Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker earlier today I spoke about the Premier's commitments to settling land claims by the end of this Assembly. The direct quote is, "Let's get these land claims completed, all of them, in the life of the 18th Assembly." I would like to ask the Premier today if we are on track to do that and if these claims will be settled by the end of the 18th Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and thank you to the Minister for that. However, I am a bit disappointed that that is the only concrete thing we can look at. Surely, there must be more. I am a bit beside myself that we are doing nothing new in what we are offering to develop this industry. Does the Minister agree with that assessment of this status quo as terms of support to the industry? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think one of the most important things that we can do for future generations is invest in the foundations of a strong and stable economy that can withstand the often tumultuous boom-and-bust cycle that our resource-driven industries so often leave us in. We want to diversify our economy. We want to reinvest in mining so we can use the benefits of that to fuel that diversification, to build a knowledge economy, to fund critical infrastructure. The one thing holding all of these objectives back, Mr. Speaker, are land claims or, as they should be known, land...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I look forward to the detailed information on that tourism destination marketing spending. With that, I will conclude my questions. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That decrease was from last year to this year. However, in the 2015-16 actuals, also listed on page 206, we see almost a million-dollar decrease to the NTGS. What explains that sharp loss in available funding? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the Minister for that clarification. How much contribution funding do we provide specifically for the purpose of destination marketing to NWT tourism and through other sources as well? How much are we spending on destination marketing? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I also note that, on page 206, the NWT geological survey, which does very important work providing exploration data to mining companies and prospectors, the budget is down from last year. I am wondering if the Minister can speak to the reasons for that decline. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can the Minister provide details of any other territorial parks that are in development? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am disappointed to hear that once again we are unable to look at investing in this subsidy, important subsidy for our economy. Last business plan, I asked the same questions and was told that this year may be different. What are the expectations that we will see this increase in this fund by next business plan? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. When does the Minister expect to be in a position to release the details of this working group plan? Thank you.