Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. David Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for raising the concern over the trappers. It is something that the department is reacting to and something we’ve heard. We’ve addressed that and have $1.1 million that we earmarked through the Community Harvesters Assistance Program. Also $610,000 on an annual basis to the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur program.

I must say, the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur program is a unique program in this country. No other jurisdiction in this country offers a program like that that encourages and supports trappers getting out on the land. Last year we had sales of just over $1.5 million in furs. The Member mentioned it in his statement that demand is high in places like China and Russia. We’re getting top dollar for our furs and we are providing supports to the trappers to get them out to harvest those furs.

Trapping is a unique skill, and to be a trapper requires a lot of hard work, a lot of smarts, a lot of heart. I want to ask the Minister of ITI, in his role as the Minister, to look at if there is a type of discussion happening within his department to support the trappers and to initiate a type of apprenticeship program for the young trappers that want to come out to be a trapper. That is an honourable position that should be supported, and I commend this government for doing all it can to help these trappers.

Is there any type of discussion happening within the Department of ITI to have a sort of conference that would look at trapping as an honourable job that any young school kid can get into?

The department fully appreciates the role that the traditional economy plays, and that of trapping. We do have a program like the Take a Kid Trapping program. I mentioned it in the House earlier during this session that we’ve had 12,000 young people across the Northwest Territories go through the Take a Kid Trapping program. It’s been very successful. That’s how

we’re going to get young people interested in trapping here in the Northwest Territories.

I mentioned the $1.5 million in fur sales. That’s money that goes directly back into the small communities and the local economies in those small communities. It’s something we support. It has a place in the economy here in the Northwest Territories, and we will continue to provide support to trappers across the Northwest Territories.

I’ve always supported the take the youth trapping. As I said, a young lad in Colville Lake, when we asked the young kids what they want to be and some were saying nurses and doctors and teachers, this young guy spoke up and said I want to be a trapper. That tells you that trapping is alive and well in the Northwest Territories, especially in our small communities. It’s an honourable position.

I want to ask the Minister, through the Take a Kid Trapping program, is that like an apprenticeship program where kids can apply for an apprenticeship to learn under the professors in the university of life on the land. Is that a program that is being looked at by this government?

Definitely, the Take a Kid Trapping program is where the seeds are sown for young trappers to learn the skills required to get into the trapping business. Last year in the Northwest Territories we had 706 active trappers that participated in the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur program. It’s an active industry here and it’s one, again, that we need to encourage young people across the Northwest Territories and those that are skilled in the trapping trade to take some kids under their wing and show them how to trap, how to get out on the land. That’s something that should happen in all the small communities.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The other part of being a trapper is to be a businessman, entrepreneur. Are there any courses that are offered to trappers, say, in the off-trapping season where they learn to be a businessman, thinking on their feet and thinking quick, in terms of how to put together a budget, what things they need and what tools they would need to be a successful business person? Is there any type of trapping business program we can offer the trappers off-season, so they can prepare for the fall season when the trapping opens up again?

We have very knowledgeable staff not only here in headquarters but in the regions. If trappers have some need for getting questions answered on how to conduct their business affairs, we’d have information available for trappers in that regard, and it’s something that we’d look to support trappers. We have courses on

trapping and I can certainly bring this up with the department and perhaps the next time we put on a session we could look at offering some course work on how to operate it as a business. That may be something that’s useful, and I thank the Member for his suggestion.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my statement I spoke of seniors and trying to keep them as long as we can in their homes. My questions are for the Minister responsible for Seniors.

What systems does the GNWT have in place to link all those seniors’ issues? I had indicated in my Member’s statement that lots of the seniors’ issues are in different departments, so that is a question I have for the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The Minister responsible for Seniors, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Health and Social Services does work with MACA and the NWT Housing Corporation to come up with ways to try to keep seniors in their home as long as possible, and to provide services to the seniors in order to remain in their home. I think it’s just a matter of collaboration. I guess that would be the system that we’re collaborating on, trying to make sure that seniors can remain in their homes as long as possible.

That collaboration is something I would like to see go forward as much as possible. I am looking to see what the Minister and the departments are doing to deal with the increased costs associated with staying in their own homes. Have they looked at what the CPI is and are some of our funding programs tied to that type of increase? Because from my understanding, some of those increases haven’t been seen over many years.

In recognition that it is fairly costly to operate a home ownership unit, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has a seniors home heating subsidy. That has been targeted to be sufficient to heat the home during the winter months. Also, the Housing Corporation has a preventative maintenance program targeted to seniors that has gradually climbed up from the beginning of approximately $800-some-odd, and a different program has evolved into a more elaborate program, and now they can provide up to $2,000 for seniors to do preventative maintenance in their home.

I appreciate that information from the Minister. I guess my question was about the linking of those expenditures and those funding programs to some sort of index that shows that they’re going to see increases. Like I indicated, some of those have not seen increases for several years. Is there a way that the government is looking at implementing this to a CPI index to increase those amounts for seniors?

I thought I did indicate that those programs had seen increases. I recognize that if the individual needed to live in their home, to make it more barrier-free for the seniors to remain in their home longer, then that’s a larger program that’s offered by the Housing Corporation called CARE that can do that. But in as far as looking at the Consumer Price Index and how that impacts the seniors, then definitely, the Housing Corporation has made appropriate increases in the preventative maintenance program and the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has made appropriate increases in the seniors home heating subsidy to account for that.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.

As I have indicated, many seniors are struggling to keep up to these increased costs, and some believe that they’re in a situation of poverty. Is the department looking at adding any new incentives for seniors to keep them off the demand of our facilities, which we know is going to be increasing over the next few years? Is there anything that the government is doing to implement new programs for seniors to stay in their homes?

I guess, in addition to the preventative maintenance program and the home heating subsidy, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs offers the homeowner a complete tax break, 100 percent tax relief on their home on an annual basis, which is a program that the senior must apply for. There are other areas, such as cost of living, for groceries and so on. This government has some programs in some communities where they would reduce the cost of their service to the seniors and to others in the communities, but targeted specifically to the seniors, I think those are the three programs the government is proposing to assist the seniors with costs. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Mr. Speaker, I wanted to ask the Minister of Education some questions. I was recently, through my constituency tour, in Fort Liard. I often visit the schools. I am not too sure

about the design of the school and parking area, but residents have been stating over the past three years that there is limited parking space at the Echo-Dene School in Fort Liard. I would like to know if the Minister is aware of this situation. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. This particular issue has not been brought to my attention, but I definitely will check with my department on what the status is on this particular issue or challenge that we are faced with. Mahsi.