Cabinet members – with the exception of one minister – and a contingent of GNWT staff, MLAs and Indigenous representatives are again heading to a Vancouver mining conference that last year drew the ire of regular MLAs for its hefty price tag.
At least 44 people are expected to attend AME Roundup 2018, with preliminary estimated costs provided by GNWT departments totaling around $235,700 so far.
In 2017, the GNWT spent close to $200,000 to send all seven cabinet ministers, 24 staff, 14 Indigenous government representatives and the NWT Chamber of Mines to the four-day event.
While a few MLAs warned the trip wasn’t the best use of government money, the GNWT maintains sending cabinet and its staff is necessary.
“Just because a couple members think it’s a bad idea doesn’t mean cabinet’s going to back off taking the whole crew down there,” said Wally Schumann, Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. “We need to have everybody there.”
Schumann said he’s “booked solid” meeting investors and the like at this year’s conference, which runs from Jan. 22 to 25.
Having the rest of cabinet there means ministers can directly answer questions related to things like power, lands, skills and trade development, he said.
It’s also an important opportunity for the GNWT to explain changes under the territory’s new Mineral Resources Act, said Schumann, adding the legislation is intended to attract new mining investment.
“The federal legislation that we mirrored, that was a very old piece of legislation,” said Schumann. “We’ve got to have something that’s attractive to people all over the globe.”
Although not the only mining event the GNWT attends, AME Roundup is one of the largest in Canada, with around 6,000 participants from 40 countries.
This year, the GNWT is sending all ministers except for Glen Abernethy, who has prior commitments, according to Charlotte Digness, media and communications coordinator for cabinet.
The estimated cost of flights, accommodations and per diems for the six cabinet ministers is $16,600, said Digness, although the numbers won’t be finalized until after the trip.
Four staff from the Department of Lands, including the assistant deputy minister, are scheduled to attend the conference at an estimated cost of $12,000, plus an estimated cost of $3,500 for the trade show, stated department spokesperson Toni Riley via email.
“This conference provides an opportunity for the Department of Lands to discuss in more detail with our clients, and potential clients, our role in managing and administering public land in the NWT,” said Riley. “We will also update industry on changes to land legislation in the review of our two lands acts.”
The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI) is spending an estimated $96,000 altogether to send 16 staff members to the conference and to pay for costs such as room rentals, trade show booths and catering, according to Drew Williams, a spokesperson with ITI. Of that, $44,000 is for travel expenses.
Another $63,000 from the department is going towards travel expenses for 14 Indigenous representatives who will attend the conference, plus $29,000 for items such as their conference fees, booths and meeting rooms, he added.
The Department of Infrastructure did not have estimates at press time.
Unlike last year, four MLAs from the Standing Committee on Economic Development are expected to attend this year’s event at an estimated $15,600, according to Danielle Mager, manager of public affairs at the legislative assembly.
Sahtu MLA Daniel McNeely, Kam Lake MLA Kieron Testart, Nunakput MLA Herb Nakimayak and Hay River North MLA R.J. Simpson are scheduled to attend, she said.
“It certainly fits within our mandate as a standing committee,” said Yellowknife North MLA Cory Vanthuyne, who chairs the committee. “I think that it’s a great way for committee to stay abreast of current practices and liaise with numerous colleagues.”
Vanthuyne is unable to attend the event this January, although he did so last year.
Frame Lake MLA Kevin O’Reilly, who spoke out against the government’s spending on AME Roundup 2017, has chosen not to attend.
He’s not the only one with concerns.
“I’m really kind of floored,” said Jack Bourassa, regional executive vice-president for Public Service Alliance Canada North, of the decision to send the majority of cabinet to the event this year. “To me it’s just something that shows the narrow-mindedness of this government in that they’re going to take the NWT down a road where all our eggs are going to be put in one basket. It doesn’t show a lot of diversification of government thinking.”
While mineral exploration is important, Union of Northern Workers president Todd Parsons questioned the necessity of sending “a contingent as large as it is” and “spending hundreds of thousands of dollars needlessly.”
He expressed dismay about the conference while collective bargaining continues.
“The government has continued throughout collective bargaining to cry that they’re poor and that they can’t afford to give modest cost-of-living increases to the public service,” said Parsons. “But yet there appears to be lots of money for the legislative travel club.”