David Ramsay

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...

I’ve discussed this issue with both of my deputy ministers at ITI and at Transportation, and at the earliest opportunity I would like a chance to sit down with the Sahtu Explorers Group – that’s the group of companies that are doing work in the Sahtu – to explore opportunities to work together to advance transportation infrastructure, both winter road access and perhaps even all-season access into the Sahtu from Wrigley. Those discussions I look forward to having with the Sahtu Explorers Group as we move forward. Thank you.

We will get to the detail that the Member is talking about, but certainly the message from this government is that we support tourism. Again, it’s $10.4 million, and as we go forward I think it’s very important that we find more money to go into marketing initiatives.

We’ve had a great deal of success working with our neighbours, Nunavut and the Yukon, on a pan-territorial approach. I see that continuing as we go forward. We need to find other ways to market the Northwest Territories. I believe as revenues increase and opportunities present themselves, we should take advantage of those...

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...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I agree with you on the respectful dialogue that has to happen in this House, but if the Member is in one statement he uses terms like “sleight of hand, little respect for taxpayers, embarrassment, insult, shameful, back door, dismal and cannibal,” that makes it very difficult to have a respectful dialogue with a Member that is conducting himself like that.

Let’s just stick to the issue. The issue is we are negotiating a contract with Det’on Cho Corporation, the business arm of the Yellowknives Dene and Chief Drygeese territory.

Mr. Speaker, I take very seriously the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In answering the Member’s question, I think the Northwest Territories has come a long way when it comes to developing mines in our territory. We have resources like the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, and certainly back in the 1930s, a property like Giant, the Aboriginal community at the time wouldn’t have access to impact benefit agreements. There was no such thing as a socio-economic agreement with the government of the day.

Nowadays, when we develop new mines in this territory, there are such items like IBAs and socio-economic agreements where Aboriginal...

My Cabinet colleagues are well aware of Highway No. 7. It’s a discussion that comes up time and time again. I have committed to the Member some time during this session that the Member and I will drive Highway No. 7. I want to get a look at it firsthand. I know it’s experienced a great deal of precipitation in the past week and I look forward to going with the Member to take a look at the highway. Certainly it will be a priority as we go forward.

Without the capital dollars to attach to it today, it’s hard for us to put it in a speech like we heard earlier today. Going forward, this government is going to try to identify capital dollars for Highway No. 7 and we can look forward to getting there through the business planning process that will take place later this coming year.