Bob McLeod

I am told that we are starting a process that will provide for the naming of the NGB building, and I think that will be out shortly. As I said, the authority to set up the process and approve the name of a new building lies with Cabinet, and I think we would want to make sure that the names that are submitted are respectful. I think in England, where they had a naming contest for a new boat, they came up with "Boaty McBoatface" or something like that, so we would want to try to come up with a fair process that comes up with a respectful name.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to recognize a Page from Yellowknife South, Rivka Peters, and also all the Pages who have been here for the past four weeks. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We will circulate the policy for naming of buildings. I know there are NGB buildings in other communities, as well, so we will make sure that information is available. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, our guiding principles for consensus government recognizes that a healthy tension between Cabinet and Regular Members is normal, Mr. Speaker. That is evident today. Our debates have not been without their disagreements.

As leaders, we will often be called upon to make difficult decisions; decisions where the path forward is not always clear. There are many priorities and many demands, many things that we want to do for our people. Managing the complex challenges and demands our government faces is a key part of every Minister's job, and there is not always going to be agreement...

I have been involved with the Department of ITI. In fact, I was the Minister, I think, for the first year of this government. We do not see this as a systemic problem, and I am not convinced that it is today. We are more interested in growing our industry and its capacity than we are in pursuing discipline, especially if there is apparently opportunity to turn it into growth. If we want to change this approach, it would require changes to the Tourism Act, and I would expect that it would have to be done in the next Assembly.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You cannot manage what you cannot count. Our licensing system allows us to know how many people are delivering tourism services, what they are, and what time of year their products are being delivered. It can help us measure growth, identify gaps, and guide our planning and investment. We also have legislation that determines which areas of tourism require licences.

As the Member knows, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs deals with consumer protection, so we work closely with MACA but primarily in areas of licensing accommodations in communities. In the area of enforcement, we work much more closely with the Department of Infrastructure and the City of Yellowknife and even the RCMP. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This year, we have 151 tourism licence holders in the Northwest Territories. Last year, we had 147 tourism licence holders. Five years ago, we had 109 tourism licence holders.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize a constituent of Yellowknife South, Gayla Thunstrom.

I would be pleased to provide the Member with a written briefing on the implementation of both the Gwich'in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement and the Inuvialuit Final Agreement.