Shane Thompson

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I swear the Minister is in my head and was getting prepared for my other questions. Basically, since 2005 to 2017, we've put in about $12 million into this fund presently. This is on top of what we actually have to do to bring this authority into the government. Is that correct? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I appreciate the Minister's answer. I understand, through this whole process, we haven't done the job descriptions. Is that correct? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With our Arctic Winter Games less than a month away, athletes and coaches are excited about getting there to represent Team NWT. Unfortunately, today we will not be talking about this.

Mr. Speaker, during the territorial trials four athletes from the Nahendeh region did not get the chance to compete for a spot, due to no fault of their own. On January 19, 2018, I ran into one of these athletes here in Yellowknife and was informed that he would not be in the Arctic Winter Games. When I asked him about the reason, he said he could not get there due to weather.

I have...

Thank you, and I appreciate the Minister and the department for being able to provide that. Does the department have a training plan that they look at training non-certified firefighters for each region? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I know Sambaa K'e has a crew. They have a crew there. They actually are contracted out there. There is a crew there, but what I am looking for is some of the other communities. Would the department look at potentially putting some crews there so that, depending on the fitness level and all of that, the requirements, would they be willing to look at expanding, putting crews in these smaller communities? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess I should have been a little more specific. I mean, I represent six communities, so I am trying to see. I know Fort Simpson is there, but what about Fort Liard, Sambaa K'e, Jean Marie, Nahanni Butte, and Wrigley? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is just a little bit of a comment. I appreciate the Minister following through on that.

I actually have to give credit to the Minister and his department and their survey. I had a number of local Aboriginal people, or local hunters, I guess you would call them, who have been employed by the department, and they have said nothing but positive things. They appreciate the department actually utilizing traditional knowledge in the areas. I have to give credit where credit is due, and I would like to thank the Minister and his department for that. That will be it. Thank...

I don't think Sport North got the money. I think the government gave Sport North the money to do these games, so that's why I'm asking the Minister to look at using this money that the government has given Sport North to reimburse these athletes who now have not had the opportunity to participate and try out for the NWT Games. Will the Minister get them to look at it and reimburse them again?

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I appreciate that answer. It does help when we are presenting things there. I guess the next question in regard to this is the hunting on the corridor. I found it very interesting, as I had the opportunity to travel with the Minister and his staff, some of the things that we actually don't do or allow people to do, like hunting with lights and stuff like that.

Has the Minister and the department looked at potentially addressing this issue in the upcoming year? It seems to be not really hunting, I guess, you would call it. There have been some concerns, and I think...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd just like to follow up with the Minister. In her last answer, she said that these athletes actually did the transportation to go to Yellowknife, and if they had stayed in Fort Simpson, they would have been able to catch the charter. Can the Minister please elaborate and explain to us what she meant by that answer? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.