Page 11-26, Transportation, information item, marine, active positions. Agreed?
Agreed.
Page 11-29, Transportation, activity summary, community access program, operations expenditure summary. Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. It’s a minor amount of money but I was struck by the $20,000 in travel on this page. When it’s, I don’t know, 99 percent grants and contributions I wondered why we have a travel expense. If I could get an explanation. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Minister McLeod.
Mr. Chairman, the money that’s allocated in this budget line is for airfare, for any air charters, accommodations, meals or incidentals. There is, and have been, communities that have requested us to come into the community to either explain the program, to assist with some of the technical areas, to ask for advice or to help them put the proposal together. A portion of these dollars are earmarked for that service.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. We’re on page 11-29, Transportation, activity summary, community access program, operations expenditure summary, $1.008 million. Agreed?
Agreed.
Page 11-30. Transportation, activity summary, community access program, grants and contributions, contributions, $980,000.
Agreed.
Page 11-33. Mr. Abernethy.
Not really so much a question but a pat on the back. Early in the life of this Assembly I gave the Minister a fairly hard time about the road licensing office here in Yellowknife and how it was so incredibly frustrating going there. I recently went and got my new licence and it was a great experience. The way you’ve got that office structured now is a lot more ergonomic. It makes sense. Yes, the lines are still long, but it’s a lot clearer. So I’d like to pat the Minister on the back for some good work in that area and thanks for making that a more pleasurable experience than it was in the past. Granted, yes, the line-ups are still too long, but, you know, I was born in January and apparently a lot of other people were too. Just a comment.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Any response, Mr. Minister?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will certainly accept a pat on the back. I have to agree, there has been a real decline in the number of concerns that have come forward. The waiting room is a little more accommodating and things seem to be going a lot smoother and people are moving through the system a lot faster. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Next on my list, I have Mr. Jacobson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just in regard to my colleague Mr. Abernethy saying how good services are getting here in Yellowknife for licensing, we do need the portable unit to be heading into the communities a little bit more often than it’s being sent in. We’re having people calling me again stating that the general I.D. that they could provide and the licensing for the upgrades and stuff. I would like to ask the Minister if that could be possible to start sending in staff into the communities again. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. Minister McLeod.
Mr. Chairman, this is a program where we work with the communities to try to schedule visits. We certainly have room to enhance those visits. We try to allow the community to set the agenda or set the schedule. If there’s a need to go into Mr. Jacobson’s riding, we just need an invitation and we’ll have our staff in with a mobile unit.
Yes, an open invitation to Paulatuk. Getting back, the units for the road licensing equipment, I asked last year is it possible to get road licensing units for the hamlets to work with them to purchase these units so they have them in the community and then it’s no more hassle to get general identification and licensing upgrades. Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, I think for mobile equipment to go into Paulatuk, we would need more than just an MLA’s invitation. We probably would require the community to work with us to at least ensure that we have more than one or two people to deal with. As to having permanent units in the community, that is something that we had tried on a number of occasions to put out to contract. We need to have staff, of course, that are trained. If there is a recommendation or consideration, we would certainly be open to discussing how we can provide the service in the communities. We are finding in a lot of the smaller communities in the Northwest Territories it is difficult to have this service delivered under a contract basis as it is something that would have to be part of another business or service that is delivered. There is not enough to warrant having a business run solely on the revenues from this type of service.
Mr. Chairman, well, we can put it under the hamlet staff in the community at the local hamlet office. I think we don’t have a high turnover in those offices for staff secretary or SAOs. I would just like to make sure that the Minister does try to see if we could get this equipment into the community of Paulatuk. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, we have in several communities done the very thing the Member is suggesting. Not all have continued to deliver, of course, but it is something we certainly can suggest to the community. I believe and expect that that has happened already, but we will make the gesture to the Municipality of Paulatuk. Of course, it would be up to them whether they wanted to agree to take it on or not. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. Committee, we are on page 11-33, Transportation, activity summary, road licensing and safety, operations expenditure, $4.603 million. Agreed?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Page 11-34, Transportation, information item, road licensing and safety, active positions. Agreed?
Agreed.
