Caroline Wawzonek

One of the things that COVID did not change is the weather, and as such, we are still sticking with the usual dates for opening. This accommodates the fact that those who have the contracts to do the campgrounds and to operate the parks need some time, once they are able to get in there, once the thaw has begun, to actually get in there and make facilities functional and usable. We are right now anticipating the same usual opening date, which would be May 15th for most parks and/or the May 24th long weekend for the other parks.

Again, Mr. Speaker, the policy right now allows individuals who have gone through the procurement process or who have considered applying on a procurement process to look there and to see whether they would be eligible to make their complaint. It would go through the client department that they are working with and then involve Procurement Shared Services and, if necessary, yes, of course, to the Comptroller General's Office. It's not a formal report per se that gets completed. At this point, in fact, my understanding is that the three that were dealt with were dealt with in a manner that did...

I can say that, over the course of approximately six years, there were only 19 complaints, and in fact, this fiscal year thus far, there has only been one. I certainly will look to compile that information and provide it for the use and review of the panel. As for what they may do with it, obviously, that is certainly up to them. Again, we'll see where it goes, but certainly, we can compile that and provide it for their use.

Those two departments, while under one Minister, have different areas, and they may not necessarily flow into the agriculture-commercial sector, for which ITI is responsible. Notwithstanding, Mr. Speaker, I was happy to discover very recently through my colleague that take a kid gardening is, in fact, a program that exists in schools across the Northwest Territories. Absolutely, I will commit to speaking to the Minister of ECE and the Minister of Justice to see what we can do to bring some synergy to this area and to agriculture more broadly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

With respect to meat regulations, that work is right now actively taking place in my colleague's department, Health and Social Services, and that indeed is part of the mandate and, as such, is moving along and will be reported on in that regard. Beyond that, Mr. Speaker, there is also now, newly formed, the territorial agriculture agri-food association. That is an entity that is very active in this space and one that I would certainly commend producers to be involved with as an advocacy group to identify any other barriers that may exist. Last, Mr. Speaker, there is recently rolled out the red...

That, right now, is not in the plan. I, as much as anyone else who has not travelled anywhere, would like to be outside. There is nothing much that I can do, though, and I can't speak to what the situation in the Yukon may be or what their circumstances or facilities may be. For us and for the facilities that we have, for the contractors that we have, they are going to need time, once it thaws enough, to go in there. Mr. Speaker, I suspect it comes back down to outhouses, oddly enough, twice in one day. Not to minimize the other work that needs to get done, but right now, that is the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am also excited for the summer coming back. Right now, the planned reservation time for parks will be a staged opening between May 4th and May 7th. Thank you.

First of all, I had April 1st as the fiscal year in my head and said one complaint. It's three, not one; my apologies. Nonetheless, fortunately, not a significantly large increase. At present, there is not a report per se. Again, not having a very large number of complaints, I don't know that a report has been necessary to date. That said, they certainly do gather up all of the complaints. Procurement Shared Services does process those complaints. The Comptroller General does receive notice of the finalized complaints. They certainly are reviewed throughout the government, and the purpose of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have been trying to be quite clear, both with the panel and publicly, that I think it's important that the panel have the opportunity and ability to do their work independently from my office, from government, and remain objective and remain creative and do what they need to do. I have not directed them to do that, and I have not heard back from them at present on whether they intend to do that. I'm sure, if the message doesn't get back to them through the course of this forum, then I can certainly make the inquiry on behalf of the MLA. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I certainly am keen to see what can be done with respect to ensuring that we continue to grow this industry, not only in terms of its commercial value but also as far as it may impact on food security more generally. For now, Mr. Speaker, what I can say: if there is a community that is looking to have a greenhouse, looking to have access to some agricultural opportunities, I would urge them to speak to their local economic development officer or other ITI officer. There are programs and projects that can help support them, whether in terms of the training that may be needed or in terms of...