Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of ITI. I want to ask the Minister, within our settlement in the Sahtu Dene/Metis Land Claim Agreement, we negotiated chapter 12, I believe, on the economic measures.
I want to ask the Minister in regard to this chapter, what is the interpretation or what we agreed to in chapter 12 with the Government of the Northwest Territories with this chapter to help out the Sahtu business in regard to the economic opportunities.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Through the programs and services that ITI provide across the territory and specifically in the Sahtu, we’ve seen the number of especially Aboriginal-owned businesses increase exponentially in the Sahtu over the past three years. We continue to provide support in this area. Through this budgeting process recently concluded, we’ve added a business development officer at the Sahtu regional office in Norman Wells and we continue to look for opportunities to work with land owners and business owners and Aboriginal leaders in the Sahtu to ensure that money is available and opportunity is available for those that want to get into business. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, in the economic measures chapter, if there is going to be any type of changes to the policies and programs and services, is there an opportunity that this Minister will then sit down with the Sahtu leadership and discuss the type of changes that could possibly be coming forth or whatever that there’s going to be a shift from this Constitution written document?
I can certainly look to DAAIR, I suppose, for some guidance. I will be travelling to the Member’s riding in April and if there’s an opportunity to sit down to discuss these types of things with the leaders in the Sahtu at that time, I would certainly be happy to do that. Thank you.
Finally I get a Minister coming to the Sahtu. I would be interested in sitting down with the leadership and with the Minister. This chapter is very important because of what’s happening in the Sahtu. We don’t have an all-weather road right now, so it makes it difficult to jump on any type of economic development other than what we have in the short period of a winter road season.
I want to ask the Minister, with this chapter here in regards to any future changes, definitely the leadership would be upfront and involved in discussing what changes possibly may happen with chapter 13.
Mr. Speaker, I certainly look forward to the discussion. With all that is happening in the Sahtu, it is very important that we get on the same page and that opportunities that are there are acted upon and that the investments are made in the region so that the people of the region can benefit. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the communities of Fort Good Hope, Deline and Colville Lake, most of the action right now is happening around Tulita and Norman Wells, so there are plenty of opportunities, but also for the other Sahtu communities. Specifically Fort Good Hope, Deline and Colville Lake there isn’t much activity happening there.
With programs and infrastructure that goes into those communities, is the Minister following the intent and the spirit of chapter 13 in working with the communities on any type of infrastructure projects that would be going into those communities?
Mr. Speaker, we continue to work with the Sahtu Secretariat in the Sahtu. We also work with communities to develop economic plans. We’ve provided some funding to get people together to discuss economic opportunities in the Sahtu and we will continue to do that. We will continue to work toward that type of activity that currently is taking place in and around Norman Wells and Tulita. We’re hoping that that type of activity expands so that there’s more opportunity in communities like Fort Good Hope, Deline and Colville Lake. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
