Thank you. Deputy Minister Kelly.

Thank you. Member for Great Slave.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I will make sure I follow up with my colleague to find out if that $4,500 will be enough for the compensation that some of these trappers may need, just to get a better idea of that. Again, the next question I have is around the fur price program. I probably am a little bit ignorant here, but just in general, with our fur programs, given that the fur auctions are likely not to go ahead or go ahead in a similar manner and that buyers would like to purchase furs that they can actually touch versus doing anything virtually, there is expected to be a decline coming up in fur sales. I'm just wondering: is this the area, or does the department give help to trappers in that area, and is this going to be where this money would be coming from? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. In regard to that program, we actually pay our trappers the rates, and then we do take it down to auction. The Member is correct; it's not right now. They like to be hands-on. We warehouse it. We have a good place to maintain the furs. When we do go to auction, we are able to sell it. If there is an increase in the fur, I think I will actually just go for that detail to the deputy minister. Thank you.

Thank you. Deputy Minister Kelly.

Thank you. Member for Great Slave.

Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate that the deputy minister keeps answering my questions ahead of when I am actually going to ask them. That was going to be my next question. I do recognize there are a lot of different programs here, and I am happy to hear that we are trying to be innovative when it comes to fur and how we can use that for our economy. I am personally trying to do my best to support our arts program and their use of fur. Yes, I would just say more as a comment that I would support more line items increasing in this area. Thank you, Madam Chair. I am done.

Thank you, Member. I will take that as a comment. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

I put my head down to check out who is next. Are there any other questions? Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just on page 74, the community foods there, I see that, in 2019-2020, it was at $239,000; then it dropped down in 2021 to $50,000, and it stayed like that. What was the reason for that? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

For that detail, I would turn to the deputy minister. Thank you.

Deputy Minister Kelly.

Thank you. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to go to the fur price program, as well. In the news there, I see that there was a bunch of polar bear hides sent back or looking to get sent back into Nunavut. I am just wondering if that is happening here in the territories. Are there furs down south that will be returned to the NWT because they cannot be sold? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Our furs are actually in the North. We keep them here. We take them down to auction. We do not leave them down there. My understanding is we do not leave them down there. Basically, we give the trappers their money up front; then we send it out. As the deputy minister says, April, we are looking that it will be better sales for us. Right now, we are not in the same boat as the Nunavut government. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Madam Chair. When the furs go south and I guess because of maybe COVID-related issues and prices are down, will the trappers be compensated or will there be an increase in their compensation to keep them up to a level of kind of where they have been in the past? Thank you, Madam Chair.