Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know with the overhaul of the hull, the engines, all the work that has been done to the engines, I believe it's up for replacement myself; it has over 25,000 hours as I've been told. That's almost $2 million there that could have been put towards a new vessel.

We have to start planning out how our spending or maintaining our equipment rather than replacing. I know a lot of that work has been done to a lot of our buildings, but, you know, we have to start planning properly here. Will the Minister ensure that a planning study has been taken on the Louis...

WHEREAS Section 23(1) of the Human Rights Act provides that the Commissioner, on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly, shall appoint a director of Human Rights to carry out the responsibilities set out in the act;

AND WHEREAS the Board of Management is tasked with recommending an individual to the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Assembly is prepared to make the recommendation to the Commissioner;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that the Legislative Assembly recommends the appointment of Ms. Deborah McLeod of Yellowknife as...

Mr. Speaker, I know over the last year here, the department has been working to find another possible gravel source to crush for this project here. I'd just like to ask the Minister have they found adequate resources to fulfill the rest of the remaining work?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, during this summer in the Delta region we had a lot of rain, similar to the last number of years. It was looking like the widening on the Dempster would not be completed, but, Mr. Speaker, luckily in September we had about three weeks of great weather and the majority of the work was completed.

Mr. Speaker, I'd also like to take this time to thank the Department of Transportation for resurfacing the road between Tsiigehtchic and Wrangling River. Mr. Speaker, this has made the highway much safer. Mr. Speaker, there is a lot more work to be done on this...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just a few comments here. You know, I have noticed spending in my riding has gone down a little compared to last year. No Member likes to see things like this, but you know we are happy that we are getting a couple new units in Fort McPherson because I've always said, you know, the housing does do a good job replacing units, but you know we have to start planning ahead for adding to our stock. It's always a challenge. There's a huge waiting list in both Fort McPherson and Aklavik. As we move forward, I hope we could achieve that through this Assembly.

Also, I'm very...

Mr. Speaker, I know over the summer I received a number of concerns for possibly going on Gwich'in land. So once a source has been identified, will the Minister ensure that the department has a community meeting in Fort McPherson just to give an update to the residents?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a follow-up to my Member's statement; I have a couple of questions for the Minister of Transportation. As I mentioned in my statement, most of the work was completed on the widening of the Dempster, so I'd like to ask the Minister: what is the work planned for next season on the Dempster as the widening from the border to the Peel is near completion? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. After each general comment, I'll allow time for the Minister to respond, and we'll proceed that way for the general comments. Once we get into the document more, we can have more of a back-and-forth discussion. Minister McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, I realize this is a federal funding for the program, but would the Minister have any idea why the three workers that are in Fort McPherson, for example, have a three-month contract for Head Start? Is that just some of the guidelines that they follow? If the Minister could answer that, I'd appreciate it.

Thank you, Ms. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Fort McPherson was buzzing with excitement on September 25th as the Gwich'in Tribal Council's Department of Cultural Heritage hosted the first screening of the film, "The Sun at Midnight". This 90-minute film was shot entirely in the Northwest Territories, in and around Fort McPherson, the Dempster Highway, the Richardson Mountains, Yellowknife, and Behchoko. This film is about a young girl raised in the south who, following the death of her mother, went north to stay with family. The story goes on that the young girl tries to escape and ends up at the...