Bob McLeod

This year we have $600,000 in the Sport Outfitter Marketing Program. We are using that money to assist not only the barren-ground outfitters but also the polar bear outfitters. We’ve allocated $300,000 for the barren-ground outfitters and there are seven barren-ground outfitters that are eligible to access the program. Four of the seven have accessed that program and are using the funds to put their lodges into care and maintenance so that they can make sure they can still operate them at some future point. It is our intention to seek additional funds in the upcoming business plan and we will...

As a government we’re always reviewing our programs so that we can improve upon them and make them better. As I said, we have a number of different programs to assist harvesters. CHAP funding is one part of it. The other part of it is the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program where we guarantee prices for furs. For those active trappers that go out and trap and sell at least 20 pelts a year, we also provide a Grubstake Program so that they can get a grubstake before the next season starts. We review our guaranteed prices every year based on the auctions and results of the auctions. Before a...

CHAP funding is only one of many programs that we have in place to assist harvesters. A large part of the funding that harvesters receive is based on their activity and how successful they are in harvesting and trapping. With regard specifically to the CHAP program, the budget for 2010-2011 has been set and the budget has remained the same. I should also point out that through the Growing Forward Agreement that we have with the federal government, we’ve also negotiated provisions in there to assist harvesters as well. On an overall basis, the amount of funding available for support to the...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled 2009 Public Service Annual Report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We do have an existing program, the Sport Outfitter Marketing Program. We do also have other business programs. The majority of those programs are based on viability, so it would be something that probably wouldn’t occur unless they develop alternative tourism products that could be marketed. Depending on our government’s fiscal situation on a go-forward basis, we will continue to try to expand this program. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member has already referenced the Tourism Diversification Marketing Program and I guess for some time we’ve realized that the trends with regard to tourism have been changing and the demand for consumptive tourism has been moving more into the areas of ecotourism and adventure tourism. We developed a marketing program that we spent about $5 million over the past four years so that existing operators can develop new products and look at other opportunities. We have met with the barren-ground outfitters and they said that basically they couldn’t really use that...

We have 33 communities in the Northwest Territories. Some regions have land claims while others don’t. Some communities have committees that have been negotiated through the land claim and they have responsibility for wildlife harvesting. Other communities that don’t have those arrangements, we recognize those that apply and it’s based on the number of harvesters, the number of general hunting licence holders. They have to apply to our department and if we recognize them, then we fund them on that basis. For those communities that have no harvesting association or they can’t reach agreement on...

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to recognize the following constituents from Yellowknife south: Anne-Elizabeth Fauvel, Annie Strus, Charlotte Curtis, Chris Strus, Lois Burns, Pat Strus, Peter Taptoona, Tammy Krivda, Keeton Hardisty and Samantha Bohnet. Welcome to the gallery.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents entitled 2009-2010 Results Report, Grant and Contributions Programs; and Growing Forward, Report on Contributions 2009-2010. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think that we’d have to be very careful, because, as I said, we do have northern preference policies for northern businesses. As well, we’ve expended a lot of effort to develop an interim northern manufacturing directive and we would really want to support those northern businesses or northern manufacturers that manufacture in the Northwest Territories, because it’s a high-cost area to operate out of and there are also issues and challenges with regard to attracting skilled labour and availability of housing. When we support our businesses, what we do is focus on the labour issues, reducing...