Michael McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a side table on lands around the Yellowknife area in the Akaitcho traditional area is something that we supported for some time. We have not been able to reach that level until recently. Discussions have taken place. All issues involving lands around Yellowknife and the Akaitcho area are going to be put on the table for discussion. I welcome that. The department welcomes that. The government supports that. We are hoping that it will be resolved. All the identification will be resolved by January. Failing that, it would need more time. It depends...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, it is the goal of this government to turn over lands in the city limit boundaries to the municipality as it is to turn over all lands in the different municipalities. Whether that can happen in the term of this government, I can’t guarantee that, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’ve indicated already that we are committed to doing that and we have it included in a number of our different proposals and will continue to bring those forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have discussed this issue of the Tuktoyaktuk road on a number of occasions in this House and I have indicated in those discussions that we have a document called Investing in Roads for People and the Economy, which was put together in the year 2000. It highlights a number of issues around the transportation systems, including the roads that need to be improved, the roads that have to be reconstructed, and we have made submissions to the federal government to do a number of reconstruction projects along those lines. We are now drafting a new proposal that...

This funding is intended to promote environmentally sustainable municipal infrastructure. Municipal and Community Affairs has pushed to broaden the project criteria for gas tax funding so that communities can use it to support energy efficient components of other infrastructure; for example, solar panels on a community office.

Mr. Speaker, Whati has been a leader in exploring options for energy conservation and alternative energy sources. However, Whati is not the only community undertaking work in this area. For example, Jean Marie River is looking into solar panel options for the band...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my statement, I talked about the students’ perspective and the whole thing going on with Samuel Hearne. One of the comments the students made was they were wondering if there was a backup plan or why there was no backup plan. So my question today is for the Minister of Education, Mr. Dent. I would like to ask Mr. Dent if there are backup plans in each community in case something happens to the school. If not, why not? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated earlier, the Department of Transportation plays no part in the negotiations. Our obligation lies with the contractor that is hired to provide a service and we are not planning to intervene in any form at this time. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today my questions are for the Minister of Public Works and Services. We have seen newspaper reports that Samuel Hearne was going to be open later in the month. I want to ask the Minister the question that is on everyone’s mind in Inuvik: When will the school reopen so that teachers and parents can get on with their year? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we have had and are currently having discussions with the community of Hay River on a number of issues about the fire chief's position and the ambulance's equipment requirements. We have worked with the Town of Hay River for a fire rescue vehicle. We have contributed through this government for a highway rescue vehicle and we will continue to do so. I would be pleased to be the contact person, or my department. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, there are a number of programs that MACA supports and works with through emergency preparedness to fund some fire rescue vehicles; not necessarily ambulances. Ambulances still fall under, for the most part, municipal governments. This government, through MACA, is responsible for the Fire Prevention Act, which is more an area of inspections, investigations, training. Under our capital programming we do provide fire protection equipment for non-tax-based municipalities. We do not provide it for tax-based municipalities. The responsibility for ambulances still falls under that...