Bob McLeod

I guess in the fact that the federal government has responsibility for oil and gas and mining and they collect all the royalties, we have been able to get through the back door through the environmental assessment process to promote value-added. I am pleased that the Member is supportive of value-added, because in Yellowknife when we set up the secondary diamond industry, we put a lot of money into it and we had a lot of pushback on it. To this date, we are reviewing our Diamond Policy and it’s something that’s tentative out there. I think everybody here wants to see value added. To date that...

I think it was two years ago when we went to establish the SEED program. We consulted with various committees and at that time, everyone agreed that we needed to get more funding into the level II communities and I think we’ve been very successful in doing that. The larger businesses can approach the banks or they can approach the BDIC for loans. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was provided with a copy of the presentation. I don’t believe it was vetted by myself. But basically when we make a presentation to committee, we tried to respond to what the committee wishes to be briefed on, and unless they give us some very specific direction, generally we would give a very broad presentation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I guess I’m a bit surprised at the Member’s line of questioning since he was involved with developing legislation for BDIC and also the standing committee was consulted extensively in setting up the SEED program, which I think is working very well.

Mr. Speaker, trapping has long been a way of life for the people of the Northwest Territories. It’s a fundamental part of our culture. It is part of who we are.

Trapping is also an important economic activity, especially in many of our smaller communities. Trapping is not easy work, but it is rewarding work and it allows our people to get out on the land -- just as their ancestors have done for centuries -- and make a few dollars while they are at it.

Mr. Speaker, results from a recent fur auction show just how important that activity is to the Northwest Territories. At the Fur Harvesters...

The terms of reference have been out there since last year sometime. Certainly our expectation is we will come up with rates that would cover all those pillars.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When we started this process where we undertook the electricity review, it was understood that initially it was a three-part process. The first part was the electricity review, an NTPC review, and an ATCO proposal. We are working very closely with all Members of this Legislative Assembly and certainly our basic tenant is affordability.

Perhaps if the federal government would devolve the responsibility for mining and oil and gas to the Government of the Northwest Territories, we would have an industrial strategy. Right now, all of the royalties go to the federal government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have a tool kit of programs that can be accessed for a number of different programs. Through our loans programs, we can make business loans up to $2 million and we do have some grants and contribution programs. On an ad hoc basis, we can go approach FMB to see if there is funding that falls outside the different programs that can be used to promote development. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think if you look at the legislation establishing BDIC you would see that they are an independent board. There is no opportunity for political interference with approval of loans and the only avenue is for me to provide general direction to the board, and that is according to the legislation.

With regard to the SEED program, which is Support for Entrepreneurs in Economic Development policy, in the consultation we were, with committee it was very clear that the focus should be on what we call level two communities. I’m pleased to report that since its inception, the SEED program has been...