Caitlin Cleveland

Maybe it's a very short question. Has the Minister considered in any of their tourism discussions making Yellowknife an international airport? Thank you.

Given that we just simply don't have time to wait for the review of the Business Incentive Policy before we refocus our procurement on northern benefit, how does the Minister intend to ensure that government contracts will come with a benefit retention to Northerners?

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Many tour operators throughout the Northwest Territories have seasonal income where they may not have had anything for the first part of the year. Really, they were waiting until right about now to open their doors and be able to start bringing in their income for their families for the entire year. Is there any type of program that ITI is thinking of putting together? Since they have put so much money into tourism in the last decade, is there any type of program they are looking at doing to help tourism operators cover their costs if they have no clientele...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If the GNWT is going to move the NWT economy toward recovery, it must commit to a fundamental change in how it relates to and supports northern business. Last August, the 18th Assembly Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment tabled a report identifying what is keeping northern businesses out of government procurement through four themes and two recommendations.

Mr. Speaker, the report first identified a need for consistency, clarity, and transparency in the procurement process. Northern businesses need to understand what the government wants and know...

Thank you very much for that answer. I would like to request potentially being able to sit down with the Minister and discuss this one in greater detail. I have a lit bit of concern about this one and how we are actually ensuring the money stays here and doesn't end up walking away with a southern contractor and also that any monies left over are going to our northern businesses, especially this year. Our northern businesses are suffering right now. They are looking for cash flow to be able to evolve in a new COVID landscape, and it's really important that we can provide that to them.

My next...

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I think I am going to fall in line with my colleague from Yellowknife North a little bit. The southern tour operators who operate in the Northwest Territories, do they pay the exact same tour operating licence as members from the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, I'd just like the opportunity to come back around to the Nominee Program, just to understand it a little bit better. We discussed that we make money by collecting fees. We spend money through staff. The program is currently on pause. Madam Chair, I'm wondering if the Minister could just speak a little to what mechanisms we use to protect the GNWT's investment in the Nominee Program.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I would like to just shift streams a little bit here over to page 202. I think that the Northwest Territories' Nominee Program falls under that. Can you explain how we make money off the nomination program and how we spend money off the nomination program, please?

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. My next question is in regard to the Support for Entrepreneurs and Economic Development, the SEED Program, which we did just discuss a couple of days ago here in the House, so I will make sure that I don't overstep on those questions. This, to me, is one of the most exciting programs that ITI has, especially right now where we have a lot of businesses needing support in the Northwest Territories.

One of the concerns that I have heard from my constituents in regard to the SEED Program is that there isn't a northern, kind of, commitment clause within there...

Thanks very much, Madam Chair. I am with my colleague from Yellowknife North: this is a very exciting page. Your comments about how ITI considers themselves allies to northern entrepreneurs and business community was not lost on me. Without further ado, the Great Northern Arts Festival was unfortunately, like many of our festivals, cancelled this year. I'm wondering, with the line item of $25,000 that was associated with that, what is ITI's plan for that money now? Thank you.