Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We seem to be on a roll with the last Minister's responses, and my question is for the Minister of ITI. Mr. Speaker, in the Minister's statement earlier, you mentioned the Petroleum Products Fund will help fund the airlift to the communities of Nunakput and to Nunavut. Mr. Speaker, I believe at this time the Petroleum Products Revolving Fund is a full-recovery system, and these costs may be covered by the customer. What will happen to the cost of petroleum products for Nunakput customers in 2018-2019? In other words, will the cost of gas go up in Nunakput? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think, if the Member is referring to the transportation costs of what it is going to take to get the 700-and-some-thousand litres into these communities, that cost is not going to be added onto the backs of these people in these communities. The process will play out, whatever the POL, our formula, is, to increase or decrease the price of fuel and the price of delivery at the time of delivery of the barges and the price of the purchase of the fuel. That process is still in place, but the actual costs of this extraordinary event to find this fuel is not going to be passed on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
That is actually good to hear. I know that the first planes are arriving now, and hopefully that can keep the cost of living down in the region.
Mr. Speaker, I have five constituents who are businessmen, and they will not receive their goods by this upcoming airlift. This means lost business opportunities, due to the fact that they aren't deemed essential goods. What does the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment have to offer small businesses as they are paying off heavy equipment, vehicles, and dry goods for their stores, and also insurance on equipment that they will not receive until the fall of 2019?
The department has a number of mechanisms that we can support business and provide business relief. I would encourage any business that is in this situation being described by the Member to contact our regional office and talk to one of our client personnel. ITI will look at individual applications and present it on a case-by-case basis for assistance under our SEED program.
I appreciate the response. It is good to see that there may be some assistance for some entrepreneurs and some small businesses that could not afford to stay afloat over the 2018-2019 season if they weren't allowed access to any type of assistance.
Mr. Speaker, there are also multiple research programs that run annually in Nunakput, as well as exploration programs on Banks Island. To us, research is important, in traditional knowledge, Indigenous knowledge, and scientific knowledge, and we encourage that in our region so that we have better data to understand our ecosystem. What can the department offer to ensure that scheduled programs may still run through the 2018-2019 season, given the shortage?
In fact, I understand this past year was a record year for research in the region, both national and international researchers. We recognize that these are important economic contributors to the Member's region, but in reality, ITI has little influence on the research schedules. Most research projects are independent in nature and receive logistical support through the Aurora Institute. To date, we have not been aware of any difficulties with research projects in the region, but if there are, we will consider them on a case-by-case basis.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A lot of these research and exploration projects usually fly in their own petroleum in the way of 45-gallon drums. I am hopeful that these are deemed essential, as it employs people in the region.
Mr. Speaker, hotels in Nunakput are at times the only places to house contractors, government employees, and visitors to the communities. How will the Department of ITI ensure that operations such as these important components of community infrastructure remain in operations with the shortage? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am assuming the Member is speculating about the availability of goods and supplies for those operations. Again, we are not aware of this as an immediate concern. We recognize that this is an extraordinary situation that we are dealing with. There is no manual with all the answers, but we are addressing the reality of this situation head-on.
As the Minister of Infrastructure, I assure the Member and this House and the people of Nunakput that we will do what we need to do. I have said that continually in this House. We can't do everything, particularly around a number of questions I always get around Herc-ing vehicles in. We are not prepared to do that. We are trying to work with everybody on a commodity-by-commodity basis and a community-by-community basis, and we will continue to work with this and try to address it the best that we can. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
