Since the enhancement of the program was in the last budget, we had to look at how we can look at improving the program in many different areas so that we can see success through the Small Community Employment Support Program. It is application-based. We continue to encourage businesses, Aboriginal governments, community organizations, even other governments to work with us to apply on the program so that they can get funding.

Since then, we've also had some consultations in May and June, and those consultations were with Aboriginal governments, communities, leadership, staff, employers, residents, other GNWT departments, Aurora College. We are waiting on that report and look forward to sharing that report with committee. That will help guide and develop small community employment strategy for the next fiscal year.

I'd like to ask the Minister if the department at first intended to deliver the Small Community Employment Support Program to small communities only.

As I said, with the increase of $3 million to this program we didn't see that the $1.2 million previously get fully utilized within the small communities. With the new $3 million that was increased to this funding, my staff has been going out and getting that information out to the communities to allow them to understand that they can apply for this funding.

We're working with businesses, Aboriginal governments, and community groups so that they can actually apply on this program. With the enhancements that were made, we looked at expanding eligibility that included the communities; we looked at increased benefit levels and added flexibility for community employers as well as organizations that wanted to apply on this program. We continue to ask these businesses, organizations, Aboriginal governments to apply on the program and let's get our people working, let's get our people trained in our communities.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like I said in my Member's statement, this is a major disappointment to watch 10 years of our work go down the drain with one decision.

I'd like to ask the Minister: who made the decision to change the communities that this program was intended for? This program was intended to address the small communities; not the regional centres, the small communities. The regional centres have other ways of getting employment, obviously. Who made the decision to go outside the small communities with the Small Community Employment Support Program? Thank you.

I do not think this is a disappointment, or the hard work from the rural and remote communities are going down the drain. Actually, it is an enhancement. We have $3 million added to the fund to top it up to $4.2 million. We made enhancements to the Small Community Fund. Like I said, program eligibility, you get more people who can apply on the program, increased benefit levels as well as flexibility for community employers and organizations. At no way do I think this is a disappointment. I think this is something that we should be excited about and promoting. It is focusing on employment, and it is focusing on training opportunities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I see progress being made in the area of several strategies, including the one that I mentioned in my Member's statement, and my question today is for the Minister of ENR. Executing this strategic climate framework is paramount to our contribution efforts. What more regional consultation is under way, if any, on this strategy? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We had initial input and an initial round of consultations on the Climate Change Strategic Framework. We are putting a "what we heard" document together, and our intention is that it will be released for external review and more feedback and comment in October. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks for the answer, Mr. Minister. On the issue of traditional knowledge, traditional knowledge can make a contribution effort to research development and the research institution. Is it the plans of the department or the strategy to set up a research centre in the Northwest Territories?

The Member is correct. Traditional knowledge plays a large part in some of the work that we are doing, and I think we see that all across the Northwest Territories in the Mackenzie Delta, and you have just seen in the news in the last few days, some of the slides that they are having on the river just down from Inuvik. As far as opening a research centre, if the federal government is willing to put a lot of the money into it, and we can put some contribution towards it, we would be glad to look at a research centre.

I recall years ago going to school in Grollier Hall in Inuvik, and there was a research centre there. The building is still standing there. I guess it is the beginning of what could be a future research institution contributing to research such as permafrost and the effects of climate change, as we see so much of these days. Even the animals that are around in the North have not been around here 10 or 15 years ago. Is it the department's initiative to seek funding from the federal government to set up this institution in Inuvik?

The Member is absolutely correct. There is a research centre in Inuvik. The old one that the Member recalls seeing back in the days when he was going to school in Inuvik, that one is gone now, and we have replaced it with a brand new research centre. We are taking advantage of all the opportunities that are available to do polar research around the world, and that is one of the reasons we are quite excited about the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Link and the opportunities that might bring to continue to do more research.

In speaking with the members of the industry, and they talk about the benefits of the location of Inuvik, they are able to gain a lot more information off the satellites. We have done a lot of work to enhance programs that we have up in Inuvik, and as we improve their telecommunications and everything else we are looking forward to the opportunity for more work up in Inuvik.

Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am just trying to reveal the hidden election platform of the Minister, considering that it is community, and their satellite to support the institution of this building. As the Minister said earlier, the fibre optic line will increase the technology and database of transmission in the area of communication. Ideally, it just makes sense that this research centre be set up and established in Inuvik. My question is: is there a time frame related to this incorporation of this building? Thank you.

The building has been completed for a couple of years now, and we are starting to see more and more researchers with the climate change making their way up to the Beau-Del. We would like to see this as a beginning of the University of the North, and we are better to have it than in an area where you have a lot of everything as far as scientific research and that goes. I think the term I heard was that Inuvik was geographically gifted for this type of work, and we hope we continue to build on that and see this program expand to where it may become a University of the North in the North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to continue my questions for the Minister of Education on the Small Community Employment program. Mr. Speaker, I said that this was disappointing, and the Minister said it was not disappointing, but I think I would know if I was disappointed. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister, considering that he was not in the room when we were negotiating $3 million, if he consulted with anyone. I am wondering if he even consulted with the Minister of Finance before making this decision. Thank you.

Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and yes, we do go through a budgeting process with O and M, and some decisions are made when moving forward on where we implement our dollars, and this was part of those discussions. Thank you.

I am going to try for the third time here: did the Minister consult with someone else before he made the decision to take this money and put it outside the small communities? This was clearly a small community fund. This was clearly for small communities. This is clearly understood by this side of the House, that this was for small communities. Did the Minister consult with anyone else on his side of the House before making a decision to move this money out of small communities into the regional centres?

Yes, there were policy decisions made at the departments that we supported to focus on the success of this program. As I mentioned yesterday in the House, we also have communities that are hurting economically, and we want to make sure that we continue to support all residents across the Northwest Territories. We looked at some of the communities that were ineligible before that we thought we could bring into the eligibility list, and those are the communities that I mentioned in previous answers to the questions.

This program was not to prevent communities from being hurt by economic downturns. It was to change the employment rates in the small communities because they are much lower than anywhere else in the NWT. That program was put in place so it could address the issue of low employment rates in small communities. I said in my Member's statement, they are clearly way below regional centres, and way below Yellowknife. I am asking the question: did the Minister make this decision unilaterally to take the money out of the small communities to try to address the economic downtown in other communities in the NWT?