Bob McLeod

Mr. Speaker, as a major participant in the Northwest Territories economy, the Government of the Northwest Territories has had a longstanding policy commitment to encourage and support the development of a healthy private sector. That commitment is reflected in the Business Incentive Policy, which is the Government of the Northwest Territories preferential procurement policy.

I am pleased to report that the Government of the Northwest Territories has revised the Business Incentive Policy after two years of consultations with Members of the Legislative Assembly, the Northwest Territories business...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Premier and all of the Ministers on this side, we’ve said that the North has never received as much attention as we’re getting now and certainly we’ve always said that the best way to promote Arctic sovereignty is to have healthy sustainable communities, and that includes building highways and so on, and developing all the business opportunities such as oil and gas. So we are going to be working very hard as a government to ensure that we do create jobs for remote communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we have done a lot of work in this area already but we are prepared to do even more. We committed at the Beaufort-Delta Regional Council that we would host a regional workshop with the members of the community in which we would look at opportunities. We would even look at setting out a plan as what we would need to go forward. We would even go as far as look at creating an inventory of possible jobs or opportunities that could be moved to some of the communities. I don’t know if we have call centres that could be moved or not, but we’re prepared to look at those types of...

Mr. Speaker, I would be pleased to do that, because one of the things in tourism and parks that we like to do is we like to see people using and enjoying our facilities. We will be pleased to come up with a number and maybe even amend our business plan, if that was at all possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is Small Business Week, an opportunity to recognize and celebrate entrepreneurs and their businesses across the Northwest Territories. I would also like to recognize Co-op Week and the 16 cooperatives that serve residents in the Northwest Territories.

Small businesses play a vital role in the economy of our communities and our Territory. They provide products, services, knowledge and skills that are the foundation of sustainable local economies and enhance our quality of life. Mr. Speaker, spend some time in any of our communities and you will find the heart of...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that Bill 9, An Act to Amend the Tourism Act, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill amends the Tourism Act by repealing the provisions regarding the Tourist Deposit Assurance Program. A transitional provision allows the Minister to review those applications for reimbursement of a deposit made in respect of a tourism activity before November 15, 2010, and render a decision on those claims. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. I think that would be an ideal time, now that we’ve committed to having committees meet in June. I think that would be an ideal objective for us to work towards and I’ll certainly commit to the Member that we will finalize or have in place our draft policy in final form to be reviewed by committee in June. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are very pleased to be able to work closely with committee on developing this Diamond Policy. We have been working with them every step of the way. We met with them in November. We fully briefed them on the old Diamond Policy and what areas needed to be changed. We certainly appreciated the direction we received from committee. We have gone out to consultation. We want to make sure we do this properly, make sure that due process is followed and we have consulted internally first. There are a number of other government departments that play a very important role in...

Thank you. I think we have an opportunity now that we are looking to implement changes to the electricity rate structure and we will certainly be involving the Public Utilities Board as we go through that process. So we would endeavour to review that in light of the fact that Norman Wells natural gas supply is depleting very rapidly. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In Norman Wells, as the Member knows, the Town of Norman Wells purchases natural gas from Imperial Oil and NTPC purchases natural gas from the Town for electricity generation and it does fall under the purview of the Public Utilities Board. The Public Utilities Board deals with natural gas on a complaints-only basis on the generation of power. The Public Utilities Board makes sure that the rates charged for power or natural gas that generates power is less than the cost of heating fuel. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.