Return to item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was so busy reading. I would like to thank Rhea Klengenberg and Ronald Oliktoak who have been here all week paging for us, for all their hard work and long hours they’ve been putting in with us.

Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. Item 15, notices of motion. Item 16, notices of motion for first reading of bills. Item 17, motions. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS Rule 85 requires that Members be appointed to the standing committees of the Legislative Assembly,

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Nahendeh, that the appointments to standing committees of the following Members be revoked:

Mrs. Jane Groenewegen, Member for Hay River South, from the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure;

Mr. Jackie Jacobson, Member for Nunakput, from the Standing Committee on Government Operations; and

Mr. David Krutko, Member for Mackenzie Delta, from the Standing Committee on Government Operations;

AND FURTHER, that the following Members be appointed to standing committees:

Mr. Norman Yakeleya, Member for Sahtu, to the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning, the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure, and the Standing Committee on Government Operations;

Mrs. Jane Groenewegen, Member for Hay River South, to the Standing Committee on Government Operations;

Mr. David Krutko, Member for Mackenzie Delta, to the Standing Committee on Social Programs; and

Mr. Jackie Jacobson, Member for Nunakput, as an alternate member to the Standing Committee on Government Operations.

There is a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question has been called.

---Carried

The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that, notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on Thursday, February 18, 2010, it shall be adjourned until Monday, February 22, 2010;

AND FURTHER, that any time prior to February 22, 2010, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may give notice and thereupon the House shall meet at the time stated in such notice and shall transact its business as it has been duly adjourned to that time.

There is a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question has been called.

---Carried

Item 18, first reading of bills. Item 19, second reading of bills. Item 20, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Bill 2, Forgiveness of Debts Act, 2009-2010; Bill 4, An Act to Amend the Child and Family Services Act; Bill 7, An Act to Amend the Summary Conviction Procedures Act; Tabled Document 62-16(4), NWT Main Estimates, 2010-2011; Minister’s Statement 47-16(4), Transfer of the Public Housing Rental Subsidy; Committee Report 5-16(4), Report on the Review of the 2008-2009 Human Rights Commission Annual Report; Tabled Document 78-16(4), Supplementary Appropriation (Operations Expenditures) No. 3, 2009-2010, with Mr. Ramsay in the chair. By the authority given me as Speaker by Motion 12-16(4), I hereby authorize the House to sit beyond the daily hour of adjournment to consider the business before the House.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We would like to continue with Industry, Tourism and Investment today and then move on to the Department of Justice. And if time permits, we would like to also perhaps call up the Speaker and the budget for the... I’m sorry. Okay. So conclude Industry, Tourism and Investment, Public Works and Services and then, if possible and time permitting, we go on to the budget of the Legislative Assembly.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Does committee agree?

Thank you, committee. I’d like to ask the Minister if he would like to bring in some witnesses.

Yes, I would, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. If we could please have the Sergeant-at-Arms escort the witnesses in. Does committee agree?

Thank you, committee.

I would like to welcome Minister Bob McLeod, Mr. Vician and Ms. Magrum to the proceedings this afternoon in Committee of the Whole. We are continuing on with ITI’s main estimates. We are on page 12-29, economic diversification and business support, operations expenditure summary. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have a question to the Minister with regard to the whole mandate of the development corporation and the whole establishment of facilities such as the Fort McPherson Canvas Shop, the fur shop in Aklavik, Tuktoyaktuk, now we got Fur Clouds. We have all these different ventures throughout the Northwest Territories, but the whole initiative of the government back then was to generate employment in communities where we have high pockets of unemployment. I think especially with the recession that we’re in, that’s something we should be seriously considering looking at and possibly formulating partnerships with aboriginal corporations or other organizations to find ways to generate employment.

One area we have to look at is dealing with the forest sector potential we have. I noted yesterday looking at home markets in communities. We need to formulate that partnership or relationship. I know the Fort McPherson Canvas Shop has been in McPherson going on over 30 years, yet there is no community ownership of that business. For a company to be in a community for 30 years, we should at least try to make arrangements to get some community buy-in through share equity or a partnership between a local business, the community development corporation or the co-op. I would like to ask the Minister if we are looking at expanding that type of mandate and formulating those important partnerships especially in our communities where job creation is key. We have to be able to expand these enterprises and find unique products that we can produce out of those facilities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The BDIC’s mandate is to provide for business

opportunities to create jobs. We have a subsidiary program which operates on the premise that it’s better to have people working, even if the business operation is losing money. So if you can create jobs and if the government or if the corporation has to provide a top-up so that jobs are created, we are prepared to do that. We are mandated by the Financial Management Board, so for every job created, we can top up the contribution up to a maximum of $25,000 per job. So we have a number of subsidiaries that operate on that basis. Also I’m pleased to say that we have a number of businesses that have been started up on that basis and were repatriated to either Aboriginal Development Corporation or an aboriginal band controlled corporation, so they take over ownership and full operation.

We also have the mandate to issue preferred shares in participating business development. In the cases that you mentioned, the Fort McPherson Canvas Shop has been operating for a long time. It has products that are renowned for how well it’s constructed and so on. Again, it’s a subsidiary of BDIC. We have approached some of the development corporations and they have seen fit not to invest at this time up until now, but we would be quite prepared to approach them again to see if circumstances have changed so that they are now interested in investing in these kinds of corporations.

We are always looking for opportunities and if there are opportunities in the forestry section, we are prepared to examine them. We have, as a corporation, been involved in forestry in other communities, so we have some experience in that sector as well. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Could we get some order in the House? The sidebar is getting a little loud over here.