Finance committee  That would be an absolutely phenomenal initiative, if the federal government would take something like that on, especially if we were open to Canadian travel before international travel. We could start getting some Canadians moving around our country while we're waiting for international travel to come back to Canada again.

Finance committee  I have heard some anecdotal cases about incidents where errors have been made. It's very difficult to rectify those problems. Again, the certainty of knowing whether or not we have the programs available ahead of time is critical and so important for the industry.

Finance committee  Our border is closed, and we're looking at the border not even being open until potentially the fall, if then. Without the supports, our businesses will not remain. Literally, without the supports, we won't have the businesses around once the travel comes back around. Regardless of what's going on in the rest of the country, we know for sure we're not going to be having visitors here till at least the fall time, so we have another season....

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Johns, for bringing up ITAC. I was kicking myself for not mentioning them earlier. They're vital to our industry. Again, they're in the same situation. Without having the certainty of knowing what's going on, people are looking elsewhere. Employees are leaving. The whole structure of the organization crumbles without knowing what the certainty is.

Finance committee  Thank you.

Finance committee  Yes. Really, it's the same answer as for the first question. If we could find some meaningful work and if we could help set some guidelines as to what the goalposts are going forward and continue the funding that's in place.... If there could be some other programs, other things that we could put our operators to work at, I know they would all be on board for that.

Finance committee  You can continue funding for Destination Canada so that they can help us stay in market. Once the pandemic subsides and people start travelling, they will have choices all over the world. We need to make sure Canada and the Northwest Territories are top of mind for travellers. Funding Destination Canada and organizations like NWT Tourism and other destination-marketing organizations across the country is critical and important.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. McLeod. In my short three months with NWT Tourism, I've had an opportunity to speak with many of our members, from our largest operator here in Yellowknife to several of the medium and small operators. Most of them have very similar things to say about the programs they have been able to access over the last year.

Finance committee  Thank you. I'd like to thank you for inviting Northwest Territories Tourism to be part of this important conversation. I also want to express our gratitude for the critical support given by the federal government to help the tourism industry in the Northwest Territories survive what is an unprecedented health and economic storm.