Thank you, Mr. Speaker. ITI has undergone a few initiatives regarding manufacturing. We have our manufacturing strategy forthcoming, of course. Last spring, the Minister tabled a "what we heard" report with regard to that strategy. That had significant input from those interested in manufacturing. Also, the Minister and myself and the Member from Hay River North met with those who were interested in revitalizing manufacturers' associations.
Finding and retaining labour is a challenge that is consistently shared among manufacturers. I would like to ask the Minister: what initiatives, if any, is the Minister discussing with his other department colleagues to retain more skilled workers in the North, but especially around affordable housing and attracting people to the trades through apprenticeship? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think we work very closely with the Department of Education on this matter. A question like that probably would be better served going to the Minister of Education. I can say, on behalf of the Minister of ITI and our department, that the Government of the Northwest Territories takes this very seriously. You can see that in our partnerships. You can see it with industry partnerships with the mining industry and the Mine Training Society, how that has worked out, how it has linked education and employment and economic opportunities right across the whole territory for the residents.
Partnership between our government and the industry training provides and continues to help raise education awareness levels right across the territory. I know this isn't specific to the strategy, but it definitely raises the awareness around how people can access these programs and the trade levels and related fields and the benefits that come with these things. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate that some of the questioning might be better suited for other Ministers, but these are concerns. These are issues that manufacturers have raised directly with the Ministry, either in the "what we heard" report" or at the gathering that we had last fall. That is the reason why I raised them today. When it comes to procurement, many challenges have been identified by manufacturers. Specific frustration has been expressed with the lack of consultation and rationale on changes to technical specifications that require manufacturers sometimes to retool or modify their operations. I would like to ask the Minister: will the Minister make a commitment that specification changes will be consulted upon with the respective manufacturers prior to making changes to those specifications?
Standing committee has the manufacturing strategy in their purview, and I am looking forward to the comments that come back from committee on that. With that said, I think the issue the Member is highlighting is one that has been identified in the past. We have addressed it. We have taken a number of steps to improve the understanding and the application of our manufacturing policy, both to the manufacturers and to our GNWT procurement departments. I know for a fact that we have done that. We have taken these steps. We have even taken steps where we have sponsored facility tours and updated the manufacturers' product lists and the specifications. I think actually the Member even came one of the tours with me on that. I believe the one that he is highlighting specifically, actions that we are proposing within our strategy, is going to help address this because it is in there. We are talking about communication with the northern manufacturers strategy and the capacity of the Manufacturers' Association to interact with the Government of the Northwest Territories. Again, I am looking forward to hearing from committee on their comments on this.
Thank you to the Minister for his reply. Yes, indeed, the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment is looking forward to providing input with regard to this strategy. Many manufacturers describe the GNWT's enforcement of both the Business Incentive Policy as well as the manufacturing policy as being, quite frankly, unsatisfactory. A number of concerned representatives recounted instances where they believed policies were either misinterpreted, or possibly ignored, resulting in arbitrary decision-making. Does the Minister accept that these are legitimate concerns and will he revalidate the Business Incentive Policy and the manufacturers policy?
I believe we have already done that, because that was identified in the Economic Opportunities Strategy in 2014, which led our government to develop a strategy. This strategy is with standing committee, and I look forward to hearing their feedback, as I said. The strategy that is with standing committee includes provisions for renewing the Manufactured Products Policy by reducing the number of barriers and addressing past irritants to this sector.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In discussions, a number of the manufacturers have identified information-sharing as a concern. Many companies, in fact, said that they were unaware of the GNWT funding and support programs for businesses. How will the department support better means for manufacturers to more easily access government resources, supports, programs, and funding? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As the Member will know from reading the strategy, it is focused heavily on increasing the capacity of the Northwest Territories Manufacturers' Association to be a voice for the manufacturers. We have continued to meet with them on a timely basis and make sure we get a lot of input from them as we move this thing forward.
At the same time, we want to use this strategy to connect them with funding and training programs that are available to them. Just because you are in manufacturing doesn't mean you actually know about all these programs that are out there. We are going to work on that with them.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
