Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today will be to the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, and it goes back to my Member’s statement today where I talked about the film industry. Mr. Speaker, my Member’s statement, really, the crux of it really was getting at the fact that the foundation for the film industry has certainly been planted in the Northwest Territories, but I’m not sure it’s been cultivated and grown properly. I think we still have a significant amount of potential out there to continue and grow.
So, Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment what can his department do to help foster and further develop the film industry here in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think this Member is trying to win an Oscar. The department has provided some limited funding through its SEED program for filmmakers and other larger projects. In the past, we’ve dealt with on an ad hoc basis, depending on the benefits that would accrue to the Northwest Territories. Otherwise, we would direct them to the National Film Board of Canada. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I’d like to thank my supporting cast in this expose, my thespian, the Minister McLeod. Mr. Speaker, the issue really is about not just attracting issue, but it’s equally weighed with helping to develop the industry. Now, we have some very dedicated and, I’m going to stress, significantly talented filmmakers here in the Northwest Territories, but without the types of resources, which are very expensive, it’s very difficult to get off the ground. In the recent example I talked about, Ice Pilots, they had to bring everyone up from the south to do the work here, and they couldn’t do the editing and developing of the product. It all had to go in raw form back down south. So, Mr. Speaker, it’s that type of support.
Does the Minister foresee that the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment can find ways to help develop the film industry here in the Northwest Territories so we can attract not just business but people too? Thank you.
We’re committed, as a department, to undertake a review of the possibilities for expanding into NWT filmmaking. I made a commitment to your colleague Mr. Bromley the other day that we will be undertaking a review and we will be reporting back this spring. I have asked the Department of ITI to provide us with some recommendations. I think that other provinces and territories do provide incentives and we’ll see how they’re doing. Here in the Northwest Territories, as well, my colleague, the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, does have programs through the Arts Council. There is $500,000 available through that process. We have a number of other programs to fund northern performers, northern theatre arts, northern library arts, northern film and media arts, new arts membership, cultural projects and so on. So there are a number of programs there as well.
But I think that, as I said before, whatever we come up with, if it’s seen that there are benefits, and we’ve looked at it in the past where most of the benefits were short-term and left the North. But, as I said, I believe times have changed and if there are significant benefits, then we would have some recommendations that we can look at this spring. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister highlights a financial pot and by itself it does sound quite significant. I will acknowledge that. But the problem is a lot of people are coming to the table, and when they all split up the pie it ends up being very small, and that industry does need some serious focus to help keep it moving forward and to continue to develop.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister has been, or I should say it sounded pretty clear that he made a commitment to review the program as what we offer for the film industry, but I’d like to ask the Minister specifically, what does Industry, Tourism and Investment do as a department or even through their tourism marketing leg to market the Northwest Territories as a venue to attract the film industry. Thank you.
Right now we currently have the NWT Film Commission, which acts as a liaison and provides advice to prospective filmmakers. This year we’ve responded to 215 e-mail inquires and 303 phone inquiries. We also are having NWT Film Week at Canada’s Northern House, which will run from March 15-19. As the Member indicated, we have contracted Western Arctic Moving Pictures to help with those who are interested in doing films and we think that through the exposure to Canada’s Northern House that there will be a lot more interest in filmmaking in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with all those inquiries the Minister has talked about, I think that’s a significant milestone in the sense of showing that there is attention on the North as a marketable option for people to do this work. The issue really comes down to are we actually getting them here to run those cameras, get those actors acting and the film crews filming. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to hear if the Minister, recognizing that there seems to be interest in the North, would he work, in his review, to help develop a program just like made in the North. Perhaps we could develop a format, be it tax proposals, a support system, and we could call it filmed in the North, because that could help launch a new avenue to draw investment money, workers here and certainly good business for our North to develop film. Thank you.
Those are all the elements that we would look at in the review and also in developing recommendations. I think we have to be careful if we start trying to get into a race to the bottom with B.C. or Ontario with regard to tax incentives, but again, I think that with specific benefits to the Northwest Territories and we can look in those areas and, certainly, we’ll probably try to focus on existing NWT filmmakers. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
