Mahsi. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, so, firstly, just quickly with respect to agri-food, I am conscious of the Member's time but I'm actually at their association AGM next Friday and so certainly can follow up immediately and make note of the fact that this has been brought to our attention with respect to reporting to see exactly what the issue is.

And with respect then to the position for the fisheries, it is, indeed, a sunset but that is in part -- I think there was an expectation that the position was going to seconded to the Tu Cho for two years and in fact now the position is just changing in terms of responsibility in who is paying, Department of Fisheries and Oceans is able now to help with that, support that, and so I'm happy to not have to spend the GNWT's dollars in that respect. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mahsi. Ms. Cleveland.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So I see under commercial fisheries and contributions, there's a little bit of a difference, which I assume is that, that sunset there.

Can the Minister speak to whether or not there are any expected legislative changes required to the Fisheries Act coming forward from changes to the fisheries sector expected in the next year and if they have the resources to fulfill that work? Thank you.

Mahsi. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, there are changes expected but exactly where they will be coming from is still unknown. That is in the sense that the Freshwater Fish Marking Act is a federal piece of legislation. They, the federal government, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, has been doing a review of that and is working on some form of transition that I, as of yet, don't know for sure. We are working closely, though, with them. There was, in fact, just a meeting last week with both the Tu Cho Fisher Cooperative here in the Northwest Territories, ourselves, and the FFMC to just make sure everyone's aligned. And right now, our priority is getting the fish plant operational, having a manager in place to run the fish plant and then that will transition so that the FFMC-run plant will transition to ours and that can then allow the process by which the fish can move out to the south directly and we'll, hopefully by that point, know what FFMC's plans are to extricate themselves entirely and allow us to move forward. So then we'll know whether it's -- their legislation that's changing, our legislation that's changing, or exactly when -- we're figuring it'll be about a couple of years of working, Mr. Chair, but right now not anticipating at this time any need for further supports outside of the capacity of the department. Thank you.

Mahsi. Ms. Cleveland.

Thank you Mr. Chair, I just want to repeat I know something that the Minister has heard me say before, but I think it's really important to repeat, and that is that there are existing federally-accredited fish plants in the Northwest Territories already. And I just want to essentially hear a commitment from the Minister to ensure that when they're going through these talks at federal tables that that is recalled and advocated for so that we're not inadvertently pushing out people in the business sector who have had a tremendous amount of investment into this sector already. Thank you.

Mahsi. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I am well aware that there are other fish plants and thrilled that there are other fish plants. We are not even remotely close to meeting our quota of fishing of freshwater fish here in the Northwest Territories. There's ample opportunity. If anything, I think our challenge is more on the side of having more fishers. And we certainly will make that point to raise this issue. I think the deputy minister actually may have an opportunity as early as tomorrow. If this comes up, she's at FFMC's meeting tomorrow just to make that they are aware of the complexity of our industry, that it's not just about the fish plant. But there's no intention to compete, and there's no need to. There's enough fish and enough market for that fish. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mahsi. Ms. Cleveland.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I absolutely agree with the Minister and think that there is ample opportunity for business development across the territory and absolutely support that. I just want to make sure that we don't have legislation at the end of the day that cuts out people who maybe are not directly affiliated with the plant but who also support the plant. Which brings me to SEED.

And so, again, in terms of what one of my colleagues noted was the decline in SEED with the removal of the COVID supports. My concern is that with the economy where it is right now and the high rate of inflation, that this is a time where people might be looking for things like SEED in order to expand their business and find every opportunity to do so. And so I think that the more that we can put into SEED and invest in northern economic development, the better.

One of the things that I'm wondering here is in terms of the micro business, if the Minister can speak to whether or not that pot of SEED funding that is specific to artists and artisans was fully subscribed, and if it is and other pots aren't, if they're able to pull from other pots that have not been fully subscribed in order to meet the demand for that one? Thank you.

Mahsi. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, again, I'm happy to hear the support for the SEED program. Again, recognizing it's popular but recognizing, too, that there was a desire just to make sure that that fund is actually being effectively used. We want to make sure that those that are getting the money are using it in a way that grows businesses, in a way that supports local economies. There are some that are frequent returners to the program and that may or may not be the best use of public dollars to actually grow a marketplace economy. But these are all questions that need to be answered in a methodical and analytical way before putting more money into the program. We certainly are able to move money from within this division to support if there's particular elements under SEED, because there are some divisions within SEED-- I'm sure the Member knows -- including micro business. Mr. Chair, I would suggest there's a fairly detailed analysis done in the grants and contributions as to who gets the SEED money. And I'd rather suggest that we -- I not do that, taking up the Member's time, but can certainly provide that information after the fact. I can say I'm informed that we have about $100,000 left right. So even coming up at the end of the fiscal, there's still room in SEED. Thank you.

Mahsi. Ms. Cleveland.

That is excellent news, Mr. Chair. Thank you very much for that. So what I would like to know is if the review that's currently taking place with SEED, if that will include a review of the market disruption clause and also any kind of potential down the road for a residency post-grant requirement. So people who are getting SEED aren't turning around as soon as they get it and leaving the territory with that investment in their business, that they're actually staying and doing that business development here in the territory. Thank you.

Mahsi. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, there was an effort done to do some engagement on SEED right towards the end of COVID. It wasn't -- it didn't get a lot of uptake in terms of feedback and this is the program where, obviously -- and specifically looking at the question of market disruption. That was one of the main areas that was asked. It is one where there's a divide a bit between small and large centers in terms of whether there should or should not be market disruption. And so while I -- this is policy and it can change, wanted to go back when the economy's settled a little bit so there is a desire, and I know I've spoken to the department just in the last few days, about making sure we get that work done this Assembly, to look at the market disruption clause in SEED and see if we can approve it. So I hope that is a sufficient commitment for the Member. Thank you.

Mahsi. Ms. Cleveland.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm going to squeak in one last question, and that is in regards to the manufacturing strategy.

One of the things that came out of the procurement review was a recommendation to actually implement the recommendations that came out of the manufacturing strategy. So I'm wondering if the economic diversification and business support team have the dollars to -- and resources, rather, to actually implement those recommendations and what recommendations we can see implemented before the end of the 19th Assembly? Thank you.

Mahsi. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we are still doing some work on the manufacturing strategy. Some of it comes in under the procurement review stream, but I don't have the exact order. Perhaps I'll turn it to the deputy minister if she could give a bit of a brief summary of where we're at on that.

Deputy minister.