Thank you, Mr. Speaker. These questions are for the Minister of health. Oh, no, sorry. The Minister of ITI.
---Laughter
Yesterday, the Minister of ITI talked about agriculture and community gardens, and I'd like to speak more about community gardens. We have people spending more time in the territories. We have an opportunity to get people out there learning about gardening. Myself, I have no idea. I don't mind eating the food that comes out of there, but if you ask me to grow anything, good luck. What I'd like to talk about is that, in Hay River, which is probably the capital of community gardens, we have an opportunity to do something in the smaller communities.
I just want to give you an example, for instance. In the community of Kakisa, they've had assistance, I think, from Guelph University. They put in a couple of greenhouses, and I think they even may want to expand the gardening by developing a five-acre plot to grow vegetables and that. You have got a community there of, just as an example, I don't know how many people, 70, 80 people or a hundred maybe. They have an opportunity to actually be self-sufficient in that area, and we need some test cases. It's just not Kakisa. There are other smaller communities that we could really do something with, so I would like to ask the Minister to provide support for communities like that. For instance, say Kakisa, they might need $25,000 to make this happen, and a lot of the communities, they might not come forward to Hay River and talk to anybody. I would ask the Minister if she would be willing to commit her department to reaching out to these communities and seeing what they can do to help them, to make sure the applications are in there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of ITI has a wealth, a variety, of different programs and funding opportunities for programs just such as this. Yes, while I am happy to give the yes and say that we will reach out to Kakisa to make sure that they are aware of it, there are so many options and opportunities. If there are communities, Indigenous organizations, Indigenous governments, individuals thinking about creating some sort of small agriculture project, wanting to learn more about commercial agriculture, there are funding opportunities for small-scale foods programs; there are funding opportunities to support learning about food processing, food development, how to market, how to get involved in agriculture. All of these different areas have funding opportunities. We will ensure that we reach out directly to Kakisa, but again, as we are coming up on the growing season, please, I would again encourage people to reach out to their local EDO or ITI representative because there is money there to be spent on exactly this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would ask the Minister to, as well, reach out to other communities, just to make sure that everybody is aware of what is available. However, I would like to take this a step further, as well. We have people out there; we have people who we say are homeless, but they have all got skills. You know what we say about idle hands. What I would like to see is the department work with maybe other departments to find ways to allow people to maybe participate in developing greenhouses and go further, as well, and maybe look at the correctional centres. You have got SMCC in Hay River. I think, at one time, they may have been doing that, but for some reason, maybe it stopped. I would like to ask the Minister if she would consider working with the Minister of Justice to see if there is something we can do to provide that opportunity, as well, if it's feasible.
The agriculture strategy already brings together the Departments of ITI as well as Lands, ENR, Health and Social Services, so certainly the work across the departments is already happening. I am familiar with the program that used to exist in the correctional institutions, and I believe I have actually committed to another MLA earlier this same session that I would reach out and work with the Minister of Justice to see if there is some future for that program again. I don't have an answer other than to say that I have made that commitment. I will make it again, and we will see if it can go anywhere from here.
Another organization, the Soaring Eagle Friendship Centre, what they are looking at doing is buying some small containers that are designed for growing vegetables in, just for starters. I forget how many they have got, a hundred or something they are going to be giving away. I am not sure if the Department of ITI is talking to them or assisting or whatever, but we are here to provide a service. When you provide a service, you usually go banging on doors. It's kind of like us as MLAs. If we want to know something, we have got to call our constituents. We have got to talk. We have got to go out and reach out to them. We cannot sit back and expect them to come to us. I would ask the Minister if she would have her department in Hay River reach out to the Soaring Eagle Friendship Centre and see what they can do to help assist in distribution or any training in what they are doing.
When I said earlier that there are quite a number of programs, I say that out of personal experience. I have found it inspiring but also overwhelming, the amount of opportunity and options that are there. What I have asked for recently and what has been produced just in the last month is actually an 11-page document that says "Funding Programs: Industry, Tourism and Investment." I was recently up in the Beaufort-Delta, took this with me, and was handing it out as we were meeting with various community governments. I think what I will say is that not only will we reach out to the Soaring Eagle Friendship Centre, but I need to make an effort to get this document out more broadly so that organizations like the Soaring Eagle, if they want to have opportunities to access this funding, that they will see it and have it available to them. Yes, I will certainly make sure that we make a commitment, make a note to follow up on that specific request, but again more broadly, yes, the money needs to go out to where it's intended to go.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think, after this question, the Minister will see where I am going with this. I am going to talk about the fish plant now. Has the department assessed how the new proposed fish plant could be used for agricultural purposes during the off season, like for, say, if you have vegetables that have to be dealt with? My understanding is that that plant might be multipurpose, so what I am trying to do is get a full-meal deal here, fish and vegetables. Thank you.
Short answer: yes, that there is an intention that indeed the fish plant would be one that is compliant with the Canadian food industry inspection agency's full requirements to be able to provide a product that is more varied than simply processing fish. Specifically, what might come from that and specifically what might ultimately get processed there would likely be up more to the owners and managers of the plant, certainly rather than me. However, the vision is one that it is meant to be up to a level that it can accommodate more than simply a processing of the fish. Again, I will perhaps have to go back and just look at exactly what the extent of it would be, but that was the intention kind of always in the works, that it can always be running, that it will not have shut-down periods and that it factors into the bigger picture of food security for the Northwest Territories, which is obviously about more than just fish. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.
