Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Madam Chair. So, you know, obviously, Madam Chair, my comments have to be limited to within the scope of what the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment can speak to. EIA is coming next so, you know, heads up to my colleagues who are going to be sitting here shortly. But with respect to what the Department of ITI can do, you know, I can speak, Madam Chair, to the work we've already done with the Intergovernmental Council and more on the development of the Mineral Resources Act regulations. But ITI has been the lead department to enact and to put forward and to work with...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the signage is a shared initiative with ENR, ITI, and Infrastructure. I believe that we are responsible for the parking?

Thank you, Madam Chair. And, Madam Chair, I've certainly not heard it proposed from within the department or with colleagues over at Infrastructure that Alberta Power can come up here in any sort of easy or cost-efficient basis. Certainly would love to be frankly wrong about that, Madam Chair. But there are efforts underway to move to renewables where possible, that some of the parks are seeing a move to having some small scale various renewable initiatives, particularly around solar. So again, I can perhaps get back to the Member with respect to what's happening. It's often an...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, that probably is the answer there is probably going to have to look as much to the arts funding that is being proposed in the main estimates here as much as it is to tourism programming. But, again, as I had indicated earlier when I made a commitment that I will go back to NWT Tourism around accommodation issues and what work they may be doing, perhaps I'll add to that list, and I no doubt am due for a touch base with them, that we can speak specifically about what we can do to increase access to the arts sector as well. And again, you know, they are...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I can't say on the perspective of what Indigenous governments' view on it might be. What I can speak to a bit more is with respect to the foraging and harvesting opportunities, you know, for example Ecology North, I believe, has been running tours out to do harvesting walks or foraging walks here just in Yellowknife. So to the extent that these are the people who understand and know the land the best, I would think those opportunities are there. Whether they want to commodify that and turn that into a tourism product, again, there is funding opportunity for...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, there was a federal-provincial-territorial meeting just not that long ago in Vancouver, and it certainly I think was reflective that the experience across much of Canada is similar to ours, which is we're seeing a return to some degree, but also acknowledging that a lot of the operators are not uniformly back to where they were and necessarily uniformly back to being in a position to welcome back the tourists who do seem to be coming back in terms of the demand. So there is still some disconnect in that respect. We're not alone in experiencing that.

As far...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I believe it is open at least largely open, to be this summer, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I mean, yes, I certainly also hope that tourism continues to move forward. Right now there is I mean, NWT Tourism does do the lion's share, really, of all of our marketing. That was divested to them some years ago as being a specialty area that they can focus on. There is Northwest Territories, the Tourism 2025 still in play right now, which is still being implemented and there's funding for its implementation, and there's quite a number of funding programs still here for incomers to the industry. So, you know, and the funding has continued to increase...

Thank you, Madam Chair. So, again, Madam Chair, would look to pointing again to the list of funding programs that are going to be provided to all Members. But perhaps I'll turn to the deputy minister and see if she can add something more specific at this point. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I mean, there certainly are funds from CanNor that do come through at various points for various initiatives. Let me see if the deputy minister can speak to whether she knows what they may have funded for the City of Yellowknife.