Robert C. McLeod

Mr. Speaker, through our partnership between ENR, MACA, Health and Social Services and through the work of our HR field staff, we work with schools and harvesters throughout the region. I think one of the things we do is to ensure that this program continues to run and that they continue to receive the funding that they do from the different departments in this government. So it is a valuable program and I think it's one that has been funded very well and well taken advantage of by schools across the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We're pleased to say that the project is on time and on budget. Thank you.

This is a great program and I do know from experience that schools all across the NWT take advantage of this program. It was designed to introduce NWT youth to traditional lifestyle practices for hunting and trapping, fishing, outdoor survival and canoe-making as the Member has alluded to. It's also very good for their instructors or their teachers as well, because that introduces them to some of the traditional lifestyle that we practice up here, so it's a valuable program and it has tremendous uptake across the Northwest Territories.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I think the Minister of Education has committed to working closely with this group, so I will make a commitment from this table as well.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Bob McLeod will be absent from the House today to attend the state memorial service for the late Jim Prentice in Calgary, Alberta. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair, I do.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, to my right I have Mr. David Stewart, who is the deputy minister of Finance, and to my left I have Mr. Sandy Kalgutkar, who is the deputy secretary to the FMB. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I do, Mr. Chair. I am here to present Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2016-2017. These estimates provide for an increase of $591,000 to the operations budget.

Amongst other things, these Supplementary Estimates include:

funding of $308,000 for permafrost monitoring research and development;

funding of $285,000 for operating costs of the newly expanded Jimmy Erasmus Seniors’ Home in Behchoko; and funding of $108,000 for the Aboriginal Justice Strategy for a training event; and

enhanced capacity building.

That concludes my opening remarks, Mr. Chair. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the Member is absolutely right, there is some concerns with the caribou and it's coming to a point where the caribou actually have no chance with all the technology that we have in getting out to the caribou and that's allowed their numbers to dwindle along with a number of other things, but there is some funding available to help community harvesters. As to the exact, I would have to confirm that, but I do know there's money available to help harvesters go and do a community harvest.

Mr. Speaker, the other programs that are supported are the Community Harvesters Assistance Program, our local Wildlife Committee, Take a Kid Trapping as the Member said, and Harvesting Program, the Western Harvesters' Assistance Program, the Hunters and Trappers Disaster Compensation Program, and the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission coverage for resource harvesters. So again, that is a wide topic of areas that it covers, and I will get the exact dollar figure and share it with the Members.