Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to ask some questions on disaster compensation to the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, only because that some of the replacement items belong to hunters and trappers in the community of Nahanni Butte. I’m actually a little bit confused, though. I thought disaster compensation for that horrible flood in Nahanni Butte would be under MACA, but it looks like ITI has taken over some of the hunters’ and trappers’ skidoos, chainsaws and quads that got damaged. Recently, three residents were denied assistance to replace those items.
I’d like to ask the Minister of ITI what kind of a hunters’ and trappers’ compensation policy we have. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have a harvesters Disaster Compensation Program that’s allotted $15,000 on an annual basis. It has a maximum of $4,500 per applicant. I understand the Member’s concern, and I had the opportunity to visit the community of Nahanni Butte with the Premier and the Member just after the flood had occurred. Certainly, the residents of Nahanni Butte need the government’s assistance. If there are, as the Member indicated, a few people that have concerns, that’s something that we’re willing to sit down with the Member and the community to discuss how we can get them assistance.
Certainly, in this case in Nahanni Butte, it was an act of God. It was a new issue. I was over at the Dehcho leadership meeting and the chief and the band manager from Nahanni Butte brought this to my attention. But some of the parameters, some of the guidelines are making it difficult for people to claim damaged hunting and trapping equipment. I’d just like to ask the Minister of ITI: Can he review this, because there must be a way around it?
Yes, I’ve given a commitment to the Member that we will take a look at the situation in Nahanni. I’ve also got the policy here with me. Sometimes when things like this happen, they don’t necessarily conform to the policy that’s there, and we need to take a look at how best to help those residents in Nahanni that need assistance, both the hunters and trappers.
Certainly, a community like this that experiences disaster, the community is still not together and the last thing you’ve got to give them is guidelines, procedures and reasons why we cannot help them.
I’d like to ask the Minister one more time: Will he review these certain instances and see if he can help the residents that have lost small personal gas equipment that would help them with their harvesting, hunting and trapping?
Again, I thank the Member for raising the concern on behalf of the community and the residents in Nahanni. It certainly is something I’ve committed to already, and I commit again to the Member to sit down and review the situation and try to find the assistance that’s necessary to help those folks out in Nahanni Butte.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to return to item 7 on our orders of the day, oral questions.
---Unanimous consent denied
