Norman Yakeleya

One of the things I look at, especially when we have potential such as many parks and I want to talk about my favourite one is the proposed Doi T’oh Territorial Park on the Canol Heritage Trail. One of the things we looked at was skill development with our leaders. I know it’s taken some time. I hope the Minister has some initiatives that will look at skills development with our young people. Maybe junior park rangers or junior guides in the park that will give some training to some of the younger people. I’m hoping that, I know our park is not quite turned over to the territorial jurisdiction...

I look forward to the Minister continuing his work on this initiative. I think I just have to work my schedule and look at when to do a presentation to the EDI so that I can come in then. So I look forward to the Minister’s continued work on this whole issue here. I’d like to see how far, when you clear the dust off and you see how big this thing is and say okay, this is what we’re dealing with and this is real. This is not one year, this is 10 years, 15 years and this could possibly be significant for the North.

So in saying that, I want to just get to an issue here that Mr. Bouchard talked...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I heard on the radio and I also heard here in the House about the Aboriginal tourism strategy and the council that you formed and what you’ve asked this Aboriginal tourism strategy to do. I want to ask the Minister through the life of this government is this tourism council now set for the next three or four years.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I got up early this morning, picked up my pen and paper and had my good cup of coffee and I started writing down my notes on what I wanted to say about this motion. The first thing I did was get a list of the energy priorities investment for 2010. The last government committed $60 million to the projects. Mr. Hawkins has made several references to this priority list.

I looked at it and I put it on the floor, and said this is where the regions are getting the projects. This is where we committed $60 million, and that money just came out of the air. This is where we’re...

When these phone calls came from the leadership in the Sahtu… I want to ask the Minister to provide me what it costs the Housing Corporation to keep them operating and functional and how long they’ve been vacant and how can we work together to hope to get my people into these housing units.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of the NWT Housing Corporation. I want to ask you how many vacant units are in the Sahtu.

I want to ask the Minister who in this government would need to be convinced when you go to Colville Lake. I challenge any Member here to bring their students to Colville Lake, attend the school in Colville Lake, and see if that will help them get a new school. There are four classrooms in one building. There’s no privacy. Even though that number is there the Minister is rattling off, doesn’t quite fit the people in Colville Lake. Who within the longest system needs to tell the Minister that we need a new school in Colville Lake? This is not acceptable. Who do we need to convince?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to recognize my colleague from Tulita and Kelsi Taylor, two Pages here. I forgot to say that. I want to ask the Minister of Education questions on the Colville Lake School. I want to ask the Minister where within his department, how soon could the people in Colville Lake look at the possibility, amongst the many other projects that we have in the Northwest Territories, that they can look at maybe a planning or discussions on building a new school for Colville Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

My last question to the Minister has to do with the waste management and waste reduction. Certainly when the Minister of Health and Social Services and possibly the Minister of Justice, Mr. Abernethy and I went over to Fort Good Hope, they talked somewhat of the water quality, the water waste coming from the Norman Wells oilfield. I’m not too sure if we got too far into that discussion, but I remember clearly Minister Beaulieu and I talked about the water and the source. Maybe one factor that may be causing some cancerous sickness in that community could be – I’m not saying it is, but could be...