Rocky Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This morning, I sat in front of my computer and compared our proposed budget with our priorities in this government's mandate. No matter which angle I looked at it from, the reality is that we are cash-poor and have limited chances of fulfilling our priorities in the mandates set by Cabinet.

Our reliance on the mining sector and the federal governmental revenue is all that is sustaining our territory. The federal government fails to provide adequate funding to the North. The mining sector is becoming questionable as a source of sustainable revenue. We are basically...

With respect to the residency requirement, there seems to be a difference between what is in the SEED Program and what is in the commercial renewable resource use policy. The SEED Program requires six months, and the other one is three years. I am just wondering if the Minister has looked at that and if the Minister is willing to reconcile that difference, because I would rather see the money stay in the North. I would rather see it be three years than the six-month requirement due to the fact that it is pretty easy to get a driver's licence here and it is pretty easy to get healthcare here...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have to respect the work that the NWT fishers do and the product that they deliver to us. This is why we have contributions and grants to assist them with the associated high costs of doing business. Can the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment confirm the total grants and contribution and subsidies for the commercial fishing industry? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Due to the high costs associated with the fishing industry, can the Minister of ITI confirm that these grants, contributions, and subsidies will be revisited at some point to determine if they accurately reflect the high cost associated with that industry? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The NWT fishers depend on these grants and contributions to offset those high costs. Can the Minister of ITI confirm what percentage of these contributions go to the NWT fishers and, if any, to fishers outside the NWT who have not met the residency requirement?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the 2013 NWT economic opportunity strategy prepared by this government, it identified the Great Slave commercial fishery as a priority opportunity to advance regional economic development and diversification. The 18th Assembly then followed up with developing a strategy for revitalizing the Great Slave Lake commercial fishery.

The strategy from the 18th Legislative Assembly has the expectation that lake production will increase by encouraging Northerners and Aboriginal persons to enter the fishery, and further through the relocation of new fishing assets and fishers...

Is that a yes?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With respect to the construction of these units, as I said before, our northern local contractors need work, our residents need work, and our northern suppliers need work. Will the Minister of Housing assure us that these units will be built in the North by northern contractors with northern employees and not be supplied by southern contractors? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is no secret that there exists a long waiting list with individuals and families waiting to access public housing. How, then, do you explain demolishing existing stock and using the land for units that are not for public-housing use? It will be lands that are lost for this use.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am very pleased that the RCMP will have 45 new housing units available to them within the next year. The service the RCMP members provide is invaluable to communities and the residents they serve here in the Northwest Territories, and as such, I am pleased with the initiative.

Mr. Speaker, the NWT Housing Corporation is set to supply the RCMP with these new housing units throughout the NWT. These units will go primarily into market communities where there are established real estate developers. Some of these developers have expressed concerns as to why the NWT Housing...