Thank you again, Madam Chair. I will just repeat my question. Like I said earlier, I was disappointed to see nothing in my riding on this list, a long list of projects. I want to turn my attention to Little Buffalo River. It's just outside of Deninu Kue. I just want to see if there is going to be any work on that, that area and that park, that area there, in that vicinity. Marsi cho.

Thank you, Member. Minister of ITI.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I had already started to think through that there is, and I just wanted to mention that there is the work happening with respect to the Fort Resolution collection station as it feeds into the fishing strategy. As for that park specifically, it's not in the 2021-2022 capital plan. I am just trying to see if I can find where it might fall into future plans. I do have the long-term plan in front of me, but I am not finding it, Madam Chair. I might turn it over, I am not sure to which of the two witnesses, but one of the two of them may have the answer. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. ADM St-Denis.

Thank you, Ms. St-Denis. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Marsi cho. I really appreciate that, to just get something in writing and to see what that long-term plan is on that area. Marsi cho.

Thank you. Are there any other comments to the tourism and parks? Member for Monfwi.

Masi, Madam Chair. This North Arm obviously has been in the books for some time now, so I am just wondering where it's at. Has that been completed? Because there has been some work done; there has been some construction on the campground, public day use, fencing, and also the loop. I am just wondering: has that been completed? I have a follow-up question, as well, Madam Chair. Masi.

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. There is still some work underway on the project, so not quite completed yet.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Monfwi.

Masi, Madam Chair. I think 80 or 90 percent is completed, I believe, and hopefully, by next year, next summer, before next summer, I am hoping that this will be completed. Madam Chair, my next question leads into a long-term goal and objective of this department with respect to North Arm on the south side. The Minister and I were supposed to go there, but there has been a change of plans. I was going to show her which area I was referring to. It's North Arm Park, towards Yellowknife or Edzo, and then there is one that is on the south, southern side. It's connected, but there has not been any development on the other side. A lot of people from Yellowknife for some reason go to North Arm in Edzo, maybe because it's free. I don't know. Because there is a fee here, and we do not have a fee in North Arm Park, so a lot of people from Yellowknife do go there, camp out, and some overnight with their campers, and we have people coming from south, as well, at times, getting wood or going on a trip. That camp is always, especially on a weekend, it's always full, completely full. My constituents utilize that area, especially with the COVID cases now, so people are out there camping, and it gets full, so people coming from south, they continue on to Yellowknife.

I think I just want to reiterate to the Minister because, eventually, we will take a trip there to show her that one area. ADM would know exactly what I am talking about. It's on the south side of North Arm. If there is going to be a plan in place to devolve that area because it's a beautiful spot, similar to the Long Lake here. It used to be a swampy area. They took out all of the rocks, and now it's a beach, so similar. Why couldn't we do that in a small community, outside Edzo? We have a beautiful facility here. We could have similar because it is growing, North Arm area. Just wondering if there is a plan in place within the next five-year plan to focus in those areas because it gets too full almost every weekend and, obviously, we would like to have tours. Even Yellowknife people go there, so is there a plan in place for there, Madam Chair? Masi.

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The short answer is yes. I am looking forward to getting there, and I should talk to the Member after. I just want to make sure that we are going there at a time that is safe in light of the discussions at the beginning of session today, that this week might not be the week to go. However, let's have that conversation. My phone has been lighting up from those who are participating, seeing what we can do to get out there. I do want to get out on that trip. I am looking forward to getting out there, so we are going to go. I will make that commitment first. We will get ourselves there so that I can see it myself and the senior staff who are with me will see it.

Yes, one of the things that is happening right now with North Arm Park is discussions with the Tlicho under the agreement for infrastructure plans, so that conversation is being had with the work that is already under way. That conversation will need to be had with future work, but there are plans already in existence and awareness in existence of the need to expand to a camping loop. I think the commitment really is one to just make sure that we are having that conversation as those plans develop, and I certainly will commit to keeping the MLA in the know as that gets going and as that moves forward. He obviously gives all the reasons why that should happen. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am always happy to see parks infrastructure, and I'd like to thank all of the work that our parks group does. Getting the season open and extending it this year was great work. What I'd like to see long-term, though, is extending the season into some sort of winter camping option. If you go pretty much any direction in Yellowknife, you hit tent frames all over the place. They're on the sub-islands. They're up the Ingraham Trail. I know the Department of Lands has a strategy coming to remove quite a lot of those tent frames because they are unauthorized structures; hundreds, in fact, which is going to create a huge demand that we simply cannot fill. I think the Department of ITI has a role to play. If we can let people put their tent frames up in a winter park, whether that be Prelude or the North Arm or any of these other parks, they will do it. I recently visited Iqaluit and the territorial park there, you rent a tent pad for the year. You get to put your tent frame up, and it's a really great community experience. My question for the Minister is: are there any plans to implement a winter camping season? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. This year, when the park season was extended by, I think, only a couple of weeks, the cost of doing so was $226,000. It does certainly come with a cost. While this year was a great opportunity to try that out and to see what the impacts were, particularly in a time when there were so many local residents not able to travel, it still needs to be balanced against what the costs are and against what the actual usage is.

For this year, what I have asked is that we try to see whether or not we can do some sort of modified planning around the winter season, to provide that sort of opportunity, particularly now where people aren't able to travel. At the same time, as soon as that happens, the concern we get from the other side is that we're interrupting one of the areas where we have some of our small and medium-sized businesses in the tourism industry who provide access to these kinds of experiences themselves. There is a bit of a balancing act to be found here, and I think the best I can say is that we'll see how this winter goes and see whether or not there are some opportunities to create those options for local residents without impeding access to opportunities for the small and medium-sized businesses that operate in that sector, as well. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes. I guess I want to clarify. What I'm picturing is not that the department go out and buy a bunch of yurts and then start renting them for a fixed fee, because, in my riding, Aurora Village, essentially that is their transition for this winter. There are businesses doing that. What I am looking for is a place where residents can legally put a structure for a period of time, and usually those are tent frames up here. This runs into the issue of: sometimes, those are somewhat legal, and then they get a frame, and then they become illegal. I think this needs to be regulated. I think parks has a role to play in this.

Some of our territorial parks are not just campgrounds. I think about Hidden Lake Territorial Park, one of our largest territorial parks. Perhaps there's a way to allow some sort of temporary structure permits within territorial parks. Perhaps there is a way to give people an eight-month thing. I'm not asking for the full staff to be there, and that there be this cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars to let people put up a winter tent frame. Perhaps I could just get a commitment from the Minister that, as this demand increases as we take down tent frames from Lands, that ITI will work with them. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Two things, Madam Chair. Firstly, the reason that there needs to be staff on-site is that, first of all, the washrooms and facilities and garbage facilities still need to be manned, even if it is below zero. There is also increased vandalism that tends to occur in the parks in the winter, with people cutting down more trees. It can't simply be that there is no staff there.

The second thing, and the thing I will commit to doing, is going back and having a conversation with stakeholders and colleagues in tourism, I'm thinking of the NWT Tourism Association, and see if this is an area where they can perhaps provide us with some guidance and provide us with some ideas that would benefit local operators and provide some opportunities but not impede on the areas where some of them are trying to move their work. Let me go and have a conversation with those folks and see if there is something that can be done. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Frame Lake.