Thank you, Madam Chair. We are going to be doing a strategic plan review with the new CEO when they come on board and looking at the recommendations of the original plan. I can commit to getting back to the Member with more information on that. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Member.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Yes, I would like to see the government response to the recommendations. I don't think that I have ever seen that. I know that we did get a copy of the five-year review in the last Assembly.

I want to support some of the comments made by my honourable friend from Hay River about some of the kinds of businesses that BDIC actually owns. I have been and visited the Fort McPherson Tent and Canvas shop. I have been to Fort Providence and seen the fur shop there. I have been to Fort Liard and seen the retail store associated with the craft business there. Those are great employment generators in those communities. Fort McPherson Tent and Canvas is known around the world for its work. I think it has been a great investment. It has been great for the community.

I want to support what my friend from Hay River said. Those are the kinds of investments and opportunities that I would like to see BDIC do a lot more of in supporting communities. Gameti is doing some really great things around food security, and I don't know whether they have been able to tap into ITI funding. Hopefully, they have, but investments in those kinds of local businesses and enterprises are really great. That is what I want to see BDIC doing more of. If something doesn't exist in a community, maybe it's something that they can help create and start themselves.

In any event, I really look forward to what the Minister is going to provide in terms of the response to the five-year review. I want to encourage that BDIC get more active in supporting small businesses in communities and developing them where there are opportunities. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Gameti program was actually funded under CAP, the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. The subsidiaries in the communities are very important to the communities. I carry around a Fort McPherson bag that I was kindly presented by the Speaker. Every day, I am reminded, as I carry my computer around, of our great BDIC stories.

Again, I am not looking at things just from, "Is this turning a profit?" I recognize that there is a lot more value than just profits, and I am committed to our subsidiary companies and creating more opportunities for people in the communities through the BDIC. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Member.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Great to hear that. I guess, too, I also would like to know more about this Northern Food Development Program and how that is going to contribute towards building food security here in the Northwest Territories. I think that we were very lucky in the pandemic that we were able to maintain supply chains with the South, but I also know that, if we cut off Yellowknife in the middle of winter, we would probably last about three or four weeks before we would have to be looking at mass evacuations.

We have an agricultural policy that was developed in the last Assembly, but a lot of it was really focused on commercial production, small-scale or even large-scale; the focus wasn't really on food security. I am wondering what the department's plans are to try to develop a plan around food security. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Northern Food Development Program does aim to remove barriers, create employment, and facilitate the development of a northern food production sector by providing supports to commercial producers of northern fish, meat, or other food products, so that they are safe to be sold to consumers.

We have identified food security as one of our priorities of the 19^th Assembly. It does cross more than just the ITI spectrum and into other departments, as we mentioned earlier, like ENR and Health and Social Services, as well. We have hired a senior advisor for food security for a one-year time frame at this point. The senior advisor for food security will assist us in the immediate COVID-related food security issues and coordinate the entire GNWT food security effort to identify any of the gaps and the opportunities that we can to strengthen food security results across the territory. It is our hope that, in this work right now, they're doing immediate relief for food security, but in that same time, they are going to be looking forward to the overarching direction that the GNWT needs to take to ensure that we are not so vulnerable to southern producers.

When this all started, even before COVID, what was going on in the United States was concerning to me because a lot of our food not only comes from the US, it comes through the US from Mexico. Already, in my mind, even way before COVID was ever on our radar, it occurred to me that, in the North, we are particularly vulnerable if the US and Canadian border were to ever shut off. As I have sat on the agriculture calls now with the federal Minister and my territorial and provincial counterparts, they also are very aware of the food security issues. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. I will move on to the Member for Deh Cho.

Mahsi, Madam Chair. I think this is everybody's favourite section. I note that this section also covers the BIP, Business Incentive Policy. I am wondering if I am allowed to speak to it in this section here.

Yes. Go ahead, Member for Deh Cho.

Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. A few things, there. This wears both my hats because some of the procurement tracking is through infrastructure, as well. That's good. That's probably why both of these are usually with the same person. That work is going on. I have asked in that department for a review of where the money is being spent in the different regions. We are conducting that overarching procurement and BIP review that we've been discussing lots and then coming to AOC for conversations and input on moving forward.

The BIP office in Hay River is the BIP office. There are two people working there. They are there to check whether there is eligibility being met, those types of things, in the registration of the BIP companies. They have also been doing BIP training. All regions have an update on their BIP companies done in the last three years. We have the Beaufort Delta and the Sahtu to be done this year. We did 15 BIP workshops in 2019-2020. Those were stopped by COVID. We're ready to go once we are allowed to get back at it. That was actually one of the first things I said was one of my frustrations. I know the Member and I have talked about this, was always trying to go to a community, put somebody in my form as a BIP registered company, knowing they're a northern-owned company but that they weren't in the registry because, literally, they just hadn't filled out the forms, or no one had showed them how. That was one of the first things I thought we could do, was just getting as many of those companies registered.

To your point that sometimes people haven't phoned the company, as a bidder, for example, if I was to go do work in Tulita, there is one hotel in Tulita. I would obviously stay at the one hotel. It never would have occurred to me that I actually had to call the hotel to say that they would be okay to take me as a guest. I'm going to guess that's probably sometimes why that has happened, is they are maybe the only vendor, or they are the preferred vendor. I would recommend, and I will take that back to my industry counterparts, that they actually contact the companies to tell them that they are planning to stay with them if they use them.

I do acknowledge what you're saying that oftentimes something will be put on the form and that there is no accountability after the fact. Some of that does lie with the client departments, and the project officers for those projects specifically need to be ensuring that what is in the proposal is being met and carried out, and I think that's a larger issue that we've been talking about that needs fixing. I know within infrastructure the project officers have been instructed now, or reminded because they should have been doing it to begin with, but checking to ensure that, if this is the person who is put forward as a BIP northern, local labour, that that person is actually on the job. If you look at the federal government for the same type of situation. they actually require a reporting. I've instructed my department that that has to happen and has to happen now. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Deh Cho, did you have any questions?

Very encouraging to know that the reviews are in place, and you touch upon several of the areas that are kind of key. I noticed on even one job that I had in a small community, there was no local employment on the job. That was really surprising. There wasn't any. I'm saying that those people that lost out, it does happen here and there to some of the northern companies. That was a northern company. They just weren't using local labour. They were using other specialized tradespeople, I guess. We were talking about siding. You could still use local people. Some businesses are really good about using local people. There are still problems there, and it's encouraging that we will look at it because eventually, if things don't improve, we're losing businesses in our communities or areas. We're going to be crying for negotiated contracts. That might have to be the way to go, sooner or later. I know we're trying to be fair with chapter five or whatever it was of the agreement with the other territories. The other program here that is listed is, it says, the traditional economy program. What does that program entail? Mahsi.

Thank you, Member. Just noting the time, I'll let this one last question go. Your time is up, but just repeat the question, and, Minister, keep it short.

Pardon?

Repeat your question, and which program is it under?

[Microphone turned off]... program is and what is it about?

Which one is that under? Sorry, which page are you referring to, Member for Deh Cho?

That was on 201. It's not listed anywhere else, but it's listed on page 201, under the second paragraph.

Traditional economy. Minister.