Michael Nadli

I'd like to thank the Minister for his reply. Recently we passed a motion in this House basically positioning the department to contemplate the idea of an implementation plan to move forward on the JK initiative. How will the Aboriginal Head Start Program be part of the JK Implementation Plan?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at the Deh Gah School in Fort Providence, two recent graduates share a special connection. They made their journey from kindergarten to grade 12, to graduation, together. In fact, they started preschool together in an Aboriginal Head Start program in Fort Providence. We've talked about Aboriginal Head Start or AHS here, in the House, many times before, but, to give a brief history, Aboriginal Head Start is a federally funded program with a mandate to serve preschool aged children, providing early intervention and early childhood education to foster spiritual...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I speak in favour of Bill 5, the Vital Statistics Act, more particularly for the Aboriginal languages, an opportunity for people that make a choice to formally register their Aboriginal names. I applaud the department for taking those steps. Particularly so for the young individual person that took the steps to ensure that this legislation was amended. I'd like to draw her name, Shene Catholique-Valpy that took the steps to try to, you know, have her children's traditional name recognized in vital statistics, and she couldn't do it. So this is her effort in terms of...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Nasal stuffiness, eye irritation, wheezing, skin irritation, coughing, fever, shortness of breath, night asthma, and even respiratory infections, all of these can be caused by one thing: mould in the house. As Health Canada tells us, mould is the word used to describe the fungus that grows on food or damp materials, like windowsills, carpets or walls of kitchens, bathrooms or other areas where moisture is in the air. When mould grows, it releases spores into the air, and when people breathe in these spores, their health can be affected. Infants, children, and the elderly...

Mr. Speaker, the other question is: Why are certain contractors being used to complete remediation work in Fort Providence when it could be done by local people instead of bringing people from the south? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier I made the statement on the mould in houses and elders moving out of their homes, so my questions are to the Minister of the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. Elders have moved out about two months ago, so when will the remediation of elders' homes in Fort Providence be complete? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister reassure elders that they will be back in their homes by Christmastime? Mahsi.

I'd like to thank the Minister for her reply. The larger question is: what is the Housing Corporation's policy to address identified health risks in housing stock? These are homes that were built in the 70s. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to take a moment to recognize Nick Sibbeston, senator, lawyer, MLA and former Premier of the GNWT Legislative Assembly, and also a former member of the Sacred Heart Residential School, a survivor from Fort Providence. I would like to welcome him to the House. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this motion as well. In August 2016 I was honoured to be present to see students graduate from Deh Gah Elementary and Secondary High School and the Minister was there too and witnessed three students that began their lifelong education quests at the start of the Aboriginal Head Start program, and I wanted to emphasize that.

The Aboriginal Head Start program has been in existence for a long time; it is community-based and it involves the community, parents and elders who incorporate the knowledge, at the same time prepare kids that are...