Debates of Feb. 16th, 2017

This is page numbers 1699 – 1740 of the Hansard for the 18th Assembly, 2nd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was going.

Topics

Oral Questions

Prayer

Anti-Poverty

Airport Infrastructure Funding

Inuvik-Aklavik Seasonal Winter Road

Socio-Economic Agreements

Northwest Territories Outstanding Volunteer Awards

Reducing The Cost Of Living For Northwest Territories Residents

Land Rights Agreements

Community Energy Plans

Anti-Poverty Initiatives

#lovenwtwater Bottled Water Campaign

Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee

Condolences To K'atlodeeche House Fire Victims

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Land Rights Agreements

Socio-Economic Agreements

Ice Road Maintenance Contracts

Northwest Territories Outstanding Volunteer Awards

Arctic Energy Alliance Programs In Sahtu Communities

#lovenwtwater Bottled Water Campaign

Summer Student Employment

Land Use Plans

Ice Road Maintenance Contracts

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Tabled Document 261-18(2): Main Estimates 2017-2018, Industry, Tourism And Investment, Deferral Of Minerals And Petroleum Services Activity

Tabled Document 261-18(2): Main Estimates 2017-2018, Industry, Tourism And Investment, Deferral Of Further Consideration Of The Estimates For The Department Of Industry, Tourism And Investment

Report of Committee of the Whole

Orders of the Day

Committee Motion 51-18(2): Tabled Document 261-18(2): Main Estimates 2017-2018, Industry, Tourism And Investment, Deferral Of Minerals And Petroleum Services Activity, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I'm just wondering, can the Minister tell us whether there's any core funding or other kinds of funding that are provided through the budget to the Northern Frontier Visitor Centre? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The Chair Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister Schumann.

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The money that you see on line 3 on page 211, the $161,000 is what we give the Northern Frontier Visitor Centre. That would be excluding any other SEED money or something we're doing right now to do the evaluation on the centre. Thank you. Mr. Chair.

The Chair Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you. Minister Schumann. Mr. O'Reilly.

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Thanks, Mr. Chair. So is there any possibility of increasing that funding say one time to help with the infrastructure at the visitor centre within the O and M budget so that it wouldn't necessarily appear in capital? Is that a possibility, Mr. Chair? Thank you.

The Chair Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister Schumann.

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think that'd be a little premature until we get all these studies back. I believe also the City of Yellowknife is having a different look at their strategy on how they're going to involve tourism and the City of Yellowknife in the downtown core. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The Chair Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister Schumann. Mr. O'Reilly.

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I understand the study is probably going to be available in a matter of weeks, so I really look forward to talking to the Minister again about what additional support we can provide for the centre, but in his opening remarks he talked a lot about the new initiatives that the department's doing. One of them was $132,000 for a full-time tourism development officer position for the North Slave region. Can the Minister just explain a little bit more about what this position is going to do and whether that individual is going to be in a position to offer support to the visitor centre here in Yellowknife? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The Chair Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister Schumann.

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This initiative was brought forward just based on the success of tourism specifically in the North Slave of the number of tourism operators and licensees that are approaching the Government of the Northwest Territories to get licences up. The uptake has been significant, and we need to increase our staff on the ground to deal with this. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The Chair Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister Schumann. Mr. O'Reilly.

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the response from the Minister, but it didn't really answer my question. So is this individual going to be coordinating in any way or assisting the Northern Frontier Visitor Centre with their workload? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The Chair Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister Schumann.

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Chair. No, this position is strictly for the operators. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The Chair Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister Schumann. Mr. O'Reilly.

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Maybe I'm just a little bit thicker today, but then can the Minister tell me what this position actually does? Do they regulate operators in some way? What exactly does this position do? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

The Chair Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister Schumann.

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This position, as I said, is to assist the operators and regulators. As I've said in the House earlier this week, we have some safety initiatives that new licensees have to follow up on to make sure they're compliant, so we want operators that are safe and operating the environment to ensure a very safe but compliant operator so we can ensure the safety of all the tourists in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The Chair Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister Schumann. Mr. O'Reilly.

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Look, I'll be the first to admit I don’t really know a lot about how tourism operators are regulated. So is this individual then going to look at applications for potential operators, check to see whether they've got insurance coverage, go out and do inspections or something on their infrastructure or vehicles? Maybe the Minister could just get a little bit more specific about what this position really does. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

The Chair Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister Schumann.

Wally Schumann Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just to make it simple, I think I'll get the Member a job description of exactly what this position person does. I want to make it clear; there are 51 operators in the North Slave Region right now with five pending to come onboard, so that's going to be 56 operators. The majority of tourists in the Northwest Territories who come here right now, especially for aurora viewing, are concentrated in this area and we need to make sure that our operators are running, like I said, in a safe and compliant manner. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The Chair Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister Schumann. Mr. O'Reilly.

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the commitment by the Minister, and just so that he understands, I'm glad that the department is getting ready and they're responding to a growing tourism industry here. That's a good thing. I just want to understand a little bit better about what exactly this position is going to do. I'll give you an example. I was over at the Frontier Visitors Centre a week and a half ago; I was there for about 45 minutes, they had, like, five staff on. Probably 50 people came through the doors and were buying things. The place was crazy, quite frankly. So those people are overworked and they need some additional support, and if there's a way that this new position can help them with their growing workload, that would be great, but I look forward to getting the information from the Minister and I thank him for his efforts in this regard. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of Feb. 16th, 2017

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