Thank you, committee. I would like to thank Ms. Haener and Ms. Schofield this evening. Sergeant at-Arms, please escort our witnesses out of the Chamber. Thank you, Minister.
Does committee agree that we want to continue with Industry, Tourism and Investment?
Agreed.
We’ll go to the Minister to see if he has any witnesses to bring into the House.
Yes, I do, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Minister Ramsay. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the House, please.
Minister Ramsay, if you would be kind enough to introduce your witness to the House.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Today with me I have Kelly Kaylo, assistant deputy minister for Industry, Tourism and Investments.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Ms. Kaylo, welcome to the House again. Good to see you.
Committee, we are on section 10 in your department summary in capital estimates, Industry, Tourism and Investment. With that, we’ll open up to general comments.
Detail.
I’m hearing detail. We’re going to defer 10-2. We’ll go to 10-4, Industry, Tourism and Investment, activity summary, tourism and parks, infrastructure investment summary, infrastructure investments, $2.075 million. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We’re going to go to 10-8. Mr. Yakeleya.
Mr. Chair, can we go back to 10-4?
We’ve been requested to return to 10-4. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Excuse me? Sorry. A committee member has asked to return to 10-4. We require unanimous consent. Are there any nays? Seeing there are no nays, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, committee. Mr. Chair, I want to ask a question on the project listing in tourism and parks regarding the Canol Heritage Park. I would certainly like to thank the Minister and the government for recognizing that this park is going to become a territorial park, hopefully within the years left within this government here. The beginning of this park has seen dollars in developing the park like we develop other parks in the Northwest Territories. I want to ask the Minister about the infrastructure going into the Canol Heritage Trail and the Canol Doi T’oh Territorial Park. Would the Minister look at a working group with our regional counterparts in the communities of Tulita, Norman Wells and this department, on some of the critical infrastructure needs in the park and on the Canol Heritage Trail? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is and it remains in our best interest to continue to work with the community leadership in the Sahtu to develop Doi T’oh Park. We will continue to do that, and if the leadership in the Sahtu has a way forward or wants to suggest a new working group to enable us to vet ideas and projects as they move forward with the development of that park, we’d be more than happy to sit down with the leadership and a new working group and sort some of these issues out. There have been a number of issues going back on how things have progressed. I think the more that we as a department can continue to dialogue with the people who are in the Sahtu, the leaders there and the people who are interested in seeing the advancement of this park, the better off we will be. I look forward to that and thank the Member for the suggestion.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Yakeleya.
No more questions, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. We’ll go to 10-4, Industry, Tourism and Investment, activity summary, tourism and parks, infrastructure investment summary, infrastructure investments, $2.075 million. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just had a quick question. I’m pleased to see the work going ahead on Prelude Lake Park. It’s an area that is looking a little rough, like it’s been rode pretty hard. But I’m wondering: There’s a big issue on parking, and I know the Minister has heard about this sort of thing. The residents and the region, the visitors, and even the residents of the park itself are not able to use it because there are people that have cabins out on the lake and as often as not they’re squatters’ cabins that are using the facility, the parking spaces for long-term parking and stuff. Will this work resolve the parking issues that have been raised by constituents with the Minister? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We will continue to make investments at the Prelude Lake Park. You’ll see a number of items addressed in this capital plan, but this is only the beginning and the Member knows that we need to continue to make investments that are going to make a difference. Expanding the parking lot, looking at opportunities, we’re looking at the replacement of the marina complex here in this plan, as well as some fencing and railing replacement and also some improvement to the beach area at Prelude. Also coming soon, in ‘15-16 we’re looking at a new loop to be constructed, loop D, an addition of 15 campsites and a washroom. So it’s an ongoing case. So we have the Prelude Lake Management Plan and we do have to invest in that park.
I know where Mr. Bromley is coming from in his concern for that park. We share the concern and that’s why we need to find investment dollars to put into that park. It’s very much needed. Thank you.
Thanks to the Minister for that. I know the Minister is aware of the situation. Maybe getting away from infrastructure a little bit, so cack me if you must, Mr. Chair, but what we’re trying to do I think here is address the problem as much as possible through some infrastructure improvements. Is that going to do it, or are there other things that are needed that will change the behaviour of the users of the park parking lot?
As we go forward, I think there are and will be other mechanisms to deal with the situation at Prelude Lake, not specifically to the park, but I know there are a number of other issues due to the use on the lake itself, not exactly in the park. So we would continue to work with MACA to address some of those concerns. We are going to advance the Department of Lands with devolution. So certainly there’s going to be opportunity for us to address other issues as they arise and as they impact the use of Prelude Lake Territorial Park. Thank you.
Thanks again to the Minister. My last question on this, really, is: Are there any implications in terms of fees for users of the park, and if there are, will they be different than what’s currently in place? In relation to that, is there any consideration for people who actually live in the park?
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. I’ll allow the question even though it’s an operational question. Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We’re not anticipating any fee increases this year. For Members’ knowledge here, I should also mention that we’re introducing some regulatory improvements in the parks to allow for greater enforcement of the rules that we have in place there, primarily around the use of alcohol, ATVs, as well as the permitting of vehicle traffic in the park itself, which we think will certainly help the situation at Prelude. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister Ramsay. Mr. Bromley.
That was all I had, Mr. Chair. I appreciate those comments.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Moving on with questions here on this activity, I have Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I wanted to ask a question in terms of some clarity on the Dory Point reconstruction of the shelter that was there before. There’s been some speculation whether in fact it could be moved to the base of the bridge. Is that the plan or is that just speculation?
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. For that we’ll go to Minister Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I could get the detail of that for the Member. We are going to look at the construction of a screened-in picnic shelter area at Dory Point. The exact location of the shelter itself I think we’d be certainly looking towards working with the community to see where exactly they want the shelter and would like to see the shelter constructed. I think that would happen before construction would take place on the picnic shelter. So I can commit to the Member and to the House that we’ll go back to the department and ensure that they have talked to the community so that we make sure that we put it in the right place. Thank you.
Once again, I’ll just build upon the Minister’s response and I appreciate his reply in terms of Dory Point. But I think the greater interest is in that area where traffic goes onto the bridge and the Dory Point site, plus of course if you’re travelling from south to north, the area is ripe for potential tourism activities. Is there perhaps a framework that the department is considering at some point maybe to be the basis of discussion with the community? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Again, I think it’s in the department and the government’s best interest to continue the dialogue with the community when it comes to placing infrastructure in and around communities. In this case it would be no different. I think if the community is interested in talking, we’ll be there to listen, and that’s our role and I know the picnic shelter in this case was supposed to be built on the south side of the bridge replacing the structure. But, again, I want to reiterate that we need to know exactly what the wants of the community are and in this case we’ll find that out. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister Ramsay. Committee, we’re on 10-4, Industry, Tourism and Investment, activity summary, tourism and parks, infrastructure investment summary, infrastructure investments, $2.575 million.
Agreed.
Thank you. Committee, if you could turn your attention to 10-8, Industry, Tourism and Investment, activity summary, economic diversification and business support, infrastructure investment summary, infrastructure investments, $65,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Committee, turn back to 10-2 for the department summary. Industry, Tourism and Investment, department summary, infrastructure investment summary, infrastructure investments, $2.640 million. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Does committee agree we’ve given consideration and concluded with the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. I’d like to thank Ms. Kaylo for joining us this evening. If I could get the Sergeant-at-Arms to escort the witness out of the Chamber. Thank you, Minister Ramsay. Does committee agree to continue on?
