Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are directed to the Minister of ITI, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Speaker, in regard to the importance of the harvesting industry in the Northwest Territories and the important role that it played in developing the Northwest Territories going back to the mid-1800s, I think it’s important to realize that it is still a very good part of our communities and the subsistence dependence that people have is to still trap and still harvest as a means of sustaining themselves.
I’d like to ask the Minister in regard to this government’s programs that they have, we have programs in regard to supporting the secondary industry for diamond polishing, we have funds available for the tourism industry, we have funds available in regard to APG and supporting their initiatives in regard to a pipeline, we have oil and gas money in regard to providing that service and also we just learned that the outfitters businesses are receiving some $300,000 in regard to the Barren Ground Outfitters. I’d just like to ask the Minister to explain exactly what are we doing as a government to support the trapping industry in the Northwest Territories?
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our government has been involved with providing support to the trapping industry for many years and when I count up all the programs that we have, we’re providing approximately $1.75 million that we make available to assist trappers, and that’s not counting the $14.250 million that we’ve made available over the past some years since division as part of the Western Harvesters Assistance Program to allow harvesters to purchase new equipment. Thank you.
I know in the past, through economic development through our EDA agreement with the federal government, we have programs such as special Arctic grants where people were able to apply for grants to get snowmobiles, equipment, we have the Grubstake Program, which was there to assist people basically to stake claims and whatnot in the Northwest Territories. I’d just like to ask the Minister, in light of the economic dollars we’re seeing from the federal government, have we looked at the possibility of implementing these types of programs which worked in the past and we’re there to support harvesters like we do with the fishing industry, the diamond industry and the other sectors of our economies so that people can really see the benefit of sustaining this industry?
The federal government recently announced the CanNor program. It’s headquartered in Iqaluit and it has district offices in the Northwest Territories and the Yukon. Also they do have programs that are operated out of there. The Member is correct; in the past there was ARDA programs, special ARDA programs, and when I questioned the federal government about was there ever any potential for ARDA programs coming back, they said there were already ARDA programs in existence and the funding is going to aboriginal governments. Although instead of ARDA it’s ARHDA funding. So as far as I understand, each of the aboriginal governments are receiving ARHDA money. Thank you.
Again, this government is doling out money to the outfitters industry because of so-called impacts, because of the numbers dropping in caribou. I mean, the same herd is going to affect the people that depend on subsistence harvesting, especially the aboriginal people that depend on those herds for subsistence. You have to offer them an alternative for hunting or harvesting caribou. One of the areas that you can seriously make a difference in is the trapping industry so that those people can realize that if we support them in that sector, that they’ll be able to continue to sustain the lifestyle that can sustain them, they’re able to bring in the furs and have an industry in harvesting and expanding the processing of those products in the Northwest Territories. So, again, I’d like to ask the Minister, have you looked at the implications from the harvesters’ perspective, not the outfitters, and what are we doing to realizing these decisions made in regard to not harvesting the Barren Ground caribou herd or whatever? It’s going to have more of an impact on aboriginal harvesters than it will to the outfitting industry.
We have looked at those sectors. The Barren Ground Outfitters probably provide something in the neighbourhood of four to five million dollars in direct economic benefits to the Northwest Territories. Similarly, we looked at trapping and it’s very difficult to quantify other than the actual return, plus we estimate that if you had to go to the stores to buy country foods that the harvester provides, you’d probably be looking at something in the neighbourhood of $20 million. So we think that both sectors do provide economic benefits to the Northwest Territories and we try to continue that they do survive. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I find it kind of hard to hear the Minister’s comments regarding not being able to quantify the importance of the trapping industry in the Northwest Territories but we’re doling out money to every industry that’s from outside the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, my last question in regard to the importance of harvesting to people in our small rural and remote communities. People still have to sustain themselves by some sort, unless this government’s willing to dole out more money for income support and put everybody in our communities on income support and make that an industry, because that’s exactly where this government is going and not realizing the importance of this industry on rural and remote communities. So I’d like to ask the Minister again, exactly why is this government not taking the importance of the trapping industry in the Northwest Territories like we do the diamond industry?
I like to think that trapping is a success story. We are contributing $1.75 million in assistance for 800 trappers, and I think it’s a very important way to maintain a way of life.
The diamond industry and about 1,200 miners that work and it contributes significant dollars to our GDP. The diamond mines and the mining industry have resulted in the Northwest Territories having the highest GDP for the past 10 years. So it’s very difficult to compare a billion dollar industry to a maybe one or two million dollar industry. But we are contributing to try to make all sectors successful in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
