Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, on my left I have the deputy minister Pamela Strand. And on my right, Nina Salvador, who is the director of finance for the department.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So certainly some effort can be made perhaps to try to determine what monies are going in, and it would depend upon if we're looking at positions or if we're looking at contributions. There are EDO contribution agreements, for example with the YKDFN and Fort Res, where we are funding an economic development officer in those two communities. There would obviously be quite a large number of, you know, individual grants and contributions that go to individual businesses in all four of those communities and that would be in the contract report so we can provide that detail...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, right now we did have an influx just as part of the winter fishery obviously for this current fiscal to support the winter fishery. But that was a million dollars. As for what might be needed for I mean, I don't know how far into the future we're looking. I mean, there may well need to be something further into the future but at the moment, CanNor has provided some significant supports. It's going directly to Tu Cho, not to the GNWT, so it's not necessarily showing up here. But they have received, as I say, a million dollars going in to support their...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I expect that is going to find itself under the contract services line item. I don't have the specific here. But it would be in the contribution it would either be reported under the procurement reporting that takes place around our own grants and contributions report. So I can figure out which one of the two it is and provide that to the Member.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to present the 20232024 Main Estimates for the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, or ITI. Overall, the department’s estimates propose an increase of $1.9 million or 3.1 percent over the 20222023 Main Estimates. These estimates support the mandate objectives for the Department of ITI while continuing to meet the Government of the Northwest Territories fiscal objectives to prioritize responsible and strategic spending.

Highlights of the proposed estimates include:

initiative funding totalling $1.40 million, which includes:

$324,000 to continue our...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, none of I mean, GNWT is not organized based on the 19 ridings of the Legislative Assembly. So I appreciate that we'll have to get some detail there. I'm not sure if I have it broken down by 19 Members here. And let me see if the deputy minister is able to and if not, we'll certainly get back to the Member with that detail. Thanks.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, there was an effort done to do some engagement on SEED right towards the end of COVID. It wasn't it didn't get a lot of uptake in terms of feedback and this is the program where, obviously and specifically looking at the question of market disruption. That was one of the main areas that was asked. It is one where there's a divide a bit between small and large centers in terms of whether there should or should not be market disruption. And so while I this is policy and it can change, wanted to go back when the economy's settled a little bit so there is a...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I expect we will see the draft regulations before the end of the Assembly. There is still going to be the gazetting process and probably a section 35 consultation process. And I don't know that those two pieces will be complete before the end of the Assembly. Because this has gone through the IGC's legislative protocol development process, I expect that the section 35 process will be, hopefully, straightforward, though certainly don't want to presume, and then thereafter the gazette process is also standard. So those two pieces are likely to be after the end of...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I don't think there's an active recruitment for staffing right now, but I can say that there's quite a bit of work happening with the Tu Cho Fishers Cooperative as well as with FFMC to ensure that those players and parties are all involved, that there's no overlapping work going on but that, in fact, everyone's working together. The goal, again, is to have this plant open and operational for the fishing season, including with having a manager and including having the staffing available. I, in fact, only spoke to FTI about this yesterday and had a very...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I'd like to send this to the deputy minister to give a bit more of a sense about where it's been and where it's going. Thank you.