Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I asked the Minister of Finance and the Minister of ECC to come into this House today and bring with them their compassion, empathy, and a commitment for financial support for businesses and individuals impacted by the wildfire. I guess the answers to my questions, which will be asked, will determine if they did.
So, Mr. Speaker, has the Minister of Finance given any consideration for additional financial support for those that fled the fires and received no financial support for rooms and meals? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Members on this side, including myself, have received no shortage of information, contacts, and stories of folks who have gone through all sorts and manner of difficult times in the last while, and not for any lack of compassion or empathy that the circumstances and the supports that we have in place are what they are. There were supports put in place for rooms and for meals. I realize some people may have not been able to access them immediately or may have chosen not to for a variety of reasons. But, again, certainly it's not for lack of there being unavailability. It's recognizing, however, that, of course, as we've done throughout all of the emergencies we've had through this Assembly, that we can try to find ways to better serve residents and to better address the needs as we understand them and as they might evolve. But we certainly are turning our minds to that and continue to turn our minds to that. I'm not going to be announcing a new program here on the floor of the House, Mr. Speaker. But trying, certainly, to look at what collective of people were not or may not be able to access the supports that have been in place. That certainly is an ongoing consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister confirm if there has been any consideration for increased business financial support for the communities of Hay River, K'atlodeeche, and Enterprise based on the devastation over the past 16 months on those communities? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, although the immediate SEED directive around wildfires was created or established still in the midst of the emergency, and in the midst of the evacuation, we did quite quickly start to look at what other options there would be available. And I can say that I do expect, in the coming really short days, that we'll be able to singling some enhancements and increases to the existing programs and that that would, indeed, take into a consideration all of the affected communities but, in particular, looking at those that were affected by the most lengthy periods of evacuation over the summer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'm pleased to hear that, and I think the residents and businesses of Hay River will be as well.
Mr. Speaker, will the Minister tell me if the criteria for financial business support will be flexible? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when we establish programs or modify programs with speed, it is most easy to do that within the context of programs we have, which is why we've done the wildfire within the existing SEED policy, which does have some parameters to it. That said, as well as looking at increases and modifications based on the impacts to different communities I would say that, yes, we are also looking at whether there's some additional flexibility that we could have in terms of what is covered as well as some additional flexibility in terms of the periods to be covered again taking into consideration the uniqueness of this last summer and its impacts on businesses across the territory. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, you know, I'm glad with those answers and I think the Minister, you know, heard the pleas, I guess, from, you know, people in the South Slave that have been really devastated over the last while.
So, Mr. Speaker, will the Minister confirm if she and her department continue to pursue additional financial support from the federal government for businesses and individuals impacted by disasters in the South Slave because we need their support as well; we can't do it on our own. Thank you.
The short answer is yes, Mr. Speaker. I certainly am; I'm certainly not alone in that. I know my colleagues, certainly led in the Premier's office to highest levels of the federal government, are actively putting forward the circumstances that we face here in the Northwest Territories not only for the costs to government but then to the costs to residents and obviously providing us that flexibility to respond. But also, yes, ITI is also directly reaching out to our counterparts. And, Mr. Speaker, knowing that the tourism sector as well is one that has been particularly impacted, I'd note some of the examples given earlier during the Member's statement highlighted areas that were, in fact, tourism businesses. This is a sector that's been particularly affected over the last few years, and I will be attending one last Ministers' meeting with the hope that we can bring some attention to this area that has been affected so much by the wildfires. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
