Moving along to page 17, Transportation, Corporate Services, not previously authorized: negative $243,000.

Transportation, Operations Expenditures,

Corporate Services, $243,000 approved.

Airport, not previously authorized: $385,000. Agreed?

Airport, $385,000 approved.

Highways, not previously authorized: $1,170,000. Agreed?

Highways, $1,170,000 approved.

Ferries, not previously authorized: $201,000. Agreed?

Ferries, $210,000 approved.

Road Licensing and Safety, not previously authorized: $20,000. Agreed?

Road Licensing and Safety, $20,000 approved.

Total Department, not previously authorized: $1,533,000. Agreed?

Total Department, $1,533,000 approved.

Moving on to page 18, Industry, Tourism and Investment, Corporate Management, not previously authorized: $158,000.

Industry, Tourism and Investment, Operations

Expenditures, Corporate Management, $158,000 approved.

Mr. Chairman, as I understand it, there is a Tourism Product Diversification and Marketing Program, I believe, in the range of $2.5 million. It has been reduced by approximately $2.1 million. I would just like to find out or have the FMB Minister put on record where that $2.1 million will show up or who is getting it or where it is going.

Mr. Chairman, it’s being reduced so that the overall expenditure of the Government of the Northwest Territories would be reduced by this amount in accordance. The department has worked in this area and won’t be needing this funding for this year but is re-profiling it, and it will come back in through next year’s business planning cycle.

When the Minister says that they will be re-profiling it, does that mean it will be voted on as new money, or will it fall out of this system into the lapsed process, back into the Treasury, and be put up the competition like every other program, or will it be re-profiled automatically on the Tourism Product Diversification line item?

Mr. Chairman, as we know, every budget has to be approved by this Assembly. The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment has put forward a plan that reinvests the dollars over a number of years to fit this program over a number of years, so that is in the system.

Mr. Chairman, I just had a couple of questions following up on Mr. Hawkins’ concern. There was a great deal of interest when the program itself was talked about late in the life of the last government. There was also a rush to get a briefing to our committee earlier on this year. I’m just wondering. The rush was because there was a line up of operators and people out there in the Territory that were waiting to get some of this assistance money. So if we are re-profiling it and putting it off, what money is available today for the operators that were waiting to access this funding?

Mr. Chairman, for this fiscal year, up until we agree on a new budget with new initiatives, $304,000.

Mr. Chairman, I guess that part of the onus on getting the briefing and getting it before committee was because there was a pent-up demand out there amongst operators to access some of these dollars, and if now there is only $304,000, I believe the Premier had mentioned, then that causes me some concern. I don’t understand why we couldn’t have more money available for operators wanting to access the Product Diversification Fund.

Mr. Chairman, there were a lot of packages that have gone out. As well, individuals or companies could have gone to the department’s web site to download it off that process. At this stage there have been eight applications received, with the possibility of up to 13 scheduled for the end of January.

I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same, because the last government’s Governance and Economic Development Committee found out about the program through a supplementary appropriation. And here we are in this government…. Being the Chair of EDI, this is the first I’ve heard, through this sup, that the funding is not going to be even what we thought it was going to be in January. So again, it’s in a sup where we find out exactly what’s happening. Like I said, the more things change, the more they stay the same sometimes. I am a bit concerned about that, Mr. Chairman.

The total budget line stays the same over the same number of years. It is changing, though, from one year to the next. Instead of such a large amount being utilized in 2007-08, as highlighted, the number is now

$340,000, and the balance is then being redistributed over 2008-09 through to 2011-12.

Not to belabour it much longer, but again, the committee was under the understanding that there is a substantial amount of money there. Again, for the pent-up demand that was out there with tourism operators here in the Northwest Territories…. Obviously, something changed somewhere.

The money is not there, like it was supposed to be there. We’re just finding out about it through a supplementary appropriation — that the briefing we had with the Minister six weeks ago wasn’t what it seemed. I don’t know if…. It wasn’t communicated to committee, not to my knowledge; I could be mistaken. But I’m wondering if it was communicated to the tourism industry and the operators that are out there and that are picking up packages that were trying to access some of these dollars.

Mr. Chairman, this is an example of when dollars are approved late in a fiscal year. Getting a program implemented and available sometimes can prove more challenging than initially anticipated. Luckily, today we have the Minister of ITI who can give more details as to what the Member has raised with his concerns.

I think the pent-up demand is still there. It just became a question of cash-flowing the money. We rolled out the program on January 7, and as the applications have been rolling in, we realized that, as part of the cash-flowing, we weren’t going to have enough applications to flow the whole $2.5 million in this fiscal year. To ensure that all the money goes for tourism operators, we put forward a request to re-profile it. And that’s why we’re bringing it forward here as part of the supplementary appropriation.

The overall effect is that we’re still going to have $5.6 million over four years available for this tourism diversification program. I think it’s just a cash-flowing issue.

Just really quick, Mr. Chairman: $340,000 — I think that would be taken up quite quickly by applications that were received. Some of the concerns by committee members were that the funding that was available wasn't enough.

I’m having a little bit of trouble understanding why we couldn't flow this money because we didn't have enough applications. I think the applications are out there, and there is a demand out there for the money. I’m having a little bit of trouble understanding that rationale.

Based on the applications that we received and the amounts requested from the different programs that were being accessed, we have calculated how much money would flow out

this fiscal year. We are anticipating that all the $2.5 million that we had originally budgeted for this fiscal year will be spent, but it’s a cash-flow issue.

Of the applications received, we calculate that $318,000 will be paid out this fiscal year. That's why we're asking to re-profile the remainder, so we can spend it next fiscal year.

The Minister is saying that if they had the $2.5 million this fiscal year, it wouldn't have been spent. That is prior to the end of June?