Thank you, Mr. Koe. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm always happy to hear when things are 75-percent funded. This is one of the line items I have a bit of an issue with in that I'm always hesitant to approve something when we don't exactly know what it's going to be. I know there is some work to go out and adjust and see if we can get this back on budget, but I've spoken to a number of fishers, both on this side of the lake and in Hay River, who say this isn't exactly what they're looking for. I also know, with the passing of Stacy Linington, we have lost a significant amount of our previous fishing capacity and, you know, some of the great work that went into the revitalization strategy may not be met by this. So I'm looking for a sense of, if we approve this fish processing plant in Hay River, $9 million and it's funded by the feds, how much flexibility do we have to actually change what this project looks like? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister of Finance.

Madam Chair, I suppose the simple answer to that is that it depends at what stage of the project we're at. My understanding, and I'm eyeing up the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, is that I think we're still at a fairly early stage. She's nodding at me, yes, so that all accords with my understanding, as well. Therefore, as such, if we're at an early stage, Madam Chair, then we're at a stage where those plans can still be modified and managed while still not losing the opportunity to make use of this federal investment. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Madam Chair. My other understanding of this project is that I recognize we need more fish processing capacity, but by putting it in Hay River you really severely limit a fisher's ability and you end up over-fishing a part of the lake because they simply have to travel to Hay River. Where the second part of this line item comes in, the $500,000 for Great Slave Lake commercial fishery remote collection stations, and I recognize that this is largely an ITI issue and very specific, but can I get a sense of where we are expected to install remote collection stations? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I don't know that we are at that point of planning. Do you have an answer? Oh, well, the answer, Madam Chair, is in Fort Resolution and in Yellowknife. So there you go, Madam Chair. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess what I would ideally like to see, and I know there are competing interests, here, and different fishers have different things, is that perhaps this $9-million fish processing plant is not just in Hay River and the various remote collection stations are stationed around the lake, and perhaps we're breaking up this $9 million into smaller projects that actually make sure that the lake is evenly fished. I don't know if, in passing this specific line item, whether that's possible, and I would like to get a sense from the Minister of, going forward on this project, whether it's still possible that the millions of dollars for fishing actually get broken up and looks different than one plant. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Madam Chair. If I could turn it over to the Minister of ITI, please.

Thank you, Minister of Finance. Minister of ITI.

Thank you, Minister of ITI. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess I am in a bit of a hard spot, then. I don't want to vote against this $9 million for the plant in Hay River, but I am very concerned that we actually haven't developed the fishing capacity around the lake to actually meet the demands of the plant that we are planning to build. I think we probably need a few more dollars put into remote collection stations and probably more money put into the infrastructure of individual fishers. I have talked to every single fisher, and they are just struggling to make a profit, let alone fish enough to use this plant that we are planning to build. I am hesitant to build a $9 million plant without providing the underlying infrastructure to make sure that people can actually give it enough fish. I guess I will just leave that as a comment for now. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Are there any further comments to this section? Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, that $9.1 million is staying in Hay River. Thank you. No, actually, at the end of the day, what I look at is doing the right thing, and I think that we have to revisit this and see what is the right thing and what is really required, because things do change a bit. I guess, in saying that, I would like to know where we actually are with respect to the design aspect of this. Are we just kind of started? Are we just talking to somebody, or are we kind of partway through it? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister of ITI.

We had a plan, and then, as we went out for the tender, all of the proposals came back too high, so we are just actually tweaking the plan. We have gone back to Memorial University, who has provided us with the technical expertise behind the plant design, to say that this is our budget and what are the areas where we can minimize or downsize things so that we can fit our budget, but also to look at different uses for the by-products of the fish and not only selling the fish. We're now also exploring where we can use stuff for fertilizers and things like that. My understanding is that we are close to having a second finalized plan ready to come out to Members. I don't have the exact date at this time, but it's closer to completion than to the start, for sure. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister of ITI. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Madam Chair. What, if any, involvement does FFMC have in the design? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister of ITI.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I don't have that. I could probably flip through a thousand pieces of paper right now to find that. I know we do consult, and we talk with them. There is some restructuring going on there, as well, so I will commit to actually both Members who are very interested in fishing. I will come back with a briefing on fishing for both of the Members and any other Members who are interested. Thank you, Madam Chair.