Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As part of the overall fiscal framework of the Government of the Northwest Territories for 2000 and -- for this budgeting process, BDIC was given a target, and this is what the BDIC decided. That was their approach that they've taken. I just would note that BDIC is an independent corporation that has its own board of directors, and legislation has been developed to make sure that they operate at arm's length from the government. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister McLeod. Any further questions? Mr. Vanthuyne.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can the department provide an explanation under commercial fishing industry support with regard to the $1.4 million? It would just be good to have some clarity for the record. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As part of our fisheries revitalization strategy, we identified 1.4 -- $10 million to work with the fishery, NWT fishermen or fishers, to develop or build a new fish plant. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister McLeod. Committee, page 240 and 241 are combined, just so you know. Any further questions? Mr. Vanthuyne.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we explain community futures as contributions to help communities in need of solving their long-term employment problems, and that particular line item also looks to have taken a significant reduction. Can the department please provide an explanation for that reduction? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Two of the Community Futures organizations have become inactive and very low volume transactions, so the funding was removed. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister McLeod. Any further questions, Mr. Vanthuyne?

Those are my questions for now. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Next we have Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I note there's a reduction in available SEED funding from the 2014-15 actuals. Can the Minister indicate why there's a reduction in available funding? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We maintained our budget from the 2015 to 2016 Main Estimates levels and I suspect in 2014-15 if there is resources available from other programs and if there's a demand for additional funding under the SEED funding it's not unusual for us to move money into the SEED program, and I suspect that's what happened in 2014-15. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister McLeod. Any further questions? Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the Minister for that response I've heard it's a very popular program and a very flexible program at that and a number of other areas of entrepreneurs accessing funding they sometimes run into bureaucratic red tape and SEED is a very good program for bypassing that. I think it's a very good vehicle for moving dollars into the hands of entrepreneurs and people who want to diversify the economy on their own terms. I'm a big proponent of this and it's good to hear that we're willing to make those changes if there's demand. I do have a question: is SEED another area where it's an over-subscribed program? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My experience is it's over-subscribed but not uniformly across the board. Obviously, the North Slave region is constantly over-subscribed if we put all the money there. In some regions it's not fully subscribed from time to time, so. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister McLeod. Any further questions? Mr. Testart,

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Given that, does the department take a look at those numbers and make decisions on what kind of funding to put into the program based on the users or is it -- does the department more or less try to live within its means with this funding or is it looking at ways to get more money out the door? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is a program we review on a continuous basis. We recognize we have limited funding and we try to make sure that we get all the money out the door before the end of the fiscal year. Thank you, Mr. Chair.