Michael McLeod

Mr. Speaker, I apologize for that. Mr. Speaker, we have developed an implementation plan. We have had all the partners in the NWT Sports Council nominate a member to our interim implementation steering committee. They have had a number of meetings over the last while. Our targets are to set up a founding AGM for April of this year. We are now going through the council selections. We have made that information available to all of the Members and sports organizations in communities. We are looking for nominations to the Sports Council, and our founding AGM is scheduled for April of this...

Mr. Speaker, that would probably have to be decided by the courts, but I’m assuming that the shipper would be assuming responsibility for the liability. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned in my Member’s statement, Inuvik residents are unsure as to the status of SAM School. I would like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment if a decision has been made regarding SAM School. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, once again I think these questions are very premature. We have no plans for putting any infrastructure there. There seems to be an assumption that there is a new community being developed and we’re going to start putting in fire halls and everything else. No, we have no plans to provide any infrastructure at this point. We haven’t even seen an application. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I will be speaking on a subject that is near and dear to the hearts of many residents of the Beaufort-Delta region. Sir Alexander Mackenzie School is 45 years old, almost as old as Inuvik itself. It is a central part of our community, full of memories for its alumni. Many students met future husbands and wives on its playground and saw their own children walk through its door on their first day of school. Three Members of this Legislative Assembly, myself included, are former SAMS students.

Mr. Speaker, a school is so much more than just a building and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it’s not a new situation. The government has to deal with a number of different issues. In this case, the Department of Transportation is working with the city to look at the concept of a bypass road. We’ve done some early cost estimates. The city has done some cost estimating. We have to do some engineering, we have to do some costing together. We have to look at who is going to pay for it, how we are going to pay for it. So we’re working with the city on that as the Department of Transportation. The city is dealing with the application for land...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the quick answer is all of the above. I am responsible, as the Minister of Transportation, for the airport development plan; I’m responsible, as the Minister of MACA, to deal with the city on the bypass road, there’s no legislative requirement. There’s an interest that makes good sense, we want to talk to them, we want to be able to include it in our plans. We are planning to do an assessment of the costs. We are planning to work out who would pay for it. We are starting to look at the needs in terms of engineering. We are working with the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I have indicated before, I have not seen a formal application from the Yellowknives Dene. However, we have had discussion as to the area that we have granted permission to access. It does not conflict with the airport development plan or the Kam Lake access road the city has been discussing. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct. This is a response to a request to do some geotechnical and survey work in the area, some soil sampling. This was not really an issue that arose from the negotiating table. It is not part of the negotiating process. It was something that came to me, as the Minister of MACA, as a result of this land being Commissioner’s land. It is in my authority to grant access. That request came forward. It was not a request for a lease or to purchase the property. So we thought it was in our best interest to work with the Yellowknives Dene...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, we are at the negotiating tables with a number of different aboriginal governments, but our role is to provide technical support and technical information to the Department of Aboriginal Affairs. Following the discussions with aboriginal groups -- the negotiations -- interim measures agreements have been signed in a number of areas where there are unsettled claims. We are bound in the area of land applications to follow this process. That is the extent of our role to provide mostly support and also...