Bob McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Chair. In the past few years we recognized that there was starting to be a shift in tourism products so we undertook some research to determine where the future interests would lie and it was indicating there was a preference towards ecotourism and adventure tourism. We instituted the Tourism Diversification and Marketing Program which provided funding so that existing operators could look at developing new products. For the Barren Ground outfitters and the polar bear outfitters, they indicated that they needed to focus more on the marketing and their own specific sectors, so...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On my right I have Doug Doan, assistant deputy minister with the department. On my left I have Mark Aitken, legal counsel.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m pleased to introduce Bill 9, An Act to Amend the Tourism Act. This bill addresses the proposed changes to the Tourism Act, specifically the removal of the Tourism Deposit Assurance Program.

The Tourism Deposit Assurance Program was established in the early 1990s in an effort to increase consumer confidence in Northwest Territories tourism operators following the demise of two large lodges on Great Bear Lake. No other Canadian jurisdiction offers a program like the Tourism Deposit Assurance Program.

This bill is an important one because the Department of Industry...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to recognize Mr. Denny Rodgers, a board member with the Business Development Investment Corporation. Thank you.

That will be our intention and we will do that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

As I said, we are spending money on sports hunt outfitter marketing programs for both the caribou and the polar bears. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Our tourism industry has indicated they have a clear preference for departmental resources to be used to support operators with workshops, training and product development. Also, the protection of client deposits is better done through the use of credit cards.

In our opinion, the Tourist Deposit Assurance Program was created to boost confidence in the tourism industry but in actuality we feel that the program has had the opposite effect, because it shows that the government does not have confidence in the NWT tourism industry because they’re assuming that this industry...

Yes, I would, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled Communities and Diamonds: 2009 Annual Report of the Government of the Northwest Territories under the BHP Billiton, Diavik and De Beers Socio-economic Agreements. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, that’s obviously incorrect. I’ll ask the deputy to clarify what we’re spending. We spent $740,000 in prior years to build a visitors centre. In 2011-2012 we are proposing to spend $60,000 to complete the work at the centre. So through you, Mr. Chair, I’ll ask the deputy to clarify that.