Bob Bromley

Thank you, committee. Page 12-27, information item, Industry, Tourism and Investment, tourism and parks, active positions, 12-27.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the NWT’s “let burn” fire management policy the NWT is a world-class source for valuable morel and other exotic mushrooms of the highest quality. Fresh morel mushrooms bought by southern suppliers last year for $40 in the NWT sold for upwards of $120 on international markets. Demand greatly exceeds supply, guaranteeing high price returns for limited investment. Last year aggressive harvesters from the South took up to half a million dollars in mushrooms, while local pickers made only about $15,000.

The GNWT does not yet have jurisdiction over the management of...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don’t really hear anything meaningful here. I guess I would ask the Minister to put some rigour into this process. The sorts of things that the deputy minister mentions are all good and they’re all common sense; they all are responsible things everybody should be doing. It doesn’t move anywhere towards the environmental responsibility we should be taking on these days. Dealing with liabilities sounds great, but what that deals with is when we make mistakes we’re going to try and look after. No, no, we want progressive action here that moves forward in a progressive way...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I want to follow up on some of the energy subjects that are of interest and concern, and I want to preface my remarks by saying I was very impressed with the opening remarks of the Minister and I appreciated many of the things that the department is planning. I think the Minister has been listening to committee.

I want to start with hydro and just ask where are we at with the projects that we have going now, and again I’ll preface that question with a statement that in Lutselk’e we’ve been doing feasibility studies, hundreds of thousands per year since 2001...

Thank you. Welcome. Committee, I believe we’re on page 11-9, Department of Transportation, information item, revenue summary. Questions?

Calling for general comments, hearing none, thank you, committee. We’ll start with detail and we will defer until after consideration of detail the operations expenditure summary on page 12-7 for ITI and turn to page 12-8. Department summary, information item, Industry, Tourism and Investment, infrastructure investment summary. Questions?

Thank you, Minister McLeod. I believe that’s it, Mr. Yakeleya. Thank you, committee. We are on page 12-25, activity summary, Industry, Tourism and Investment, tourism and parks, operations expenditure summary, $11.344 million.

Obviously we can have plans up the gazoo, some strategies and so on, and if there’s no budget to implement them, they’re not even worth the paper they’re written on. In fact, that’s an environmental impact in itself. I’m sure a lot of paper was used up here. I’m wondering when there will be a budget in place for implementing this program. Let me start with that.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the House. Does committee agree?