Wally Schumann

Mr. Speaker, we are investing in an economy that will give the Northwest Territories residents and their families the opportunity to prosper, and give the government the financial means to pay for programs and services our territory and its people need.

This work is important to both sides of this House. Regular Members have played an important role to help move the work of this government, and with that collaboration we are able to support better diversification of our economy. Our residents deserve the opportunity to achieve economic self-determination, and this House can be proud of the work...

With the development of the Mackenzie Valley Genuine Valley Fur Program, the fur procurement programs by ITI, fewer harvesters are looking at owning tanning operations, or doing their own tanning operations.

I can speak to the department of the region in the South Slave actually looking at the exact same thing, I believe, that was proposed in the Beaufort Delta, a viable option of doing a tannery in the South Slave. When we get these results back, I would gladly share them with the Member.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do not have the exact year when the department looked into this initiative, but I know that they have looked into it, and with this initiative moving forward, they figured that the reasons that they could not proceed with it was the high capital cost of equipment, the facilities, high utility costs in the region, and waste management concerns, as there is a lot of processing that needs to take place. I think the other issue at the time was also the existing procurement of hides that would be available to make this a viable operation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I can gladly try to get that information for the Member pulled back from the department and see what we have got for information. It was a joint venture, as I said, with the two Aboriginal groups and a local contractor from the area. I should be able to get those exact numbers for the Member.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe we had a successful season. Prior to me getting this portfolio, there was a contract awarded to a local contractor, along with Aboriginal groups, in the region to rehabilitate this Highway No. 6. They have been continually working on specifically kilometre 42 to 62. That work began late November of 2015 and was completed up the last year. This year moving forward we want to rehabilitate 14 kilometres of that highway and continue to invest in it, and application of chipseal will be part of that as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, our government has made commitments in its mandate to investigate and implement renewable and alternative energy solutions, explore the potential for the development of hydroelectric power and transmission lines, and develop wind and solar energies to replace diesel. Transitioning away from expensive fossil fuels for home heating and electricity generation will be critical for reducing the cost of living for residents and protecting the NWT environment.

Today I would like to provide Members with an update on some of the energy initiatives being undertaken by our government to...

The Member is correct. There are a number of concerns on this act moving forward, including the one I mentioned with the Tlicho Government. The Premier has asked the federal government to turn that legislation over to us so we can deal with it in our own manner for our own territory for our people, and those discussions are ongoing moving forward.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is quite correct. There is an uptick in interest in the Northwest Territories, on the mineral resource side in particular. In the past year, since I have had this portfolio, I have had conversations with a number of proponents interested and existing ones that are here in the Northwest Territories. They have sent me numerous letters about carbon tax and the sorts of things and infrastructure needs that we need to address in this territory to make it viable.

They are quite happy that we are moving forward with our Mineral Resources Act. That is one piece of the...

Like I said, we're working with the City of Yellowknife and their officials to have an appropriate sustainable model for the long-term tourism delivery services in the City of Yellowknife. These discussions will be ongoing, and we will continue to review this process going forward, as well as the fiscal capacity that we have. We have spent millions of dollars on tourism in the Northwest Territories, and we will continue to do so right across the territory.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is correct; the City of Yellowknife has stepped up and is going to have a look at doing this until the end of the aurora season this year. We are in discussions with them on moving this plan forward. Talks are going well. We want to be able to develop something and establish an appropriate model that's sustainable for the long-term delivery of visitor services in Yellowknife, and we will continue to do so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.