Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Onto the tourism operator licences, it just seems odd that this number isn't growing with the success of the tourism industry and the number of operators. I often hear that there's a lot of competition out there for new operators who are coming in to take advantage of the tourism market. Are we not predicting any new operations applying for licences? Thank you.

Thank you. Again, we have seen the significant cuts to the BDIC over the last two budgets. What is the longterm vision for the BDIC? Are we developing the new strategic plan? Are we just going to reduce the overall financial resources they have to use and transfer the support into the department itself? There are a lot of rumours on the ground, but the Minister could put some of that to rest with a clear vision for the future of the corporation. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm just looking at page 208, the revenue summary. I'd like to ask just some questions with some of the lines we see here. First, on the nominee program, in the 2016-2017 actuals was that $42,000. Now we see the proposed budget in the last fiscal year was near half that amount. What explains the drop from 2016-2017 to 2017-2018? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I appreciate that this is a relatively emerging section of our economy, and it's not something that we traditionally thought of as a strength, but I don't want to see this department be in a position where it's waiting for the knowledge economy to come about organically, and that it's actually finding ways to stimulate knowledge economy, investments and development, and an innovation strategy that rewards private sector investment in innovative solutions. I think it dovetails quite well in the coming reality of carbon pricing and green economy solutions to Northern...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Northwest Territories geological survey has a significant decrease in its budget. Can the Minister speak to what that represents? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, committee would like to consider Tabled Document 6318(3), Main Estimates 20182019, with the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment as the department under consideration. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We do have our territorial nominee program. Is there any overlap with the territorial nominee program administered through Education, Culture and Employment that we can use to expedite this process? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One thing we're learning from these pilot projects, this basic guaranteed income, is that the best way to help someone get out of poverty is to ensure that their cost of living is taken care of without a lot of strings attached or government oversight. It allows them to get a job. It allows them to pay for food. Right now, we're clawing back a lot of income. I just don't understand what the hold-up is. Can we take a sample size of recipients of income support and start modelling this kind of effort, even on a temporary basis so it's a low-cost approach that still gets...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that the Chair of Committee of the Whole leave the chair to report progress.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is a significant amount of the total used. I am pleased to hear that. Has the Minister received any feedback from industry on this program and the increase to it that he can share with the House today? Thank you.