Thanks, Madam Chair. If we can start on page 73. When I look down the program detail line for 2021-2022, all of those items are actually reduction from the previous year except for policy, legislation, and communications. Can someone tell me what's going on here? Thanks, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you. For corporate costs, you see a reduction of $21,000. Basically, it's amortization adjustment. Then on the directorate, we see a decrease again as amortization, and then, the field support unit, yet again, amortization adjustment. On financial and capital planning, we see it decreased due to a transfer to the FMD South Slave to support historical spending. Number eight is, again, a decrease of $217,000 due to $172,000 of community hunter and assistance program, one-time supplemental; $150,000 sustainable livelihood program, one time supplementary; $110,000 sustainable livelihood program initiative; and a $5,000 amortization adjustment.
Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.
Thanks, Madam Chair. I appreciate that from the Minister. I'm a bit concerned that the core of ENR is starting to shrivel up again because this is what supports all the other work that the department does. I want to ask: the policy legislation communications line, there's no increase there yet. As I understand it, the department is doing work on the Forestry Act, the Environmental Protection Act, Waters Act, and Protected Areas Act. There's some work being done on regulations as I understand it. Where is the capacity of the department if there's no increased funding to do all of this work? Is it just being done off the sides of people's desks? Thanks, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. In regards to the work, we're very capable of doing it. It's a discussion that we've had, but for further detail with your permission, I'll turn to the deputy minister. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Deputy Minister Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. While policy, legislation, and communications provides a support function for legislated development, the majority of the work is done within the divisions by forest management, for example, for the Forest Act or by the conservation group for regulations related to Thaidene Nene and Tu'eyeta, the Waters Act would be the water monitoring and management division, et cetera. There is a lot of capacity within the divisions, and they are supported well by the staff that we do have in the policy, legislation, and communications division. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.
Thanks, Madam Chair. Just in case anybody gets the wrong idea here, I am not saying that staff are not capable of doing the work. I know that they work very, very hard, and we saw that in the 18th Assembly. I just don't want to kill them with the work like we almost did with what we put onto them at the end of the 18th Assembly.
On Friday of last week, I can't even remember what day it is anymore, we reviewed the ITI budget, and they had over half a million dollars for a new unit that they had created for implementation of the Mineral Resources Act alone. It was $360,000 if they could contract work out with, and then they had moved a couple of staff people in there to develop regulations. I'm just astounded that we have one department that takes that approach and other departments don't do the same thing. I know that these folks at ENR work very, very hard, but I am worried that they don't get the support that they need to get the work done. Why has the Minister not gone to the FMB to get more resources so that they can get the work done in a timely fashion? Thanks, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you. I thank the Member for his passion, and I appreciate the good words he says about ENR. When we talked about this and we looked at our budget and we looked at what our legislation is going to be and our requirements, we feel presently that we can do the work with the different divisions within the department. We are able to achieve that. If we need to, I will not hesitate to come back and ask for more money if we require it, but right now, we feel comfortable that we are able to achieve it in a timely manner within our existing budgets presently. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member.
Thanks, Madam Chair. I appreciate the Minister saying that. I pleaded with the previous Minister in the last Assembly to get more resources to get the work done, and I continue to do that. I will probably be here a year from now asking the same question. I want to move on to the Community Harvester Assistance Program. I think this is the place to talk about this. It's kind of hard to know. That program is very effective in terms of building food security. It gets people out on the land doing stuff that they like, and it hasn't been increased for a number of years. We had understood that it was under review. What's the status of the program, and when is there going to be some more money? Is there any new money in this budget for the Community Harvester Assistance Program? Thanks, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you. Before I turn, with your permission, to the deputy minister, we made a commitment to evaluate that. We are in the process of doing that, and we are working on it. We do have a variety of other programs out there on top of CHAP, but I will turn to the deputy minister for details in regard to CHAP. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Deputy Minister Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The review of the CHAP program has begun. I think it's important to recognize that there are a number of programs, not just CHAP, that ENR provides to support this type of activity, and when we went out and did the engagement to develop the Sustainable Livelihoods Action Plan, there were some concerns that were brought forward related to how that program money was being distributed in communities.
We really want to make sure that we are being as effective as possible and learning what we need to and making sure that those who need the funding are able to access it. We are going to do the review, and based on the outcomes of the review and the other program work that we are doing, we will make a determination of whether there is enough funding or not. We look forward to pulling that information together in the next four months and being able to make some recommendations based on the review. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.
