Robert Bouchard

I guess I want this House and the Minister to understand that I don’t disagree with the fact that… I see the information before us that we probably had less than other jurisdictions in these areas. I’m concerned about the GNWT positions overall. I’ve had those concerns before. The question I have in this House is whether we allow this to continue. They may have a valid point for these positions. My point is we really haven’t had an in-depth discussion here and had that discussion with Regular Members because this came to us a week ago, less than a week ago probably. I am having trouble...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow-up to my Member’s statement, I have questions for the Minister of ITI and their current plan of how to revitalize the NWT fishery and maybe the construction of the fish plant in Hay River. I know that they’ve invested in capital money, but I know we’re looking for federal money.

Can I ask the Minister where we currently sit in negotiations with the federal government to invest in the Hay River fishery? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have some of those documents in front of me here too. I have a document dated December 18th, when we actually got the plan of the final report that we’re making decisions on. So, that’s my difficulty in the fact that we got it December 18th, but there was no indication that it was coming into a supp into the new year, or there’s no discussion of it being added to our January discussions to get a briefing in January to talk about getting this put in the budget.

I don’t have the details, but I do believe we have, in the past, added this stuff to the budgets in a quick...

If I could get a little bit more detail. When we talk about communication, communication seems to me like consulting. I mean, anything can be communicating. We’re communicating here in this House today.

What exactly does communicating mean? Does that mean we’re communicating with the general public? Is that communication between Cabinet and Regular Members? Is that communication a communication system as far as telecommunications? What does communication mean when we’re talking about these types of positions and what these people will be doing?

So I think I’m getting the picture here. This is funding from the federal government on an ongoing basis. Why would we continue to have these positions if part of these positions are just to assess our communications system now? The Minister indicated we need to assess our communications system and the way we communicate. In my perspective, that would be reviewing something that would only be a short period of time, something we would need as a term, not a full-time position where after the assessment is done, we don’t need that position anymore. Why wouldn’t we do that as a term position or...

Committee is agreed we’ve concluded Tabled Document 246-17(5). Agreed?

Thank you, Mr. Kalgutkar. Next I have Mr. Dolynny.

Total department, not previously authorized, $1.260 million.

I will go to Ms. Bisaro.

I think the Department of ITI also does exit surveys of tourists and I would see these as being… Maybe look at them as well as tourists coming into the North.

Is there a way that we could do a survey of them, even maybe, like Mrs. Groenewegen mentioned, a registration, a voluntary registration that, you know, I’ve come to the Northwest Territories to do picking? You know, I’m expected to be in the Kakisa area, that type of stuff. Maybe a registration and an exit survey of those people who are here for morel mushrooms. Thank you.