Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Madam Chair. I had asked questions about why BDIC, at least in their 2018-2019 annual report, has an accumulated surplus of $33.445 million, and whether that was available for use, and so on. The Minister told me that I had to wait until the DAF -- I'm sorry, I may not get the acronym right -- was here, so I'd like to ask that question. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I guess I have one question: what's a DFA? Director of finance and administration or something? Okay, a good guess, I guess, on my part.

I have some questions, though, about the five-year review that was done. Do I wait until we look at that page? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Yes, I'm well aware of the $160,000 that's provided to the city. That's the same amount that was given to the Northern Frontier Visitors' Association that eventually resulted in the building going kaput with the lack of support from our government. That was, I think, a major contributing factor in my view. It was in my riding, as well. Is there any money specifically above and beyond the $160,000 in this budget to help with planning and development of a proper visitors' centre in Yellowknife? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. This page, too, is one of my favourites. I'm looking at the 2018-2019 BDIC annual report and I see that they have an accumulated surplus of $33.445 million as of March 31, 2019. Can I get an explanation as to why there is such a large surplus for BDIC? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Great to hear that, and I look forward to seeing some of the products from that work. I've raised this with my colleague with ENR. I think we have to look at fishing restrictions on Lac La Martre sometime soon before the road gets finished, to protect the fish resources there, so I'm just going to leave that with you folks, and I'll probably come back and ask about it at some future point.

With regard to overall tourism promotion, clearly, we're not going to get much international or even domestic tourism from other parts of Canada this summer. What is the department doing...

Thanks, Madam Chair. I guess I just feel like we have been spinning our wheels here for about six months, at least. These were major themes that were raised during the development of the report by the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment as it reviewed the legislation. There has never been a public response to that report from Cabinet or the Minister, perhaps.

The major themes that came out of that were lack of consultation or lack of engagement around regulations and a commitment in the future to do things in terms of co-drafting. I think there were some successes with co...

Thanks, Madam Chair. Yes, I'm well aware of what the money is for. I want it out the door and being spent. I've been waiting for this 20-year capital plan for the airport for some time. Especially now, with the pandemic going on, here's an opportunity. Here's a pot of money that we could actually spend now to start doing some work at the airport. I know this is a complicated issue. People have been complaining about the lack of services, the line-ups, and so on, out of there for years. I know air transport is likely going to change and evolve with the pandemic, but to have a $45-million...

Thanks, Madam Chair. I am just trying to figure this out. The day when Texas crude went to negative $37 a barrel, could we actually buy enough on the stock market so that we could give away fuel in the communities? Could we bulk purchase that far in advance? Can we store the stuff somewhere? I have no sense of how this actually works. If the witnesses need to go back and get somebody else to help them answer that, I am fine with getting an answer later. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. If I go back to 2018-2019, it is still at an $850,000 deficit. I'm trying to remember; was that after the fuel delivery problem? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Okay. I'm just trying to get a sense of this. Is this money for regional staff to travel or is headquarters included in this? Is this related to the maintenance of facilities or, say, if we have a capital project and someone needs to go out and check to see what is happening, travel related to that? Does that come out of this project? What does it really cover? Thanks, Madam Chair.