Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Again, I have heard the Minister say he wants to support this industry and that we are doing a lot to support it and that our government has its own programs that shouldn't be held in contrast with other jurisdictions. Can the Minister point to any increased funding or a new program or a new initiative specifically that is designed to address the needs of our mining industry at a time when risk capital is at an all-time low and when there is much uncertainty in the Northwest Territories and when we see the lowest land tenure, mineral tenure, in the history of the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Is that the only source of marketing funding that is available from the department, that contribution to the NWT TTA? Are there any other avenues for destination marketing that are currently undertaken through this activity? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Is the NWT geological survey going to be impacted at an operational level or hampered in its ability to provide high-quality data to the mining industry? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just to clarify this mandate commitment, the intention is to only really pursue the Doi T'oh Territorial Park as an expanded tourist option. I just note that it makes a commitment to build new parks; is Doi T'oh the only new territorial park on the horizon? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate that the entire Cabinet did attend the Roundup conference. That shows that we are willing to go to extraordinary measures to show leadership and support on this industry. I think, furthering that leadership, we should be increasing this fund to at least be comparable to our neighbours in the Yukon. Does the Minister disagree with that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Midterm, when we review this mandate, is rapidly approaching, so I expect that, if we have an idea of what this plan is going to cost and whether or not we can accomplish it, we should know sooner than later. Further to this commitment, there is also a commitment to expand tourism options by building new parks, such as the Doi T'oh Territorial Park in the Sahtu region. What is the status of that development of new parks and in particular, the Doi T'oh Territorial Park? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Mineral Incentive Program has remained, I would say, stagnant; I am sure the Minister would say stable funding at $400,000, whereas our neighbouring jurisdiction, the Yukon, for fiscal year 2017-18 has invested $1.6 million into this fund. How is the Minister ensuring that this incentive program is competitive with other jurisdictions in Canada and is attracting exploration here in the Northwest Territories compared to other jurisdictions? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, section 1.27 of our mandate commitments, for which the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment is responsible, has commitments to do a number of things. One, I'd like to ask how this budget address is erecting emergency shelters along remote highways. I know that that has been an issue in the past. How is the department investing in those emergency shelters and fulfilling the mandate commitment? Thank you.

Do we have any concrete details to share? People are looking at how we can explore these areas to develop the natural resource economy. We need to forget this land now. Is there anything more substantial the Minister can share today or commit to sharing in the future?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So these resources are designed to participate in events like Roundup, but are we providing resources to assist in training potential prospectors, setting up licences, things of that nature so we can get potentially a junior miner started that is Indigenousowned? Do we have any intention to do something like that to create a strong partnership that way, or is this solely per diem money to get people out to meetings? Thank you.