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Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre
Mr. Speaker, I would like to see if the Minister would expand as to what marketing program he has. Does he have a financial program that can help these tourism companies switch their types of products? Typically a hunting lodge, as an example…. They weren't necessarily in the eco business, and this is a big shift on how they market their lodge and market their products and timing. What is available, exactly, to these groups?
Bob McLeod Yellowknife South
The Tourism Product Diversification and Marketing Program was introduced last year. In total, $687,000 was approved for ten businesses and organizations this past year. We have regular banking days, and the total program over the three year period is about $2.5 million.
Some of the problems I have heard is potential cash flow to make sure they can keep their business afloat during these rocky times. Does the department consider any type of option like this?
Through the BDIC board we do work with different companies and through the business programs of this government. We make every effort to work with them to get them through this difficult period.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not trying in any way to catch the Minister off guard, but is he is aware of any type of financial dollars that will be lost if some of these loans in respect to the BDIC.... He knows the companies I'm referring to. Does he have any idea or is his department doing any reconciliation about the type of loan dollars that would be lost when these companies go out of business officially?
I don't have a specific number, but I do know that we've been working with some of the operators to continue operations for several years. I expect some of the individual operators would have some significant loans, but I don't have that information right now.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Norman Yakeleya Sahtu
Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement I talked about the elders in a parliamentary system that would require further discussions on a constitutional level. I want to talk with the Minister of Education and Culture about education and culture and do it one step at a time. Can the Minister look into a PTR system with our education schools in the Sahtu region in terms of how we involve elders in a system to help youth? Especially, can the Minister consider that as an option to get elders into our education system?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Time for question period has expired; however, I will allow this line of questioning. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Jackson Lafferty Monfwi
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. With the Department of Education, Culture and Employment there have been some concerns in areas of delivery for funding allocation to enhance or promote aboriginal language and cultural areas — the programming. We did issue a Ministerial directive in 2004 to deal specifically with the delivery of these courses where the elders also could be hired in this area. It does highlight specific areas of aboriginal language and instruction programs and also involves our community resource people. Those are the areas we're focusing on right now.
With respect to the PTR the Member is alluding to, it's an area we could possibly look at as a long term plan. We need to consult with the communities, as well, on how we could effectively deliver these programs. I think we're doing that in the communities with the Ministerial directives at the present time, but certainly the PTR issue could be a discussion at a later time as well. We certainly deliver all these programs to the schools.
Mr. Speaker, I would ask the Minister to reconsider and put this as a priority with the PTR for elders and the residents in our schools. As I said earlier, we are losing the elders fast in our regions, in our communities. With them we lose the knowledge and values of our people. I would ask the Minister if he would strongly consider pushing for an initiative on the PTR to be discussed at this Assembly so we could talk about it seriously in the House.
I do appreciate the Minister's directive in terms of language and culture in our schools, but we need something more permanent to include elders in our education system as teachers and professors to help our education, both academic and cultural.
Mr. Speaker, certainly the elders are important to the educational system,
especially in the schools and also at the community level. We will continue to strive toward enhancing and also promoting more of the cultural based programs, enhancing our language at the school level and part of the curriculum development as well.
With respect to the course delivery — the program delivery at the community level — it does highlight the importance of involving the community members, the community elders. We understand that there are quite a number of years of experience and knowledge, and also their language, that could be delivered in the schools.
We will continue to work with what we have right now. We need to improve in that area. We need to hear back from the communities, because we work closely with the local school boards, the regional school boards, the councils. We will continue to do that and also work with the Members. The PTR issue is certainly an item of discussion to be taking place as well, but we need more discussion or consultation on the PTR if that's the case.
Mr. Speaker, would the Minister commit that PTR discussions could possibly be brought up in the preliminary discussions and business plans for the upcoming years? I know it's a lot of work. I would ask the Minister if we could possibly bring some discussion to the business plans — have a PTR for elders that would be included in further discussions, that would identify funds to have elders brought into our schools.
Mr. Speaker, currently the business plans are in process right now, and with the PTR this is all preliminary. We need to do more groundwork in this area, because we do have PTRs in different areas as well. As I indicated earlier, we need to work with the community educators, the school boards, the councils at the community level and our government department to move forward on that matter. We need more time to deal with the PTR issues. But, certainly, we do provide program delivery in the community at the current time, and I think it has been successful. We'll continue to deliver that program