Thank you. Page 11-6, Transportation, information item, work performed on behalf of others. Agreed?
Agreed.
Thank you. Finally, committee, 11-37, Transportation, information item, work performed on behalf of others, continued.
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. I will ask you to return to page 11-7 for the summary. Department of Transportation. Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thought we got rid of these last year, but apparently not. On this page we have $2.9 million-plus in other. It seems to be unidentified. I wonder if the Minister could explain if this is a mistake or if they intended to leave us in the dark about $3 million worth of expenses. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Minister McLeod.
Mr. Chairman, I apologize. I was trying to get clarity on what the question was. Mr. Chairman, we are following the template that has been set out by Finance. In this budget line there are a number of expenses that are included in here. They include the PWS mail, SAM, contract registry chargebacks and Deh Cho Bridge interest expense.
Mr. Chairman, thanks for the explanation. I guess I need to attend the business plan discussions for Transportation and ask him that question on every page where there is other. Most other departments have managed to get rid of that. I did notice that there are small amounts in some cases, but there is a $2 million amount somewhere in one of the divisions. I would really appreciate if the department could look at breaking those things out next year. Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, we hear the recommendation and we will see what the other departments are doing. As far as we are aware, we are following the template that is set out and if there is a way that we can get rid of the budget line listed as other, we will certainly do so.
Thank you, Minister. Anything further, Ms. Bisaro? Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. I understand you have no further questions, so we will continue. Page 11-7, Transportation, department summary, operations expenditure summary, $110.777 million. Agreed?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Does committee agree that concludes the Department of Transportation?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. I would like to thank the Minister and his witnesses and ask the Sergeant-at-Arms to please escort the witnesses from the Chamber.
Thank you, committee. Our next task is to review the budget for the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. I would like to ask the Minister if he would like to give opening remarks. Minister Bob McLeod.
Yes, I would, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to present the 2011-2012 main estimates for the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
The department’s mandate is to promote economic self-sufficiency through responsible development of the Northwest Territories natural resources and the promotion of tourism, trade, investment, business and manufacturing to create a prosperous, diverse and sustainable economy for the benefit of all residents. Through this mandate, we continue to support the commitment of our government that all residents of the Northwest Territories must have the opportunity to build a stronger future for themselves, their families and their communities.
The department’s main estimates propose total operational expenses of approximately $53.3 million for the coming fiscal year, which is an increase of 3 percent over 2010-11. This includes sunsets of $3.5 million, an increase in strategic initiatives of $3.6 million and forced growth of $1.4 million.
In 2011-12 the department plans to support the Maximizing Opportunities Strategic Initiative by proposing investments in a number of programs and projects.
Industry, Tourism and Investment is proposing to establish an economic development officer in the community of Ulukhaktok at a cost of $150,000 annually. Having a dedicated economic development officer in Ulukhaktok will also assist Sachs Harbour and Paulatuk, by enabling the economic development officer for those communities to be able to focus time and energy on supporting economic development in those locations.
An investment of $150,000 is proposed to provide socio-economic expertise in the technical review of the proposed De Beers Gahcho Kue project, and in the negotiation of a socio-economic agreement.
Industry, Tourism and Investment is proposing to enhance funding for the Support to Entrepreneurs and Economic Development (SEED) Policy by an additional $350,000, bringing the investment to almost $4 million, with $125,000 of the existing funding being specifically targeted for support to the arts and fine crafts sector and $100,000 of the proposed increased funding being targeted specifically for support to the film industry.
The Community Harvesters Assistance Program provides funds, distributed by the local wildlife committees, to community harvesters in support of harvesting activities. Industry, Tourism and Investment delivers this program working with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and is proposing to invest an additional $475,000 annually in this program, for a total of $1.074 million.
In support of Reducing the Cost of Living Strategic Initiative, over the past several years Industry, Tourism and Investment has invested in increasing food production across the Northwest Territories through various initiatives.
Industry, Tourism and Investment proposes to invest an additional $100,000 in the promotion for the support for the Commercial Harvesting Program. This program supports the packaging, distribution and promotion of fish and meat products to consumers in the Northwest Territories, providing a stable supply of food for local needs and for sale at local markets.
