Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re all very proud of our NWT artisans; artists of many different mediums, designers, craftspersons. Certainly the Minister of ITI uses any opportunity he can to promote our arts and crafts industry to the world. We had a lovely example of that earlier today.
As the agent of the GNWT who promotes tourism for us, the organization NWT Tourism should also be promoting and supporting NWT artists and craftspersons. It would seem logical that they would use their website to do that promotion.
After I was contacted by a constituent on this issue, I took a look at the NWT Tourism website and perused the “authentic NWT souvenir items” on display there. The items are few but what is most disconcerting is that none of them seem to be from or made in the NWT. One can buy licence plates, luggage tags, pins and maps. They look great. Wonderful northern scenes, but they can hardly be called authentic northern souvenirs. Where are the products made by NWT residents? Where are the products from NWT shops and NWT businesses? None to be found on that website.
Why are we not promoting products from community craft stores, from our resident photographers, from our musicians, from our painters, from our carvers, from our arts and craftspeople, from our authors? We’ve talked often enough about the need to boost our economy to diversify our economy. This would seem to me to be a great way to do it but we are not.
NWT Tourism should be acting as a broker or promoter for any NWT resident or business making products which could be considered northern souvenirs. There should be links from the NWT Tourism website to all NWT craft stores which have their wares on-line; links to all NWT artists or craftspersons who have an on-line display of their products made in the North: photos, moccasins, mitts, carvings, paintings and prints, books, Ragged Ass Road signs, I Break for Ptarmigan stickers; the list could be very long.
I appreciate there may be some wrangling required to set things up. Contracts would need to be put in place to protect both artists and broker, but surely we have the skill and the capacity to do that. If there’s another reason why NWT Tourism is not promoting NWT products on their website, I’m all ears to hear it. At the moment we’re failing our creative people and missing out on a wonderful opportunity to grow our territory.
I will have questions for the Minister of ITI at the appropriate time. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
