Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Madam Chair. Again, I don't have my tourism section open just now, but there is a close relationship, obviously, working with federal partners. It is our intention, much as when COVID first hit, to continue to work with them to understand what they are able to fund so that we are prepared to support their programs, complement their programs, or fill gaps if there are any. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. It is a conversation worth having, so I will go and have the conversation. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the drop of $2 million that you can see between the revised 2020 estimates and the mains for 2021-2022 relate really to the fact that there was increased funding coming through CanNor to support the tourism industry in COVID. If you kind of look at the main estimates to main estimates, there actually is not very much variance there. Sorry, Madam Chair. I am going to have to get the second half of her question. It's gone. I apologize.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes. It's obviously a significant bid deposit forfeiture. It's much higher than what we would often see in a particular year. I think I'm certainly happy to say that, though I don't know what threshold there might be or if there should be a threshold of at what point a footnote is offered, but the point is well-made. I accept that, yes, it certainly shows as being a number that seems unusual, and yet there is actually a very clear explanation available for it. The commitment would be that, if there is going to be another significant variance of that nature, we find a...

BDIC's statistics do show that approximately nine percent of total loans go to businesses where women are the sole proprietor. Approximately, 55 percent of total loans go to those where there's a woman who is, at least, a part-owner of the business.

Madam Chair, let me see if there is an update. I know that was somewhat dependent on work being done with mineral resources regulations, but let me see if I have an update through Deputy Minister Strand, please.

Thank you, Madam Chair. It's a sunset, so it wasn't a reduction so much as this was the end point of the funding that was put in place when the road opened in order to help ramp up and be ready for tourism. Certainly, Madam Chair, what the intention is now is to monitor the reopening and to determine whether or not a position is still required and, if so, to, then, go back and seek that funding to have it return. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Sorry, Madam Chair. This portion, the business support portion? Madam Chair, that is probably a conversation to be had not in this forum with me by myself sitting here without officials. Yes, if it is a perennial problem for small businesses and certainly the fact that they didn't have their books done wasn't because of COVID, necessarily, it was probably a challenge that just built up over time, and then they wound up not being able to access funding. I think, by looking at those who have subscribed and hopefully getting some feedback as to why they wound up in that situation, we'll be better...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Right now, obviously, the tourism infrastructure fund still sits at $200,000. It certainly has been oversubscribed, I think, in this last year, and efforts have been undertaken to, as I said earlier, move travel money and reallocating that to the areas that are in need, such as this one and such as some of the tourism products that have rolled out, whether GRIT or otherwise. The short answer is yes, but the longer answer is that it's coming in one project at a time right now. Right now, we are still closing out the end of this fiscal year and trying to utilize all of...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I know we were looking at the status of that and trying to determine if, in fact, it is something that ought to be renewed. It's not at a final point of decision because it hasn't hit me yet, Madam Chair, but let me see if the Deputy Minister can provide a bit of an update on where that consideration is at. Thank you.