Bob McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member for Nunakput raises a very good point. I know that I had the opportunity to meet with Senator Eggleton. We talked about how to deal with adding poverty and he had three recommendations. He said to deal with it, you had to have an anti-poverty strategy. You had to create jobs. For people that are disabled, he would have some sort of guaranteed income.

In my view, the best way to deal with anti-poverty is to create jobs. I think that, as a government, we are well on our way to creating jobs. We have to work in partnership with industry and also other levels of...

I guess it would depend on whether we’re talking for all the parks in the Northwest Territories or are we just talking about the three that are between Enterprise and the border. If we are talking about the three, then it would be a matter of paying the wages of probably about three or four people and also some contractors. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our tourism facilities and our parks are wonderful assets of this government and it’s usually some of the first impressions that visitors to the Northwest Territories see. Unfortunately, two years ago the tourism budget was cut and so the improvements that we were going to do to our facilities had to be rescheduled and we had to make do with the limited budgets that we had. The budget that was cut was never replenished, so we have to operate within a limited amount of resources. For our tourism season, we operate within the limited resources that we have to operate...

Mr. Speaker, as a major participant in the Northwest Territories economy, the Government of the Northwest Territories has had a longstanding policy commitment to encourage and support the development of a healthy private sector. That commitment is reflected in the Business Incentive Policy, which is the Government of the Northwest Territories preferential procurement policy.

I am pleased to report that the Government of the Northwest Territories has revised the Business Incentive Policy after two years of consultations with Members of the Legislative Assembly, the Northwest Territories business...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is Small Business Week, an opportunity to recognize and celebrate entrepreneurs and their businesses across the Northwest Territories. I would also like to recognize Co-op Week and the 16 cooperatives that serve residents in the Northwest Territories.

Small businesses play a vital role in the economy of our communities and our Territory. They provide products, services, knowledge and skills that are the foundation of sustainable local economies and enhance our quality of life. Mr. Speaker, spend some time in any of our communities and you will find the heart of...

Thank you. We do have the opportunity, as well, to look at the thermal rates, whether Norman Wells could be included as part of the thermal rate communities, that’s another option. But as far as the federal government and their one-third ownership of the Norman Wells production, that’s something that we’ll take under advisement. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the agreements that are in place require us to monitor it. It is tied to the price of heating oil. We monitor it on that basis. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize Mr. Chris Hunt, entrepreneur around town. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that Bill 9, An Act to Amend the Tourism Act, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill amends the Tourism Act by repealing the provisions regarding the Tourist Deposit Assurance Program. A transitional provision allows the Minister to review those applications for reimbursement of a deposit made in respect of a tourism activity before November 15, 2010, and render a decision on those claims. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. I think that would be an ideal time, now that we’ve committed to having committees meet in June. I think that would be an ideal objective for us to work towards and I’ll certainly commit to the Member that we will finalize or have in place our draft policy in final form to be reviewed by committee in June. Thank you.