Statements in Debates
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you. General comments. I have Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you. Next on the list of general comments I have Mr. Bromley.
Thank you.
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Thank you. Does the committee agree?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It will be short. I’d like to ask the Minister of ENR is there not a policy, a program, a loan, a fund, anything within this government that could bridge the gap so that Pattersons can go to work, harvest timber, partake in the pellet mill future, which is on the horizon. This is not like a business that has no prospect for the future. It’s the only one we have in the Northwest Territories. Is there not, in this government-wide system, anything that could help the Pattersons? Thank you.
That was not an answer to my question. I’m talking about Patterson’s involvement in the industry of cutting wood for commercial purposes other than firewood. I know that they have cut firewood this year, but they cannot operate their business on the revenue generated by firewood. The outstanding debt relates to the harvest of commercial grade saw timber in previous years and they were unable to pay the stumpage fees due to a number of economic difficult hardships, and this is not uncommon to many types of business. I would like to again ask the Minister if the Patterson sawmill is being...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to stand up in this House again, sadly, to say that I have to repeat my statement again about the plight of an industry in Hay River that has been open and operating there since 1969, but this government, through their action and inaction, is going to allow it to fold. That is Patterson Sawmill. We are sitting in the Northwest Territories in a virtual forest; we are in the boreal forest. I don’t know how many ENR employees we have who look after forest management and yet we cannot eke out one single sustainable industry and support that logging industry to...
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Miltenberger.