David Ramsay

I guess whether it’s working really well or not, if less than a third of the overall funding of the SEED program is actually going into businesses, then it’s debatable whether or not that’s actually working. I’d like to ask the Minister -- and I know I was around when BDIC was created and everything -- how it is that we allow the BDIC to have a board in place and do the work on behalf of that corporation when it appears that they’re under direct and immediate control of the Department of ITI?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. It goes back to my Member’s statement where I talked about the future of the delivery and provision of business services here in the Northwest Territories.

Since I became a Member in 2003 this has been an issue. During the business plan review last fall the Department of ITI commented in their business plan that they were interested in a one-window service delivery model, something that’s been talked about for a number of years. I’d like to ask the Minister when exactly the department will have...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to speak today about the services and funding provided to businesses here in the Northwest Territories. During the business plan review of the draft main estimates in the fall, the Department of ITI stated that they were working toward a one-window system being in place for business-related services in every region.

Mr. Speaker, this is a very interesting statement for the department to make, considering the fact that the last government and this one to date have done nothing to move toward a one-window delivery model that numerous studies and reports have...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is an excuse, I guess, but we could use it as an excuse or we could use it as an opportunity. We have opportunities, Mr. Speaker, especially in the value-added side of things. I would like to ask the Minister again where is the department and the government when it comes to an industrial strategy so we can attract value-added opportunities here in the Northwest Territories to diversify our economy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Minister talks about the departmental contributions. Like I said in my statement earlier today, just last year 15 of these clients received more than $100,000 in contribution financing. That’s two-thirds of the entire value of ITI’s contributions and not one of them, zero, was a private business. I would like to ask the Minister how do we get more funding in the hands of private business so we can create jobs and diversify our economy here in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we have to make sure the money is getting into real businesses and diversifying our economy. Again, I think if only one-third of that funding is actually going to businesses, that is debatable.

The Minister talked about political interference and I know the BDIC was before standing committee late last year. The presentation they gave committee that day was quite vague and void of any real numbers. I’m just wondering, was that presentation vetted through the Department of ITI before it was given to standing committee?

For obvious reasons that I cited in my Member’s statement -- the lack of business start-ups, creation, the lack of any real economic diversification in our economy -- I think that time is of the essence that the department and the government move on this. I’d like to ask the Minister what the future is of the Business Development Investment Corporation in the rollout of this new plan.

I recently read a quote from an American legislator, Jim Collin, that I would like to leave you with: The signature of mediocrity is not an unwillingness to change. The signature of mediocrity is chronic inconsistency. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have some more questions today for the Minister of Transportation. It gets back to the subject of the Deh Cho Bridge Project. Yesterday I had mentioned the fact that the project was sold to Members of the last government on the basis of a fixed-price contract. It was also sold to Members of the last government on the basis that benefits on the return on investment to the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation would accrue to the community of Fort Providence. At the 11th hour the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation didn’t have the $5 million in equity when the concession agreement was...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to start off by thanking Premier Roland and Minister Bob McLeod in particular for all their work on Canada’s Northern House and the work that they have put into that. I had an opportunity to attend the grand opening of Canada’s Northern House on Thursday, January 14th. I would like to advise my colleagues here in the House how impressed I was with this effort. It certainly goes to show how working with our neighbours in the Yukon and Nunavut can lead to many great things. Certainly if medals were handed out for entertainment that day, our own Ms. Leela Gilday...