David Ramsay

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for the question. Certainly we heard the Finance Minister with his budget address earlier today, we’re trying to maintain what we have as a government. We’re spending $10.4 million on tourism and we do have the Tourism 2015 plan where we’ve got $1 million earmarked annually specific to some marketing initiatives and also Aboriginal tourism initiatives across the territory. We do need to look for ways as we go forward and our revenues do grow, look for opportunities to get some more money into marketing and product development here in the...

We’re still in the early days. There was a great deal of activity there last winter. There’s some activity there this summer and for the foreseeable future there will be a great deal of activity taking place in the Sahtu. There were two wells drilled there last year and there will be a number more proposed to be drilled this coming winter.

As the resource is better known and we get a better indication from industry and the residents in the Sahtu on what is there, I think then we really need to take stock of programs and services that we have on the ground in the Sahtu, and if there’s a need to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The government is still very optimistic that the Mackenzie Gas Project will be constructed at some point in time. I have recently met with proponents of the gas project who share that optimism. At some point in time that gas project will see the light of day.

We continue to be optimistic that that will happen, but we also have to be cognizant of other opportunities that are presenting themselves in the territory. Of course, the resource play that is currently underway in the Sahtu is very important and very exciting and has the potential to turn the central Mackenzie...

I wasn’t aware that we were reducing the budgets in tourism. Over the past five years we’ve also come up with $5.6 million in the Tourism Product Diversification funding. Again, this year, in this budget there is $10.4 million earmarked for tourism.

Again, maybe the Member could just clarify where he believes the reductions are coming, because I haven’t seen any reductions and I don’t believe we’re reducing in any area in regard to tourism. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a great pleasure I get to welcome to the Assembly here today Mr. Brian Desjardins, the executive director of NWT Tourism. Also, Ms. Jenni Bruce, the chair, and also with them is Mr. Ron Ostrom and Carlos Gonzalez. Welcome. As well, I’d like to welcome Mr. Tony Whitford, no stranger to this House and the former Member for Kam Lake. Welcome, Tony. And Ms. Lydia Bardak, city councillor. Thank you.

As we move toward all the activity that will take place in the Sahtu next winter, we will be working toward the business planning process this fall and certainly not just the two departments that I’m responsible for, but other departments. As things progress there and there is a need for more resources in programming or services or personnel, those are discussions that are going to need to take place and those will come through the business planning process in discussion with the Sahtu Secretariat and folks that are in the Sahtu. Those discussions will certainly play themselves out over the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There were two other companies that had expressed interest and the Department of Transportation had written to both of those companies. I believe the Member was copied on both of those letters.

Yes, and I think again as things progress in the Sahtu, government has to realize that we’re going to have to look at capacity there. Not just in transportation but in business development and tourism and other things that are just going to be natural for us to be looking at should the population expand there, should the infrastructure expand there, and opportunities are there. We will have to certainly pay attention to that, and again, on the transportation and having an office in the Sahtu, that is something that we will consider.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As things progress in the Sahtu – and we’re very excited about the prospects that are there – it certainly is something I think that would be in the mix as we look at the opportunities that are there. It’s something that the government certainly should take into consideration and we will do just that.

Mr. Speaker, much like the Member’s press release, I don’t really understand the Member’s question. Thank you.