them. It's good for our business. They don't want anything to happen in terms of the communities not having a good sense of us doing business in our region in terms of tourism. Is there anywhere in the future that we would see this Tourism Act direct face-to-face discussions with communities and regions? Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister Bell.

Mr. Chairman, clearly, on new licences in regions where we have settled claims, yes. It's not this Tourism Act that would direct something like an access and benefit agreement, it's the claim, it's the legislation. Where we're dealing with existing operators, what I can offer to do is to bring the operators together with the communities to have a discussion of this nature. I think it's important and I do think the operators want to involve the communities. As I say, that's just good business. So we can facilitate that kind of activity. But for sure, there is the legal requirement to do those kinds of things when we're talking about new licences on settlement lands. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Bell. No further general comments. Does committee wish to proceed to the clause-by-clause review of the bill?

Clause by clause. Thank you, committee. We're on Bill 11, Tourism Act. Page 4, interpretation, clause 1.

Tourism operator licence, clause 2.

Page 5, clause 3.

Clause 4.