Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have been trying to be quite clear, both with the panel and publicly, that I think it's important that the panel have the opportunity and ability to do their work independently from my office, from government, and remain objective and remain creative and do what they need to do. I have not directed them to do that, and I have not heard back from them at present on whether they intend to do that. I'm sure, if the message doesn't get back to them through the course of this forum, then I can certainly make the inquiry on behalf of the MLA. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I certainly am keen to see what can be done with respect to ensuring that we continue to grow this industry, not only in terms of its commercial value but also as far as it may impact on food security more generally. For now, Mr. Speaker, what I can say: if there is a community that is looking to have a greenhouse, looking to have access to some agricultural opportunities, I would urge them to speak to their local economic development officer or other ITI officer. There are programs and projects that can help support them, whether in terms of the training that may be needed or in terms of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I am very happy to say that we certainly are planning to have a new strategy, and with respect to success or not, I can say that, when the strategy first began back in 2017, there were very few commercial producers. We are now numbering roughly eight to 10 with some significant growth in the area. We are gathering the information now, and I would expect that more formal engagements will happen beginning possibly as early as the end of this year and, if not, early in 2022 so that it is ready indeed to roll out in due course next year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

When that report came out, certainly, anytime there is a public statement of that kind, any kind of report-card-type document, we would certainly take that seriously and want to look at it and analyze it. I have actually already set up a meeting with the department to do exactly that. That said, Mr. Speaker, I also want to just ensure that the public messaging around what we are doing with our regulatory processes and the efforts within the department to provide pathfinding. There are staff specifically assigned to pathfinding, and there is already work being done to having a roadmap for those...

This should be really good news. The government is too easily told that we are siloed and don't work well together, but in fact, this is an occasion where, yes, there is information across departments. Multiple departments are high government information creators and drivers and users. The interdepartmental working group that includes the Bureau of Statistics, population, health, Environment and Natural Resources. There're ITI elements involved that have high use of information. This is an occasion where they are, indeed, working, and a very active group. Yes. Let me begin by certainly...

If only all the things that I read were in a briefing note, my life would be simple. No, this is not in the briefing note, Mr. Speaker, and it is being updated in real time. I can say right now, ISSS, which is responsible for the framework, is expecting to have that completed by fall of 2021, with the portal operational in 2022. I hesitate because, if there's any way that I can push that along a little bit, I certainly will. I am conscious that this is something that is a huge part of having a more open and transparent government. I do want to work towards having it available more quickly, but...

As I said, it just turns out by happenstance there is a meeting happening today at the SAO level. I will follow up on that and see where it gets to. There are staff across the South Slave who work on tourism.

Mr. Speaker, just a few years ago, I was told that, in fact, money had been advanced to the community of Enterprise to look at building visitor capacity. The project didn't go forward, but I certainly wouldn't want there to be any misunderstanding of the willingness of ITI to work with the community to see if they are interested in pursuing something and to see what funding might be...

To the extent that there can be support from ITI with economic development or support to individual businesses with respect to their business plans, whether it's through economic development type supports or whether it's through the BDIC, with respect to, for example, loans, I can certainly ensure and direct the department to reach out so that they have all the available supports there for them.

As far as the government actually stepping in to buy private market assets, I don't want to give any false hope that that is not likely to be something the government is going to be doing, but we are...

Yes, absolutely. Early on in the process of becoming a Minister, this is a policy that I wanted to have reviewed to understand better, and I agree. It is, as I said, a tool that can be utilized. It should be utilized towards the goal of being a representative work force, and if it's going to be a tool, then it should be better understood. I would certainly commit to bringing the concerns forward, but what's more, I will commit to looking for a way that we can make its use more transparent so that it is more understood how it actually works. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It certainly does.