Michael Nadli

I'd like to thank the Minister for his reply and it seems that there are great advances being made, and one of the examples that he's highlighting is the idea of mentorship. The second question is: what partnerships have been developed in support of Aboriginal Tourism for education, training, and funding product development? Perhaps maybe there's you know the ideal partnership with Aboriginal governments in each region that could possibly happen with this leadership.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Tourism is hosting guests and showing them another way of life that is daily living, in most cases, based on thousands of years of culture.

Mr. Speaker, in the absence of natural resource development projects, tourism is the only industry communities have for employment and business opportunities.

Mr. Speaker, tourism activities complement the skills of local people. They have shared their vision with me of more tourism in Deh Cho: First Nations people working in the parks, highlighting historical sites, visitor information centres, interactive cultural camps, world class...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just a last question: the Hay River Reserve, would they be serviced out of the Fort Simpson District Office or else the Hay River South District Office? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just in terms of corporate management on page 197, we have three communities that are borderline caught in between two districts, either Fort Simpson or Hay River. So just for the record, I just wanted to come to an understanding from the Minister of his perception in terms of which office would preside over delivering services to Fort Providence, Kakisa, and Enterprise, whether it is the Dehcho office out of Fort Simpson, the district office, or else the South Slave office based out of Hay River. Thank you.

Those are great initiatives that the department is undertaking and advancing. The whole tourism is about promotion, ensuring that people do know of the NWT and some of the unique gifts that we have to offer the world. So I wanted to follow up on the question in terms of the Community Tourism Coordinator, having an individual work with the community. Does that also mean the next step of perhaps communities developing a local tourism strategy for the communities?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier I talked about the Aboriginal Tourism Business initiatives that could be advanced by this government, so my question is to the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. One of the challenges that we have as an impediment in the small communities is that sometimes we have bureaucracy and red tape that becomes an impediment and a challenge. One example is Aboriginal businesses, especially in small communities, want to take on boat tours and there's the challenge of getting the proper boat insurance. So my question is to the Minister, as I said earlier...

In the meantime, communities remain uncertain in terms of the fate of the assets that perhaps could affect the price of electricity that is delivered into the homes, so communities are asking what resources are available to help community governments understand their power franchise agreements and how they work?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, GNWT... [English translation not provided].

Mr. Speaker, access to affordable power is one of our biggest barriers to economic development and one of the main drivers of our cost of living.

Mr. Speaker, the Town of Hay River recently sought a new franchise agreement with an electrical power provider. This process led to the selection of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation. Whether NTPC takes over all of the assets of Northland Utilities, the town's current power provider in the region is unknown at this time. We also don't know what impact that may have...

Thank you to the Minister for his reply. Can the Minister describe the Government of the Northwest Territories' working relationship with Northland Utilities?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I spoke about the status of the electrical transmission that is affecting my riding. My questions today are for the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation. What is the status of NTPC's takeover of the Hay River power franchise, and how will it impact power rates in Fort Providence, Kakisa, Enterprise, and the Hay River Reserve? Mahsi.