Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would strongly suggest to the Minister and also to our CEO, go to the homegrown, qualified statutory social workers in our communities, sit down with them and say, “what’s the issue,” because certainly they aren’t being heard. This has been told to me. This is not happening. They’re telling me directly. I’m saying right now in this Assembly to this Minister, if they can do that we would certainly clear up a lot of issues that will put people in good positions within the Sahtu health board. There are some issues that we cannot speak of today in the House that need to...

I look forward to the pilot project partnership study. The communities of Deline, Tulita, Norman Wells, Colville Lake, the mental health and addictions counsellors positions have been vacant since August 2014, September 2014. These positions have been vacant for well over a year. I want to know from this Minister and also from our Health and Social Services Health Board about these positions. We have given the Minister some creative ideas, solutions.

Why are we not having these positions filled? Can we not do something different? We seem to be running up the same old issue of credentials and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to also recognize a couple of the recipients of the educational award. First to my sister-in-law Doris Camsell, congratulations, Doris. Behind every good woman is a real good man, so also to Doug Camsell. I’d like to recognize Doug, also, my brother-in-law, and also to Ted Blondin and Violet Camsell and to the other recipients of the award.

Also to the Braden family and my colleague at one time, Mr. Braden. Also, I’d like to welcome the young... I think I see my niece up there, Mahalia. |I’d like to welcome her and wish her well with the Government of the...

That’s been our goal and the goal of the Sahtu people, to manage our own resources. That is why the people in the Sahtu strongly voted for a land claim. It says in our land use plans and it says in our land claims that we will direct our own destiny and deal with the issues that need to be dealt with in our jurisdiction.

I want to ask the Minister, given what we know in the Sahtu, the reports are there, the facts are clear that this is the amount of oil that we have in our region sitting there, what do we do now that the oil prices are not quite where we want them to be? What is the triggering...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of ITI. On May 22 there was a press release issued by the Government of Canada, the first time in history the National Energy Board and the Northwest Territories Geological Survey did an unconventional petroleum assessment in the Sahtu. The facts are there. There are a billion barrels of oil in the Sahtu. The recoverable rate is yet to be determined. The unknowns are still yet to be looked at.

I want to ask the Minister, now that we know the amount, possibly, of the oil in the Sahtu region, and even the percentage recoverable of that oil...

There are some very well-educated, culturally credible people in the Sahtu who can be working with the health board.

I want to ask the Minister, within our own health board there are some people who are either on sick leave or are on extended leave because they are being overworked within the Health department. Some of the workers are even complaining to me that there aren’t proper support mechanisms within the health board. Some of them need to be recognized and be honoured by their experience, and yet they’re being overlooked. There are other people coming to the health board that are taking...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Health and Social Services. In my research, I understand that there are 71 positions within the Sahtu Health and Social Services Authority. Thirteen of these positions are vacant. The following communities have vacancies: Deline has three vacancies, Tulita has one, Norman Wells has eight vacancies, Fort Good Hope has one vacancy.

Why are these important vacancies not filled, some of them since September 2014 of last year?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to take the opportunity to make mention of loved ones who have passed away in the Sahtu region and also around the Northwest Territories.

There are many important events and things that are happening in our region. People are going about their work. People are doing things that they need to get done in our small communities. But there’s a time in our communities, especially when a loved one has passed away because of sickness or sudden death, that the community, for a moment, slows down and takes care of the loved ones, with food, coffee, with visiting. They...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister is correct. In the research I have done, there’s world-class, high-grade potential mineral in the Sahtu. The challenge for us is we don’t have the infrastructure to extract it and develop the jobs. Out of interest in the 2013 youth report, the number one issue for the youth is they want jobs and that’s what I’m looking for.

So, with the Minister’s department, the Sahtu and the Chamber of Commerce, can we look at, within the life of this government, a mining conference that is proposed through his department? Would the Minister look at tabling it to see if we...

I want to ask the Minister of ITI in regard to the Sahtu region. I’d like to look at some of the areas that we can explore with the Minister’s engagement with the communities to prepare community workers for training in the mining sector either in Selwyn, Howard’s Pass, MacTung or the DEMCO around Great Bear Lake.

Is the Minister looking at any type of training to prepare for these mining operations?