The department is also proposing increased funding of $50,000 for agriculture development infrastructure. Investments in this program are designed to lengthen growing seasons, increase yields in Northwest Territories communities and help lower the cost of living.
Mr. Chairman, the department is also proposing some key areas of forced growth funding for the upcoming fiscal year.
The demand for the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program has continued to outstrip available resources for the past three years. In 2010, total income and support to Northwest Territories trappers was $1.3 million. It is proposed that an additional $65,000 per year be invested to support the trapping sector.
Over the last five years the number of applications for business advice, contributions and loan funding has tripled. Industry, Tourism and Investment is proposing $129,000 for an additional business development officer to help deliver business support programs in the North Slave region.
We are seeing increased park usage in all regions of the Northwest Territories, but particularly in the North Slave region. Industry, Tourism and Investment is proposing $85,000 to hire two additional seasonal parks officers, to ensure the safety of our park users and their enjoyment of our beautiful natural parks environments.
Since 2005, the resources allocated to deliver the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission for Harvesters Program have been exceeded by demand, in some cases by as much as $300,000 per year. This program provides benefits to harvesters of renewable resources who are injured while engaged in harvesting activities. We are proposing an additional $225,000 per year towards this program to accommodate the growing costs.
In addition to the activities outlined above, there are also some potential large-scale significant developments in the resource sector that could result in major investments in the Northwest Territories. During this past year we have seen the achievement of major milestones that have brought the Mackenzie Gas Project much closer to reality. Much work remains to be done to ensure we reach our goal in regards to this project.
The oil and gas and mining sectors are the bedrock of the Northwest Territories economy and we will continue to support geosciences research as one of the most important investments that a public government can make to sustain these industries. Our Territory has an abundance of untapped resources, ranking seventh out of 72 jurisdictions on the mineral potential index in the 2009-2010 Fraser Institute surveys, and we are just starting to realize the potential for mineral exploration in our Territory.
Many projects are in the works to explore this potential, projects like De Beers Gahcho Kue, which is currently undergoing environmental impact review. Other examples are the Avalon Rare Metals Nechalacho Project, believed to be one of the highest quality undeveloped rare earth element deposits in the world, and the Canadian Zinc Corporation Prairie Creek Project, with a proposed underground mine capable of processing up to 1,200 tonnes per day for 14 years. Developing mineral exploration projects and providing support for projects that span a wider scope such as lead, zinc, silver, gold, nickel and other rare earth elements has the potential to grow and diversify the Northwest Territories economy.
Reducing our reliance on imported diesel continues to be a key priority for our government. Industry, Tourism and Investment continues to support the Northwest Territories Energy Corporation in the implementation of the draft Northwest Territories Hydro Strategy. We have invested substantial time and effort in the electricity review, and the change we have brought to our electricity system could be one of the most significant achievements to date in addressing the high cost of living in the North, and especially in our remote communities.
In support of these energy initiatives, this government is investing in an Energy Investment Plan, and Industry, Tourism and Investment is proposing specific strategic initiatives for the 2011-12 fiscal year.
Industry, Tourism and Investment is proposing $2.350 million in funding for the proposed Lutselk’e mini-hydro facility to enter the regulatory phase and begin construction. These activities would be subject to accessing federal funding through the Green Infrastructure Fund.
We are also proposing a $50,000 investment towards renewal of the 2007 Northeast Territories Energy Plan.
Mr. Chairman, the initiatives I have touched on are just some examples of how Industry, Tourism and Investment is working on behalf of this Assembly and this government to fulfill its mission and have a diversified economy that provides all regions and communities with choices and opportunities as envisioned by the 16th Legislative Assembly.
I look forward to the committee’s comments and questions.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Minister McLeod, I’d like to ask you if you’d like to have witnesses in the House with you today.
Yes, I would, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. I’d ask the Sergeant-at-Arms, if committee agrees...
Agreed.
...to please escort the witnesses into the House. Mahsi.
I’d like to ask the Minister to please introduce his witnesses. Minister McLeod.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. On my left I have the deputy minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr Peter Vician, and on my right I have Nancy Magrum, director of financial services. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
