Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Last week, I and a colleague questioned the Minister of ITI in regards to SEED funding. As I was thinking about different constituents in my riding who had spoken about their experience with SEED funding and the Minister's responses to questions about SEED funding, I was looking to see where the discrepancies were from what I was understanding. Where I think they are is that there's no market disruption clause, or it's been suspended rather, within the COVID stream of SEED funding. In the entrepreneurial stream of SEED funding, there still exists the market disruption clause. I'm wondering if the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment would be willing to suspend the entrepreneurial support of SEED funding market disruption clause for the fiscal year of 2020-2021 so that businesses that currently exist within the Northwest Territories are able to also use that stream of funding in order to pivot or evolve their businesses in the wake of a pandemic? Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. As I had noted last week, we are committed to doing an internal review of the SEED policy, and included within that will be the market disruption clause. The larger communities versus the smaller communities in different regional centres have different views on whether or not market disruption is beneficial or necessary, with those opinions going very strongly one way or another. In the middle of a pandemic is not an opportunity to wholesale change that, but that is why there is the COVID-related stream that doesn't have the market disruption clause in it so that for those businesses that want to make use of those funds, to make those pivots that are in a COVID-related sense, that they do have that opportunity to do so. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
I definitely have had this conversation with constituents of mine, and I understand where the polarization lies. That's why I'm asking for the Minister to consider existing businesses right now in the wake of a pandemic. It's not an opportunity for multiple other businesses right now in the middle of a pandemic to all of a sudden turn around and access this funding. It's targeted towards existing businesses who are already established within our communities who are having, basically, cash-flow issues in the middle of a pandemic to turn around and pivot their businesses. My concern with waiting for a review is that these businesses will already potentially be going out of business by the time the government is able to do their review and come out with recommendations. I'm wondering what timeline the Minister is working towards on these changes.
I am certainly not one to shy away from the fact that we need to react quickly to what's happening with COVID-19 and react quickly to what's happening in the business community. However, at the same time, I am also determined that we have to maintain our due diligence before making a policy change that is to a program that has been long-standing, so I am not going to take a position here on the floor today that we will significantly alter that program going forward.
The Member has certainly given me an interesting way of approaching business relief. There are a lot of programs that are out right now, perhaps even some that might solve the problems on an individual basis for different businesses. At the moment, Madam Speaker, the best that I can suggest is that the individual businesses, if they are not already contacting ITI to ensure that they are accessing every available source of funding, that they certainly continue to do that through the MLA. She has mentioned several examples. In turn, what I will do is go back and look to see whether or not, relying on due diligence, we can find another opportunity within the SEED policy to ensure that we are doing everything we can to support businesses.
The SEED program also had a micro-business funding stream that is open to and is an exciting opportunity for artisans and crafters. What this program does is it provides people with up to $5,000 in order to go out and purchase supplies that they might need in order to complete some projects. Especially with Christmas coming up, this might be of interest to our local artisans. However, some people do not have the equity available to fulfill the equity requirement of 30 percent that is involved for people within the Yellowknife region, for example. Is ITI willing to set up a payment fund for artisans and crafters who may not be able to float the 30 percent equity required so that they are able to increase their production coming up to Christmastime or afterwards and be able to work together with the GNWT to access that funding?
Again, I am very confident the department is listening carefully to the ideas that are coming through on the floor. However, as far as coming up with new streams of funding, I can also say quite confidently that the Minister of Finance does not want me to make commitments around funding, short of using my due diligence to do that. I will go back. We will put some due diligence to it, see if there are some other options here. There certainly are funding options right now through COVID, and I realize it's not a perfect system. Nothing is. Everyone is doing the best they can with what they have in the context of COVID relief. The business development, the BDIC certainly has changed their loan programs to try to increase access to equity, make it easier to access that equity, which may well be the best and most expeditious way for businesses to access equity.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. It's a very exciting time because, when we are faced with stuff like a pandemic, people start to get very creative out there. While it is nice for us to be the leader of the pack, sometimes we are not, and we get to look to what other provinces and territories are doing in order to respond to the pandemic. Right now, within the Government of Saskatchewan, they have given a million dollars to their Chamber of Commerce to support a "shop local" campaign. Then, if we look all the way over to the Atlantic provinces, PEI has done another "shop local" campaign where they have taken gift cards; they have sold them at $40 to PEI residents, but they are actually worth $50. That effort is supported by the Government of PEI. I am wondering if the Government of the Northwest Territories is looking at doing a similar initiative for a "shop local" campaign. Thank you.
There is actually a Buy North campaign already that the department of ITI has been sponsoring. It's free for all businesses to participate in the program. It's being advertised around the Northwest Territories, though, given the question, it seems that perhaps the knowledge about the program needs to be looked at again. As for what might be done to increase or enhance the participation in the program for businesses and what we can do, I will certainly go and see if there are some best practices from my colleagues in other parts of the country, that we can employ here in advance of the Christmas season. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
