Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow-up to my Member’s statement, I have two questions for the Minister of Housing. As the Minister recalls from his visits to the community of Aklavik, when we had the old Joe Greenland Centre we’d have a place set out in front, a small deck where elders usually sat, whether it was during the spring, summer, fall. With this new facility, a great facility, as I mentioned, but one thing, I’m not sure if it was due to our budget, but they didn’t build much of a deck on each side of the Joe Greenland Centre.

I’d like to ask the Minister, will the department build a...

It sounds like we have a possible supplementary coming about here with the Willow River Bridge. I’m just kidding.

The only other comment I wanted to make was I’m really happy to see we’re starting to do some brushing along the highway that’s with the Building Canada Plan funding, I believe. Some has been done just as you leave Inuvik to the airport, roughly 20 kilometres underway at the moment from Tsiigehtchic, 20 miles north towards Inuvik. This brushing is beginning here, which is great. Anywhere else you travel in the country, whether it’s leaving here from Yellowknife, you have almost...

Just something else, there are possible plans to continue this to the Yukon. I suggest the next time that we do this sort of infrastructure that we insulate where the cable is going to go so that, whether it is woodchips or something along those lines, it will keep the ground from thawing any further. I am sure that is what the cause of this was, plus with all the rain that we have had in our region this summer it created a lot of landslides and it has really increased in my riding. As I have travelled around, I have noticed this. It’s just something the department can look into for future use...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have two questions and comments. I’m very happy to see we have some units coming into the Mackenzie Delta, also the replacement of four units in Fort McPherson. As I’ve said many times, with waiting lists of up to three to four years, we have some young families that are expecting children, expecting newborns, ready to start a family but yet they’re on the waiting list. You know, they have been for anywhere up to a year, some for three years and there’s a real need for additions to our present stock. I can’t stress that enough. We have to start planning here...

The other thing, as I mentioned earlier, with the assistance that MACA provides to the communities. I’d like to ask the Minister, as we move forward, you know, a lot of planning needs to go in place and architects. Does the department provide that assistance or does the community have to go out and spend some of this money for architecture work and design or is it just design build? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I drove by the location, I noticed there hasn’t really been very much work done there. There are no supplies on the site that are ready to start building.

I’d like to ask the Minister, will the Minister direct his department to work with the elders in the community to select a location for the new elders facility? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Minister. My next questions are on the new facility in Fort McPherson. I’d like to ask the Minister, how was the location of the elders home in Fort McPherson selected? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My statement today is focusing on elders’ care and the need for elders’ housing. I’d like to mention that on September 14, 2015, I was in Aklavik for the Gwich’in Annual Assembly. At this time we welcomed and celebrated the opening of the new Joe Greenland Centre. This building will indeed house many elders and will have positive feedback from residents of Aklavik.

This past summer the construction of a new elders home in Fort McPherson was halted due to problems that were occurring during building of the pilings.

This is very important to the elders of Fort McPherson...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I need to raise the urgent concerns of the community of Aklavik. Gasoline and heating fuel prices are putting extreme pressures on my constituents. There are also potential power rate increases. Prices have increased by 35 percent. That means gas that cost $1.60 per litre in August now costs $1.90 per litre today, just one month later.

The people of Aklavik had no warning that this was going to happen. When Beaufort-Delta Petroleum took over fuel delivery, the company did not meet with the hamlet council. They didn’t let their clients know of a rate change in advance and...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just on the Willow River Bridge, I don’t see the point where the department provided this bridge. Installing it was $2 million and all we get on a yearly basis is $200,000. I know the department did provide a bit more than that this past year, which was great, but it’s time for the department to step up here and provide the $2 million to actually put this in place. You know, we’re throwing around $200 million or $300 million here on one highway. A little infrastructure that means a lot to the community would really go a long way here. This is better than 1 percent of what...