Thank you. I guess, would we have not negotiated these allowances in the process, or would we not have known that number or estimates based on April 1st when we went into

budget?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Throughout this document we have quite a few

items that have to deal with the adjustment to the Collective Agreement. Can the Minister maybe give me a little more explanation why these numbers weren’t available during our regular process of budgeting? I guess it’s spread throughout the document. So, if the Minister could just explain to us why this is a supplementary estimate as opposed to the regular budget process.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m sure the Minister has been briefed about the meeting. At that meeting the fishers asked for the subsidy. The department indicated the price is going to go up. The current fishers are asking for

that price to be actually subsidized to that level right now so they can see how the industry will react to that type of price currently.

Is the Minister willing to commit to looking at that type of subsidy to increase the price for fishers on the Great Slave Lake? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In the department’s plan that I heard last week, they talked about the price of fish and trying to bring that up.

Is the Minister aware of what the department is looking to do in increasing the price of the fish for the fishermen in the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Minister indicated he had a meeting previously with the federal Minister.

Can the Minister indicate to me when the next planned meeting or FPT on this type of situation would be coming up? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow-up to my Member’s statement, I have questions for the Minister of ITI and their current plan of how to revitalize the NWT fishery and maybe the construction of the fish plant in Hay River. I know that they’ve invested in capital money, but I know we’re looking for federal money.

Can I ask the Minister where we currently sit in negotiations with the federal government to invest in the Hay River fishery? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As you are well aware, Hay River has a long history as being the NWT fishing industry capital. It’s exciting to hear that this government is investing $1.3 million through its Economic Opportunities Strategy to this industry.

Last week, along with members of the NWT Fisherman’s Federation, I was glad to hear a plan go forward on how we’re going to revitalize this industry and how we are going to implement a new fishing plant in the community of Hay River. This is a great renewable resource that we have in the Northwest Territories. We need to take full advantage of it. We need to make sure that all this fish is sold in the Northwest Territories. We need to get fish back onto the kitchen tables of the people in the Northwest Territories. We need to make sure it’s in every restaurant. We need to make sure that it’s in all our institutions, correctional institutions, hospitals, diamond mines, seniors facilities. We need to make sure that this resource is being taken full opportunity of.

Our quota that we have is a renewable quota. We are basically protecting ourselves. I understand that this is a multi-staged process. We need to find more federal funding to do this. We need to increase the prices for those fishermen. Some of the prices they’re currently getting are the same prices they got back in the ‘40s and ‘50s. We need a plan to go forward to get this industry revitalized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee has been considering Tabled Document 246-17(5), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 2014-2015; and Tabled Document 247-17(5), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2015-2016, and I would like to report progress and that consideration of Tabled Document 246-17(5) and Tabled Document 247-17(5) is concluded and that the House concur in those estimates and that an appropriation bill be based thereon be introduced without delay. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know some of these people are from different jurisdictions, but obviously they’re coming to the Northwest Territories. We know that we’re in a drought situation. They may want to live in the Northwest Territories permanently, so we should probably promote that as well.

I know already in the process that we’re seeing pressure under our ITI facilities, our parks facilities. Is there a plan for the Department of ITI to look at how they’re going to use those facilities? I know there are people who are not actually staying in

those facilities but using the showers and washrooms in those types of facilities. What are we doing to deal with that type of pressure? Thanks, Mr. Speaker.