Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I stated in my Member’s statement, I’m glad to see the egg grading plant facility in Hay River open up on Friday. I have questions for the Minister of ITI concerning what the department is doing to encourage this kind of sustainable developing for putting northern products on northern tables.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of ITI certainly was happy to be a part of the success in Hay River with the opening of the egg grading facility. We have a long way to go.
Just last month we signed a new agreement with the federal government on the Growing Forward II money that will bring $6 million more to the Northwest Territories in the area of agricultural development. We’re hoping to continue the successes that we’ve seen there. That money will be put to good use in trying to get more products onto people’s tables around the Northwest Territories.
As the Minister knows well in the House, probably, that I’m strongly concerned about the fishing industry and the lack of the fact that we’re using this great resource we have, especially in the Great Slave Lake where we have a sustainable quota and that we’re not even using a good part of that quota. What is the department doing to help this industry to develop?
The domestic commercial fish market has the potential here in the Northwest Territories to be between half a million and 750,000 pounds of fish on an annual basis. Recently I met with the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation here in Yellowknife. They were here. I share the Member’s concern. I think this is an area where, as a government, we have to be following it closely. There’s a great resource there and I think it’s underutilized.
To get to the Member’s question, we have a Fish Harvesters Support Program, Commercial Fish Harvesters Support Program, a Fish Harvesters Expansion Program, a Fish Harvesters New Entrance Support Program and some core funding to help offset administrative costs to the Fishermen’s Federation.
I know the fishers are appreciative of this type of funding. I have a question for the Minister.
I know that the fishers on the Great Slave Lake are busy doing their job of catching fish and don’t have time to look at the innovative ways that maybe are being done on the Great Lakes, being done in other areas, other countries.
What is the department doing to assist this industry in looking at new and innovative ways to put more northern product on northern tables?
As part of the Growing Forward money, we’ve had a commercial harvesting processing and marketing of fish and meat in the Northwest Territories, and I think that program has gone a long way to helping. We’ve got a new fish holding and processing facility in Kakisa for pickerel. We’ve also provided money for renovations to the building at Wool Bay that will provide for the processing of fish. We intend to get together with fishermen in the near term here in the fall and over the winter to discuss ways in which the government can help the fishing industry here in the Northwest Territories be successful. We want to see it be successful. We want to be a partner in seeing it be the success that we know it can be. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final question is about the budget to this type of innovation and looking at different… Does the government and ITI have anything in their current budget to look at any of their innovative ways to increase the productivity of the Great Slave Lake for fishing? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, we currently have $225,000 available under the initiatives that I spoke of earlier. Certainly, as we move forward, I am committed to seeing us work with the fishermen on Great Slave Lake to realize the potential of that resource for our territory. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
