This is page numbers 2341 - 2382 of the Hansard for the 19th 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.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2349

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2349

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Madam Chair. If you are a community, you would go through Community Futures. You might consider the Community Futures Regional Relief and Recovery Fund. If you are an individual, then you certainly may want to start, obviously, with CanNor, which is one of our great federal partners; go to NWT Tourism. There are quite a number of different pots that might apply, depending on the nature of what's being sought. Perhaps I will send that to Deputy Minister Strand to just outline some of those specifics.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2349

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Deputy minister Strand.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2349

Strand

Thank you, Madam Chair. As the Member has probably realized, we did have the GRIT program this year, which was very successful and oversubscribed. We recognize that the tourism sector is still at risk, so we did release, just last week, some top-ups for those that had reached the top with the feds. For example, on Monday, I have a three-hour call with CanNor and the three northern territories, and tourism is on the agenda. We don't know what that looks like yet. We are trying to communicate that our operators do not need more loans; they need more relief. We are alive to that, having conversations right now with what might be needed to keep them alive until it reopens. I am hoping that we will be able to provide more details when we get there. We are definitely alive to that, and it's at every conversation that we have. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2349

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Deputy Minister. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2349

Steve Norn

Steve Norn Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for that response. It's nice to hear there is the concern for some of our companies, our tour operators. I mentioned in my budget address that my biggest fear right now is that the direction we are going is, at some point, we are going to have to have a triage, and I really don't want to be put in the position, with my colleagues here, to have to pick and choose which companies and tour operators, et cetera, get to stay afloat and who doesn't. I really hope that we can get ahead of that. My next question is: I heard the Community Futures Regional Relief and Recovery Fund. Can the Minister just briefly describe what that fund is?

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2349

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Minister.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2349

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Madam Chair. Community Futures Regional Relief and Recovery Fund: the purpose there is to fund Community Futures organizations, which are in individual communities across the Northwest Territories and specifically with respect to COVID-19 impacts on those communities, outside of the regional centres in particular, so anything from short-term stability for the communities, various economic readiness activities. It includes small, repayable loans to some of the local small- and medium-sized businesses. Again, it's an infusion of funding to those Community Futures organizations that is really dedicated to some COVID relief specific to them. Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2349

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Member.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2349

Steve Norn

Steve Norn Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

If somebody is struggling in this area, when can they start to apply to a program such as this? Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2349

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. Minister.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2350

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Madam Chair. Each Community Futures organization does have a fair bit of latitude to administer their programs, and I would suggest that they immediately contact their Community Futures organizations in the community that they are in, knowing, of course, too, that there are certainly opportunities directly to ITI, that if certain things don't fall neatly within the Community Futures, there's a number of other programs still specific to COVID relief available. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2350

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Minister. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2350

Steve Norn

Steve Norn Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for that. This is going to be important, and I'll say it again, I really don't want to be put in a position where we have, for lack of a better word, an economic triage. I'm moving along here. I'm looking at some of the other items here with film and arts. I think these are really, really important items. Arts, I think, are great. Before I went into office, I did some small film, and I did a couple of small horror films, H-O-R-R-O-R, just to make sure everyone heard me right there. It was a lot of fun. I think I encourage anybody who wants to go into the arts, and it's always a good thing to learn and for the youth, even older, to go and explore. It just seems like these two items could be a lot larger. Is there any appetite for these two line items to be larger in the future? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2350

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Minister.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2350

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Madam Chair. I assume it's the film industry rebate program and the Great Northern Arts Festival is what we're looking at now. Yes. Thank you. Madam Chair, we're definitely looking at the film industry rebate as well as the Great Northern Arts Festival. With respect to the film industry, I'm quite pleased to say that with the film strategy coming out imminently again and knowing that we have right now a fairly strong emergent film industry, of course, yes, I'm more than happy to say that we'd like to consider more money, but money does not grow on actual trees. We want to look at where the strategy takes us and get that out into the public and get the reactions to it and advance that forward. Once that strategy's out circulating, I think, at that point, we'd be in a better position to determine what type of future funding is most appropriate to achieve the goals. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2350

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Minister. Member.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2350

Steve Norn

Steve Norn Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll just finish off with a comment. There are jurisdictions. You look at other areas in Canada, like B.C., Alberta, you see some very cool country and western movies as of late, and you see Toronto. They really, really promote. Their governments invest money into their areas or to try to bring in foreign money. I think there should be some opportunity here, something that ITI and the Minister should consider at some point. I'll leave it at that. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2350

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Member. I'll take that as a comment. Member for Great Slave.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2350

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Madam Chair. It's good to have the department back in the House. My question I'm just going to start with, I think, first with the BDIC on page 210. There's a $2 million budget for the BDIC. I know that the BDIC was kind of a bit almost on hold as far as when they were looking for the CEO and wanted to wait on that to get a new direction going. I know that you're in strategic planning or they're within strategic planning within the BDIC. Can the Minister speak a little bit to where that's at, and how much of the budget for the BDIC is going towards the strategic planning at this point? Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2350

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2350

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Madam Chair. Where they're at right now, there was a session before the winter break, and there's been a second session after. Sorry, by session, it's a strategic planning session that brings in all of the board members who are from across the Northwest Territories together to be at in-person meetings for the full board again. Two rounds of that, the second one was just, I believe, last month, if not maybe late in January. I am told that I can expect a summary report from them fairly soon as a result of those two sessions. I don't, however, know, Madam Chair, what the total cost of the strategic planning was off the top of my head, so I will commit to getting that information back to the Member.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2350

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Minister. Member.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2350

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Madam Chair. That would be great. I would like to see a bunch of money. Just more as a comment. I would like to see, I'm not so much concerned that those businesses make money in the BDIC but that we start thinking about all the indirect dollars. I know the department knows where I stand on that, so I'll move on. My next question, then, would be moving onto the Northern Food Development Program on page 211. I note that the number is pretty standard across the board. I think it was a $4,000 increase. Given that COVID highlighted food security issues even more so in the North and potentially had disrupted supply chains, et cetera, as well as food supply issues in the South with the culling of animals and the pouring out of milk, does the Minister maybe, perhaps, think that there should be more money put into this area? I'm curious to know why it's been left at just this level given the importance of it and the fact that that's been highlighted through COVID? Thank you.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 2350

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Member. Minister of ITI.