Norman Yakeleya

Madam Chair, they’re going to install a sewer tank. They’re doing it during the winter and it’s cold. You know, it’s difficult. It’s going to cost probably more; I’m not too sure. They had all summer to do it. I don’t know what as part of the deferred maintenance or what happened. The community has been trying to work with this government for a long time. It’s been years. I find it hard for the Minister to say we’re trying to work with the community to get this in our community, especially at the school so those 53 kids that have to go through this system. There are only two honey buckets in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that the Speaker be authorized to set such sitting days and hours as the Speaker, after consultation, deems fit to assist with the business before the House.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to get back to my question with the Minister of Health and Social Services on the cancer in Fort Good Hope. The Minister gave us some numbers, and according to those numbers cancer in Good Hope is pretty high; 20 percent higher than my numbers here than in the rest of the territory, such as colorectal cancer is 24 percent in Good Hope while the territory is 20, breast cancer is 17 in Good Hope and in the territory it’s 16, prostate cancer is 9 percent in the territory, and so forth.

I want to ask the Minister is his department willing to look at any type of...

I certainly look forward to that trip with the Minister. One of the speakers in my meeting said living in Fort Good Hope is stressful and scary. You don’t know if your number’s next and you’re going to be the one told that you have cancer. It’s very tragic and painful to listen to young people sit in front of you and cry and say my mom or my dad has cancer. I know they’re not going to live long and they’re going to die.

I’m asking the Minister if he will start plans or look at plans to have somebody come into Fort Good Hope and sit with the living members of someone who has died of cancer or...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I spoke in my Member’s statement that in my meeting with the people in Fort Good Hope all of the speakers talked about the number of cancer-related diagnosed community members and the different sources that possibly cancer could be coming from. The most heartbreaking comments were from young people in the communities on the ones who are the surviving members of cancer. So I wanted to ask the Minister what type of support can be given to the people in Fort Good Hope or the family members who have to deal with the loss of their loved ones due to the number of recent...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When I did my constituency visits in the Sahtu at the end of November, the community that I went to was Fort Good Hope. During my constituency meetings with the people in Fort Good Hope, a lot of speakers in my constituency spoke on the increase of cancer in that community. The people were saying that they’re very afraid. It’s very stressful for them. They’re very worried that they may be the next one diagnosed with cancer. People are being diagnosed on a monthly basis. They are very concerned with what is going on, with what is happening. There are some very healthy...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to ask the Minister, in the proposed infrastructure for this purpose, the department now is going into an electronic era of doing their business and they are going to be shortly going through phasing out the existing manuals or manual for the government department. Just like us in the Legislative Assembly, we have these iPads now, not so many of these big 4 or 5 inch binders.

I want to ask the Minister just for a very backup to the security. You know, sometimes our satellite system, our electronic system is not as reliable as we hope it would be. You know, there’s...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Monday, December 12, 2011, I will move the following motion: I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that the Speaker be authorized to set such sitting days and hours as the Speaker, after consultation, deems fit to assist with the business before the House.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask the Minister when will his department work with the board that’s responsible for the Aven Manor Centre to look at the change of policies where the communities now can bring in traditional caribou food and moose, traditional meat into that centre. I have five elders or so that are just dying to eat their traditional foods. The policy right now says no, you can’t. I know they’re willing to help. When can we get that done so I can tell people you can send fish to this long-term care facility? Our people want to eat it right now. They are just dying to eat...

I spoke to some elders in Tulita, Fort Good Hope and Colville Lake. The elders are afraid. They are afraid of the government’s policies because it violates their requirement or criteria to receive help from their family members. They are living alone. Some of them are old, they’re ill, they’re in their 70s and 80s. They’re saying if they have a family member live with them, they’re going to get punished because they’re not going to be eligible for some programs. That is so wrong. That is so against our culture, and our beliefs and upbringing. That’s what I’m asking the Minister.

Would he meet...