Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a number of people that I’d like to recognize today. The first person I’d like to recognize is Chris Bassi. He’s in the front here. He’s a retired bridge engineer and, of course, he retired to Yellowknife where his daughter Sheila Bassi-Kellett works, as we all know. As well in the gallery, I’d like to recognize a constituent as well as a neighbour, Didier Bourgois, and he has, I believe, his cousin here from Paris, and her name is Dr. Elizabeth Dey. May I welcome her. The last person I’d like to make note, Mr. Speaker, while I have the floor, is I’d also like to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe very strongly in supporting the community and I think that this motion reflects concerns out there that I’ve heard that employable offers and opportunities are very few and thin. That being said, Mr. Speaker, I also recognize the initiatives taken on by this government to help close those gaps for people with disabilities and I strongly support the efforts that government has been making to date. Is that gap wide? I think it’s still a significant barrier for many, but I believe in my heart that people are trying to meet the government half way in trying to...

I won’t say that the Minister is incorrect, but I’ll certainly say that I don’t necessarily quite agree with the perspective. What I would like to say is it’s more of a passive approach that’s taken right now, providing information as opposed to an active market campaign to get out there, whether talking to the CGA Association of Canada, by way of a simple example, or going out to other types of associations of similar manner and saying you’ve got 300 or 400 members, why don’t you schedule your 2015 conference in the Northwest Territories and we’ll build that.

I would agree that the Minister is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked about the need for a convention bureau and the fact that I believe we could do more in attracting tourism from a convention marketing point of view. My questions would be to the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment and I would like to ask him what work has been done by the Department of ITI in regards to establishing a tourism bureau. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My concern and the Minister’s answers are not necessarily so dissimilar, but there is a divide between the two particular issues. I can’t argue in the sense of saying that he’s incorrect about a booth at a convention, whatever convention it may or may not be that they happen to send someone to. There is a big difference between parking a booth and saying would you like to come to the Northwest Territories as opposed to calling organizations, challenging them and trying to see if we can actively meet their needs so they can draw their membership in a very active and...

I want to thank the Minister for that particular answer. The fact is that industry is concerned, that being people in the tourism industry as well as the hotel industry, and believe that more could be done. The Yukon is leading this particular type of initiative with a very focused convention bureau. There are hopes in the tourism industry that ITI could support a similar initiative and establish an office in the NWT Tourism office to target and market the North as a place to have conventions. Has the Minister considered that particular concept?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to talk about the need for a convention bureau in the Northwest Territories. There is a strong need for our market to be looking towards that direction, to get out their campaign and draw in the meetings and conventions to the North.

In the past this type of discussion has led to the need for a convention centre here in Yellowknife, but it’s become more and more obvious that if you build it, they won’t necessarily come. So the convention centre idea has to be put on hold, but the foundation of any good and successful convention centre needs to be laid down...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Public Works. Mr. Speaker, it’s regarding the Commissioner’s house of the Northwest Territories. Our present Commissioner won’t be taking up residency in the Commissioner’s house that we’ve allocated them for their privilege, of course, if that’s one that they want to exercise. It will be sitting empty for four years. Mr. Speaker, in the past, Bob Engle, a well-known aviation Northerner, has offered to give his house to the Northwest Territories for an appropriate tax credit. It’s more of a regal style of house to accept important...

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Minister for that offer. I just want to put it officially on the record. Would the Minister be willing to entertain a meeting, if I can put one together, to discuss this very matter about looking at addressing possibly the Engle house as the new Commissioner’s house and, of course, further discussions about selling the present Commissioner’s house even though it is sitting vacant for four to five years? If he would be willing to agree to a meeting, that would be great. Thank you.

Well, Mr. Speaker, I did inquire with that office regarding the cost of how much it would be to heat and power that empty Commissioner’s house that will be sitting empty between four and five years. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister of Public Works have the figures that it would cost the government to have that house sit empty for those four to five years? Thank you.