Wally Schumann

The department has a number of mechanisms that we can support business and provide business relief. I would encourage any business that is in this situation being described by the Member to contact our regional office and talk to one of our client personnel. ITI will look at individual applications and present it on a case-by-case basis for assistance under our SEED program.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, ITI has to work within the constraints of the budgetary process and the money that we are allocated. We have had a serious look at the SEED Program. This House knows that. We looked at it last year. We have changed things around to try to make things better for entrepreneurs by changing certain parameters around programs and having regional supports. We will continue to do that within the budget that we have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When ITI is up in Committee of the Whole, and I believe we are probably going to be one of the first ones up, we have a capital budget of a significant investment of, I cannot remember the exact number, but we will be able to deliberate our capital investment around infrastructure and tourism when I get into the Committee of the Whole around all regions of the Northwest Territories.

I think he is asking my opinion, and I am not going to give him the satisfaction of answering a question like that. I have made it quite clear, when we go to the Committee of the Whole, I want this Member to specifically ask me the question about his section of road, and he will be very happy with the answer that he is going to get. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories' Marine Transportation Services delivers essential goods by tug and barge to all marine-accessible communities in the NWT. Residents rely on services to receive such items as fuel, food, and household goods, while commercial customers also require fuel, mobile equipment, and building supplies to support their businesses and provide economic growth for the territory.

Mr. Speaker, Marine Transportation Services launched its second sailing season on June 20th this year from the port of Hay River. For the 2018 sailing season, the delivery of...

To be clear, these caps are addressed in the regulations, and we are dealing with the act. That's what we are dealing with. The Member is talking like we are opening up the NWT to liabilities, and that is not what we are doing. In fact, what we are trying to do is close that loop that exists around suspended wells and clarifying responsibilities that operators in the NWT have. These changes that we are proposing do not change the fact that, in the NWT, when they are at fault, the polluter pays.

I think, instead of beating around the bush, I'm going to go right to the crux of this. The capital estimates have been tabled in the House of the Assembly, and I would be glad for the Member to ask me questions. Deliberation around this section of road is what he is referring to, and I think he will be quite happy to see what information comes out of that.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to try to do the best I can to answer this Member's questions, because this is a very complicated area within the PRA.

One thing we have to make clear on this is we have mirrored the regulations. That was part of devolution and that's what we have right now. That's why it's clearly stated out there as laid out.

We are working on oil, OGOA; I guess we can call it the Oil and Gas Operations Act. That's going forward. We are having a look at it. OROGO is the other side of this issue, which is handled by the Minister of Justice. From my understanding, OROGO is...

BDIC is a valuable contributor to the NWT economy. One of the things that has come up in this Assembly is the BDIC Act. It has a program review written into it every five years, and that's what we're doing right now. We're having a serious look at that. ITI is leading that work along with BDIC and its stakeholders. That work will continue, and I think most Members have a bit of an understanding of it because they have been briefed on it. The terms of reference have been finalized already, and we've shared them with standing committee. It has three main focuses, and they are: they will consider...

As we sit here and deliberate this conversation around the Oil and Gas Act and the regulations, the Member has raised a lot of concerns, and I agree with a number of his concerns. This is not something that we are just going to go out and do at a snap of our fingers. We have a lot of different players in this territory. We have committed to deal with all the Aboriginal and Indigenous governments in this territory, and the public. I am not just going to change the regulation before we change legislation on the Act, and I suspect it will be the way we do our full consultation within the...