Katrina Nokleby

For the 2020 fiscal year, the department will provide additional freight payments for the remote locations to support the strategic goals outlined in the strategy for revitalizing the Great Slave Lake commercial fishery of 10 cents per pound for zones 2 and 3 and 20 cents per pound for zones 4 and 5, which, in turn, will increase cash liquidity to fishers for seasonal start-up activities. The regional office has been having conference calls with the fishers every two weeks. Discussions have been held to provide updates on the status of FFMC, the status of ITI programs, and new safety programs...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do have a copy of the advisory panel documents, the report, and I will review. It is an exciting time, especially if this does evolve into being a harvester-led-and-owned entity. We are very excited for this project to move forward, and there is no anticipation that we would not; we're just trying to figure out how that's going to go. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Currently, we are in the feasibility stage of the project, so our focus remains on examining the potential commercial structures, signing an MOU with our Indigenous partners, and working closely with the Canadian infrastructure bank to build a preliminary business case for this project. Technical work is focused on transmission-line routing options and costs. Strong Indigenous partnerships are imperative to the success of this project. I recently met with the YKDFN leadership to hear their thoughts on how they would like to be involved in this project. I look forward to meeting with other...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the Taltson energy expansion project does remain a priority of not only Infrastructure but of the 19th Legislative Assembly as decided upon by all of us in October last year. The GNWT has been successful in obtaining $18 million in grant funding from Canada and continues to pursue the advancement of the project in terms of examining options for the commercial structure, defining our Indigenous partnerships, and completing technical design and environmental baseline work in order to prepare for a regulatory application.

Yes, the plan is to do the work on the runway this summer. I have not been made aware of any issues regarding COVID-19 impacts to delay this project, so my department will be planning to do so. We have sent a GNWT charter with a mechanic there at this point and parts to fix the issue that we have been having. We are sending the excavator there to fix the issue at this point, to get it so that it's working for now, and then we will take care of the permanent solutions this summer.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are currently working on the drainage issue on the runway in Sachs Harbour. The snow is being removed to clear the packed snow from the edges of the runway. We did experience some maintenance issues and have sent a mechanic and parts to resolve the situation. I am not sure at this time if this work is part of the original plan for the airport or the runway. However, I would say, if this is causing the problem that it's causing right now, it's a good chance that this has been an ongoing issue for years; it would not have just started at this point. I would hope that...

The department is finalizing a processing footprint for the proposed new plant to bring it within budget. Proposed processing volumes have been reduced, and plant size reduced to approximately 10,000 square feet. As the Member will remember, the proposals received were well over the budget of money allocated. The region is working with Infrastructure on this project, and it is hoped that Infrastructure will be finalizing a tender delivery process this summer with an award this fall. I do commit to having a more fulsome discussion and briefing with the Member and anyone else that he would like...

I don't believe I said that I have done everything I can do. I will say, though, that I am doing the best that I can to my ability. I have several areas of business and industry where I need to advocate for everyone. I am only one person, and I do acknowledge that there are things that we could be doing better. I believe I already answered the question as to why we went with loans instead of grants with the BDIC. However, I do commit to coming back to the Member with a more fulsome answer on that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Mr. Speaker. Businesses across the Northwest Territories have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but perhaps none more so than our tourism sector. The tourism sector was one of the first hit by the pandemic and will likely be amongst the last to recover from its effects. Northwest Territories tourism is reliant on national and international travel. However, for the time being, our borders must remain closed to protect the health of our residents and our small and remote communities. We recognize that this is happening at a cost to business owners and entrepreneurs in the Northwest...

The maximum available for any individual business under regular SEED programming in a given year is $25,000 and up to $30,000 with a Ministerial waiver. Applicants can apply for any type of support. The limit is on the total quantum. The one exception is for strategic initiatives, with up to $75,000 allowed. This was introduced as a pilot program two years ago, and the intention was to support larger projects that could have a real impact in terms of investments in local employment and communities. We had previously targeted two strategic investments per region at $75,000 apiece. This year, we...