Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. I’d like to follow up, this seems to be a bit of a theme today, but I’m wondering what work does the Minister have underway with his colleagues, the Ministers of MACA and ENR, to free up agricultural land in our South Slave breadbasket, and I suppose the Deh Cho as well, to expand our agricultural industry towards the diversification of our economy away from one industrial sector? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Minister of ITI, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That discussion has to take place with my colleagues on the accessibility of land, but certainly the agricultural component is something that’s of value here. We need to ensure that we’re getting programming dollars out to the various communities around the Northwest Territories. Under the Growing Forward Fund that we have from the federal government, we’ve put that program into 29 communities across the Northwest Territories, mostly small vegetable garden plots, but we are working with the money that we have to get programs out there for people to avail themselves of. Just a couple of weeks ago I was in Norman Wells. I had an opportunity to sample some Sahtu potatoes, a Sahtu chicken, as well as some processed Sahtu moose meat, which is very good.
It’s programs from ITI that are enabling local producers to continue to pursue locally provided fish, meat and agricultural products to not just the local community but they’re looking at perhaps even exporting those out of the Sahtu at some point in time to other communities. Thank you.
Thanks to the Minister for that response. The Sahtu, of course, is a clear leader in this area, along with some other areas of the NWT. So hats off there, but seriously, the biggest issue is access to land. Studies by the Territorial Farmers’ Association have indicated it would be very easy to provide a very large proportion of the food we need in terms of vegetables and even domestic meat with a modicum of support, but land is the biggest issue. So I’ll look forward to progress on that issue.
My second question, briefly, is: What work does the Minister have underway with his colleague, the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, to complete the forest inventories essential to the sustainable development of our forest resources, again, the diversification of our economy? Mahsi.
Obviously the potential in the area of forestry is immense here in the Northwest Territories, especially in the southwest corner of the territory and south of Great Slave Lake. Definitely we need to be looking towards devolution as a way and a means and the settlement of both the Akaitcho land claim and the Dehcho land claim to advance forestry and that sector here in the Northwest Territories, and that discussion will take place with ENR on ways that both ITI and ENR can work together, as we move forward toward devolution on getting the most we can and maximizing the benefits of our forestry industry here. Thank you.
Thank you again for that response from the Minister. My third question along the line of diversification is Avalon Minerals has long been on record of offering secondary processing industry development if a deal can be made on economic electricity rates. What work does the Minister have underway with his colleague, again the Minister responsible for NTPC, to take advantage of this opportunity? Mahsi.
Obviously the opportunity at Avalon, not just for the mine but for the processing and the value added, a component to that is of great value to the economy here in the Northwest Territories and those discussions certainly are taking place. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final question is I just want to start by noting that a constituent recently returned from Edmonton, to report that Great Slave Lake pickerel was being sold at a shop for $32 a pound. I suppose that’s, what, $75 a kilogram or something like that? So I’m wondering again, what work does the Minister have underway to promote this world-class product and expand markets and production within sustainable limits, of course. Mahsi.
Our hands are somewhat tied because of our participation or the commercial fishermen’s participation in the FMCC and there are no plans currently underway for us to withdraw from that. Certainly as a department we can look at making strategic investments in a place like Kakisa, where we’re looking at a new fish holding and processing unit there in Kakisa for the pickerel. We’re also looking at possible portable fish processing equipment that could be used in areas like the Sahtu. So it’s strategic initiatives like that and investments like that in communities, especially in small communities, that are going to make a big difference in getting that produce out and to market. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
