Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On October 4th and 5th the community of Ulukhaktok experienced a 27-hour power outage. Here is the assistant SAO Joseph Perry’s report. It’s with great pride that I write you about the recent power outage. The community lost power last Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. and it was restored Wednesday afternoon, affecting over 20 households as well as the airport. Special thanks goes out to the housing foreman and his crew, airport maintainer and his crew, municipal foreman and his crew, recreation director, administration, and all of the other teams that worked together and set the...

Mr. Speaker, for the maintenance program in regards to the low outlying communities, is there one in place for the summer months or for the communities?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the Minister of the Power Corporation. In my Member’s statement today, the community of Ulukhaktok on October 4th and 5th had 20 households with no power, including the airport. Nunakput at this time of the year on the coastline communities, there is fog and freezing rain. I am just wondering if the Minister could speak to the Power Corporation to see if we could send crews into the communities that they represent to clear the ice off of the lines. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The maintenance program that I am referring to is just like going in there in the communities in the summer making sure the lines are connected properly to the poles, making sure they are grounded out in high wind areas, and seeing if we could also get local qualified people in the communities that represent the Power Corporation being able to fix these situations that we know that happen periodically in the communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the Minister for that reply. I am just wondering if we could set up a backup system for each community on the coast, and in Inuvik as well, or making sure that when the power goes out in the middle of winter when it is 40 below and you have a blizzard, it is usually for three days. We have some sort of system in there that we could... What could you do to make it happen in regard to having a safe system that we could rely on?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to welcome all Members and the staff back from our summer break and our Thanksgiving weekend. I hope that everyone had an enjoyable and safe summer as well.

There are many Inuvialuit traditions that are very important in my daily life, Mr. Speaker, and how I serve my constituents.

One of those traditions is that I pay respect to my elders, which is all you guys. I respect you.

---Laughter

And I pay respect to my ancestors, the people that have shaped us into who we are today and who have passed away.

I always start my Member’s statements by paying respect to the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am in full support of the motion. I am a third generation residential school survivor. When my granddad went to school, I heard a lot of stories by my mother. This is like a slap in the face from the federal government, trying to pull the funding, trying to give us a quick injection of money. I think this is a really good step to force the hand of the federal government to reinstate the funding that is needed in our communities that still don’t have a full complement of social services in regard to seeing the doctors that are required.

So, Mr. Speaker, I’m in full...

Mr. Speaker, I brought it up more than once, you know. When you go visiting elders in the communities they always try to feed you, give you tea and whatever they can feed you to give you a meal. Mr. Speaker, the cost of living in the communities is a lot higher than Yellowknife or anywhere in the South Slave. Mr. Speaker, it’s wrong for the people to suffer. People are suffering in the communities. Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister: will the government find a way to increase social assistance so it meets the most basic needs of people even in the communities where prices are high? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of ECE regarding the food basket. Mr. Speaker, it adds to our frustration the government’s formula for calculating social assistance. It’s simply inadequate to compare food prices between Yellowknife and Sachs Harbour. It’s just not realistic.

Mr. Speaker, the people don’t get enough money for food and our people are going hungry. People are living in poverty. No wonder; the cost of living in Nunakput is 81 percent and in some areas higher, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is not right in a rich land like ours.

So I ask the Minister...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to pay tribute to a young lady in Tuktoyaktuk, Ms. Devalin Pokiak, who demonstrated not only bravery but the ability to use her skills that her father taught her to ensure his rescue, Mr. Speaker.

On May 15th, CBC states: a hunter from Tuktoyaktuk is recovering from a long ordeal in the Beaufort Sea late last week when he became stranded on a drifting piece of ice for more than 14 hours. The hunter from Tuktoyaktuk is recovering well. Randall Boogey Pokiak and his daughter were driving the snowmobile north of Tuk on Friday when a piece of sea ice...