Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I will have some questions for the Minister of ITI dealing with a different type of industry in the Northwest Territories and that’s the film industry.
We have a growing and a strong, dynamic group of individuals in the Beaufort-Delta region, as well as here in Yellowknife. There was a report that came out called the Review of the Film Commission Mandate, so I want to ask the Minister, has there been any progress on work being developed on rebates for people that want to come up and do work, production companies that want to come up to the North and do work. Has there been any progress in looking at rebates for the film industry? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Work does continue in that area. We have an application into CanNor, seeking some funding to allow us to continue to look at the best possible way to rebate or provide grants. Tax incentives obviously aren’t going to work here, are deemed not to be the best option. So we need to look at other options to attract more of the film industry and filming to take place here in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you. Currently the Yukon government and the Nunavut government offer rebates. Why can’t the NWT come up with a policy of their own that offers rebates to some of these production companies? We have a very great group of individuals in the Northwest Territories looking at development and training.
Does the Minister see any type of funding to go into development and training for some of our individuals that are in the industry? Thank you.
Thank you. Work continues, again, in this area. It’s something we feel very strongly about. Obviously, it was highlighted, as well, in the Economic Opportunities Strategy. Last year we provided $114,000 to 12 recipients to help with film projects here in the NWT through our SEED program.
As we move forward, it is very important that we ensure that we get this right. We can’t just automatically create a program. We need to find where we fit in the scheme of things in providing rebates or incentives to get filming taking place here in the Northwest Territories. We’ve had some great success. We need to see that success continue and it’s important, again, that we make sure that we get this right. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister mentioned there was a SEED program, and the SEED program for the current individuals and productions that do work in the NWT, there are some limitations such as the policy and the time and date of reporting.
I wonder if the Minister would look at reviewing the SEED policy and possibly adding more funding, increasing the funding that is allowed to these people in the film industry.
Again, through the Economic Opportunities Strategy that we just launched, it was identified that ITI should develop a pilot project to assess the merits of a northern expenditure-based rebate program. This is something we are going to look at. Options for funding the program are currently under consideration. It’s something, I think, that has the potential to be very successful if we, again, do it right.
As far as SEED goes, that is something pertaining to the film industry that I can take back to the department if there is need, and I believe there is need to get more money out there to support the film industry here in the Northwest Territories. We have to find a way and a means to make that happen.
With SEED, there certainly could be some constraints to accessing funding through that avenue, but again, we have helped out. We’ve provided $114,000 through that program, so that program is still going to be available to folks who want to avail themselves of that.
The NWT Film Commission falls under the Industry, Tourism and Investment portfolio of the department. Would it be in the best interest to allow a little bit more flexibility that if, possibly like the NWT Tourism, this commission becomes independent of the government so that they can run on their own timelines but also access funding from the government? Has the Minister had any discussions on that with his colleagues, in terms of possibly looking at that as a stepping away from the government?
That’s a very novel idea that the Member has and I believe it probably has some merit. It’s something I’ll take back to the department for consideration. We work very closely with NWT Tourism and continue to do so. We also work very closely with my colleague, Minister Lafferty at ECE. If there’s a way to do this, we want to, again, make sure we’re doing the right things. Again, the Member has a good idea and it’s something we’ll take into consideration.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Ms. Bisaro.
