Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wanted to ask questions to the Minister of ENR on the water quality monitoring that could be and should be happening in the Northwest Territories, more specifically working towards another lab in the Northwest Territories. There is one in Yellowknife. I would like to see another one, preferably in the Sahtu where there is going to be a lot of oil and gas development. We need to look at ensuring that people do have safe quality water and that they know what is coming down the Mackenzie River from the tar sands or the pulp mills. Can the Minister answer that question?

Thank you, Madam Chair. The supplementary operations expenses, one of the things that I have is the amount of dollars that we are going to be approving for the Department of Health and Social Services, specifically the Beaufort-Delta and the Stanton Health Authority for the deficits these two hospitals are running.

Year after year we continue to bail out the authorities, and not in thousands of dollars but in the millions of dollars. I know that the department is working hard to address this issue and there have been many plans over the years on how they are going to work on some form of...

Thanks to the Minister for explaining it to me.

I want to move on to the notion that at one time the operation of all the health boards was talked about. I think what the Minister said, if I understand it, is that they’re having some discussions to see if we would look at how do we all work together to cut some costs where it seems logical and beneficial if those cuts mean that we’re going to get more programs in our communities and regions. It is a delicate issue and it means people’s jobs, it means family, it means a lot of things. So if there’s a step or process that Cabinet has already...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to I guess restate that the funding that we get here, certainly it’s known from us that there are pressures, there are costs every time you come to a budget. The unforeseeable ones, a good example is the forest fires. We don’t know. We budget a certain amount and we either go over or under.

I have to support the comments from Ms. Bisaro. If we’re not funding the health and social services, Stanton, the Beaufort-Delta, then we need to fund them properly. This is nuts here. Coming back in for another $3 million, come back next time for another $3 million. This...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Growing old in the Sahtu is no picnic for our people. When the Minister of Health and I did a tour in the Sahtu region, we heard from many elders and heard from the leaders how hard and difficult it was for our old people to have family members live with them and to support them by cutting wood, hauling water, looking after their house, helping them with their medication.

Last week I heard my colleague Mr. Blake’s account of elders in the Mackenzie Delta who had to leave their families in the communities to live in home care. Over a number of years I have spoken about...

Just to close off, I’m glad the Minister clarified that it’s not a board reform initiative. I’m very happy that he clarified it. We’re looking at governance. The same comment to the Minister and Cabinet colleagues is working with us on governance issues and how do we deal with it. It’s important because the money is not going to be there all the time, so we need to do what we have to do with the money that we have.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Canadian Blood Services that we pay for, has the department looked at how the residents of the Northwest Territories could be part of helping these people that require blood? Is it cheaper or is it more convenient for them to just purchase the blood for these two people in the North than not to bother the rest of us? Because the Canadian Blood Service relies on donors too. Can there be something like that or is it just doesn’t quite fit the plans for having blood for these people in the North here?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With this Borrowing Authorization Act we are going to the federal government and we are going to increase our borrowing limit to $100 million. What I know is that from personal banking when you go to the bank and you have enough good credit, you have some concrete, what you call it, assets that the banker says you have good credit. It’s taken you awhile to live comfortably and that you have enough assets that you could borrow more money off us, why don’t you borrow $10,000. You have a good job. You have a good income. I want to ask the Minister what is the arrangement...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to thank the Ministers for a good response to my questions. My final question would be for the devolution, what funds have you received from Canada to date on this issue here, and a comment to the Minister on the forest suppression needs for funding up front. Mr. Chair…(inaudible)…and I will have to apologize for my ignorance on this. The Minister talked about the aircraft services. Are we entering into new contractual arrangements with them or do we need to have that discussion yet? These funds are advanced. I understand why they need to be there in time for the...

Thank you, Madam Chair. My comments are mostly on Health and Social Services and I have a comment to Education, Culture and Employment. Madam Chair, maybe I’ll go a couple of concerns and comments and, like Mr. Bromley, if I do run out of time I’ll come back to conclude. I do thank the Members for providing this unanimous consent to go back to general comments on this bill here.

I want to ask a question with health on the policy for people in my communities to go to see traditional healers and what type of support is given to some of my people who want to see the Aboriginal traditional healers...