R.J. Simpson

I will now call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Testart.

Another issue or another concern that some of the fishermen have is that, because of the issues with freshwater that the Minister has mentioned and because of the price of fish, some fishermen have developed local markets. You know, they have quite robust local markets. They have regular customers and they can make a good living this way. So the concern is that the GNWT's plan to revitalize the fishery might encroach on some of these local markets. Can the Minister guarantee that the plant to revitalize the fishery doesn't include local sales that are going to directly compete with the...

You just snuck in there, Mr. Speaker. I didn't think I was going to get it. Today, I noticed that there has been a lot of negative talk about the economy. There has been a lot of finger pointing and adversarial back and forths. Let's change the conversation. Let's talk about economic growth. Let's talk about investment. Let's talk about Cabinet and Regular Members working together. Let's talk about the Hay River fish processing plant, Mr. Speaker.

When I last brought this up, it was February, and at that time, the Minister of ITI was still trying to secure some federal funding. I would like an...

Thank you. There is a motion to report progress. The motion is in order and non-debatable. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

I will now rise and report progress.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Part of the reason that the government is pushing this fish plant is because nobody quite knows what is happening with Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation in the near future. Since the Minister has a direct channel to Ottawa, could the Minister please let us know what the GNWT knows about the future plans for freshwater? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. To the motion.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are not enough pilots in Canada to meet the demand, and this gap is widening. The effects are being felt across Canada, but, in the NWT, we are disproportionately affected, I would say, because our territory is so large, would have a lack of road infrastructure, and the new rules around pilot fatigue mean more pilots are required to maintain the current flights that we have. Many residents rely heavily on small regional airlines, and those are the type of airlines that have difficulty retaining pilots because they are being poached by the bigger...

Thank you, Minister. I gave you a wide berth because you did hold your comments to the end, but generally we speak to the motion. So, to the motion, the motion that is in front of us. To the motion. Mr. Testart.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed?

---Carried

Thank you. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a few things that I am really passionate about; education is one of them, and that's why I always tell the young people, that makes me sound old, but I always tell the young people that we have great student financial assistance in the territory. It has gotten better recently with their Bring It North initiative, which rewards people for coming back to the North, or even if you weren't from the North, moving here. It helps with student loans.

Recently, a lot of people started receiving their T4A slips for one of the initiatives in Northern Bonus. I have some...