Thanks, Madam Chair. I recognize there's a pandemic going on, but I asked these questions a year ago because we wanted to try to increase the CHAP funding at that point. Has this review been delayed? When is the Minister going to be in a position where he can share a copy of the evaluation with standing committee? Thanks, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. For that detail, I will turn to the deputy minister. Thank you.
Thank you. Deputy Minister Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. This program requires that we speak to the people who are accessing it, and many of the communities post-COVID were not comfortable with those types of meetings and discussions occurring. We are now in a place where we have been able to revamp the program so that we have opportunities digitally but also where communities can meet internally and provide answers to the questions that have been provided. As I mentioned, we are hoping to have a "what we heard" completed with recommendations within the next four months. We recognize the importance of this program, not only to Members of the Legislative Assembly, but also to the residents of the Northwest Territories. That's why we need to make sure that we are doing it right and that there are points where those in communities who are land users and who are harvesters have the ability to provide input into the program review. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you. We will make that commitment to get that to committee. We will get that "what we heard" report so the committee is well aware of what we are doing. It's not going to be a hidden document. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Any other questions from committee? Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I will just look at page 74. I am looking at the disaster compensation line of just $15,000. The actuals in 2019 were only $4,000. Obviously, that would be one that, I am sure, is dependent on what happens in that year. Given the situation that's happened with the high water levels this past year and potential for this situation to occur in the upcoming years, do we anticipate that we are going to actually see more money needed here, or does the department think that any compensation that we provide will come under federal funding? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
For that detail, I will go to the deputy minister. Thank you.
Thank you. Deputy Minister Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. This program is not generally oversubscribed. We know right now that we have already increased the amount of funding that can be accessed for those that experience the very damaging effects of the flood on the Taltson this fall to $40,000, and we are just finalizing the criteria for that funding at this time. The funding for this is at $4,500 per recipient. We do realize that there will be more spent on this this year than there has been in previous years. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I will make sure I follow up with my colleague to find out if that $4,500 will be enough for the compensation that some of these trappers may need, just to get a better idea of that. Again, the next question I have is around the fur price program. I probably am a little bit ignorant here, but just in general, with our fur programs, given that the fur auctions are likely not to go ahead or go ahead in a similar manner and that buyers would like to purchase furs that they can actually touch versus doing anything virtually, there is expected to be a decline coming up in fur sales. I'm just wondering: is this the area, or does the department give help to trappers in that area, and is this going to be where this money would be coming from? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. In regard to that program, we actually pay our trappers the rates, and then we do take it down to auction. The Member is correct; it's not right now. They like to be hands-on. We warehouse it. We have a good place to maintain the furs. When we do go to auction, we are able to sell it. If there is an increase in the fur, I think I will actually just go for that detail to the deputy minister. Thank you.
Thank you. Deputy Minister Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. As the Minister was saying, we have quite a few programs that help to support harvesters and trappers, and we are actually looking at more. I would definitely mention that the harvester fur auction is anticipating that the April 2021 auction will do better than it has in the past because people are running out of raw inventory materials. That will most likely be furs that are not as expensive because people like to handle the furs when they are more expensive buys, for sure. However, something that we would like to point out is that we are working with ITI to look at different market pathways, working with trappers, processors, artisans, and manufacturers to identify areas for innovation, and we are planning a fur industry round table to try to look at ways to help with revitalization of this industry. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Great Slave.
Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate that the deputy minister keeps answering my questions ahead of when I am actually going to ask them. That was going to be my next question. I do recognize there are a lot of different programs here, and I am happy to hear that we are trying to be innovative when it comes to fur and how we can use that for our economy. I am personally trying to do my best to support our arts program and their use of fur. Yes, I would just say more as a comment that I would support more line items increasing in this area. Thank you, Madam Chair. I am done.
Thank you, Member. I will take that as a comment. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
No questions.
I put my head down to check out who is next. Are there any other questions? Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Just on page 74, the community foods there, I see that, in 2019-2020, it was at $239,000; then it dropped down in 2021 to $50,000, and it stayed like that. What was the reason for that? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
For that detail, I would turn to the deputy minister. Thank you.
Deputy Minister Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The engagement on the Sustainable Livelihoods Action Plan occurred in that year, so there were 18 community meetings that were held across the Northwest Territories. The amount that we have for ongoing is $50,000 because we do not need to do the same level of engagement that we did for development of the action plan. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Hay River South.
