Robert C. McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I do have opening remarks. I'm here to present Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2016-2017. These estimates provide for an increase of $18.8 million to the capital budget. These Supplementary Estimates include:

funding of $15.3 million for a change in the timing of expenditures expected for the Stanton Territorial Hospital Renewal Project, the total cost of the project has not changed.

Amongst other items, these supplementary estimates also include:

funding of $2 million to begin work on the heavy equipment operators facility project at the...

I do, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following three documents entitled “Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2016-2017,” “Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2016-2017,” and “Serving Our People: the NWT Public Service Report 2015.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, through the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program we provide support for participants in the fur industry; there's three elements to it. There's actually the Guaranteed Advance for Furs, the Prime Fur Bonus, and the Fall Grubstake bonus and these are very good programs and a number of harvesters out there take the government up and ENR up on these opportunities.

Mr. Chair, the exact number that is in the budget I'm not quite sure of, but I do know that the fur advancement loan we paid out $408,000 for this year. But as for the exact dollar figure in the budget, I will get that number and I will share it with the Member, but it does rest in ENR.

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.