Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My first set of questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. The Minister announced the creation of a Business Advisory Council almost three months ago, and, when questioned in the House on May the 27th, she said, "We definitely commit to having an open and transparent and collaborative government" with respect to telling us the details of the Business Advisory Council. With that in mind, it's my understanding that the council has met at least once. Can the Minister now tell us who is on the council? Thank you very much.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe that information has been provided to the Members. If it hasn't, I will follow up to ensure that it has. We were allowing the council to make their own press release as they are arm's length from my office. We'll ensure that gets corrected if it hasn't been done so before now. Thank you.
The public doesn't know anything about this council. They don't know who is on it. They don't know the terms of reference. They don't know that they've met or when they will meet again. In the spirit of transparent and collaborative government which you have committed yourself to, can you please make the public aware of the details of this Business Advisory Council today?
The Business Advisory Council released a press release earlier this week. If the Member hasn't seen it, I will forward it along. We do have a statement coming, and we will ensure that the list is included there. As mentioned, this is their council, not my council, to determine how they communicate to the public. That's what we're currently trying to figure out. The council has met once, or twice actually, now. They're very keen to get going, and we will be providing that information.
This news release is news to me. It's news to my colleagues on this side of the House. I haven't seen it reported in the media. We still are left with a situation where the government has created a council for which we have no public information. I don't know where this news release is. Is it possible for you to tell us now who is on the council, what their mandate is, and when they're going to meet again?
As mentioned, the Business Advisory Council put out their own press release. It did not come through my department. Therefore, I cannot say why the Member has not seen it, but I will commit to sharing that with you. I will right now list off the council. We have Paul Gruner, Det'on Cho Corporation. He is the co-chair. We have Jenni Bruce, president of the Northwest Territories chamber. She is a co-chair. We have Kyle Wright, Tim Syer, Pat Rower, Linda Martin, Sean Crowell, Denny Rodgers, Duc Trinh, James Thorbourne, Sara Brown, Gary Vivian, Darrel Beaulieu, Harold Grinde, Donna Lee DeMarcke, Trevor Wever, and Kevin Hodgins. I apologize if I've said anybody's name wrong. We will provide the rest of the information to you in a written format as it is probably just not the worth the time to go through it right now.
Thank you, Minister. I know there's a lot of passion here, but please direct your question through me. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My apologies. Thank you to the Minister for that information. The point is not that the information should be provided privately to me or to my colleagues but that this council that was put into being by the government should be made known to the public. This council wouldn't exist without the government, so the government has a responsibility to tell the public what this council is about and who is on it. You have just mentioned some names and what their mandate is. I'm sure you appreciate that there's a lot of interest in this council. There is some potential to make creative recommendations like the ones that I mentioned in my statement about building a retrofit economy. Will the Minister commit to making the information public today? Thank you.
As mentioned, the press release from the Business Advisory Council does state their mandate and all of the members who are there. Again, I will forward that to the Members. The council has met for literally one week. While delayed, and I understand that has created frustrations for people, it is going. Part of that first week of discussions is to determine how the communications protocol will happen. As mentioned, it is not my council to dictate how they operate. My apologies again if the Member did not see the press release, but I cannot control what the media reports on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
