Norman Yakeleya

Madam Chair, I see the numbers are quite substantially reduced to the actuals in the main estimates in 2011, 2012, 2013. Is this the final asking of this department on this specific initiative? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I agree with the mover, the Member from Yellowknife, Ms. Bisaro, talking about the importance of the federal government here in the Northwest Territories on the impact of this crime bill in the Northwest Territories and the realities that it will have on us in the North here.

Looking at this crime bill, the scary part is that the bottom line is that it means people who offend will have longer times in correctional institutions and more people will stay in there. Little will be done to educate them, work with them on rehabilitation into society. It is taking them away...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

How many people in public housing units have been served with eviction notices in the last three years?

How many tenants are affected by the recent announcement on the moratorium regarding public housing arrears?

Will the Minister provide me with detailed plans, processes and procedures to assist people who have arrears, to start paying their housing debts?

My colleague from Mackenzie Delta talked about increasing the home care workers in his communities, which I support. I think we also have a solution to help the Minister help this government saying if you can allow family members to live with their elders and take care of them, some of them are fragile – some of my own relatives – allow their family members to take care of them. That’s the way my culture has based its foundation on taking care of its elders. If not, they’re going to live alone, like somebody said in Colville Lake. There was an old man who died by himself. That put a lot of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the Minister responsible for Seniors. In our Aboriginal culture and beliefs it is a well-known fact that we take care of elders. Elders take care of the community, kind of watch over the community so that the community stays within the respect of the land, and the water and the animals. Over the years that role of elders has diminished somewhat. The basic fact is that elders are still being respected; they still need to be looked after. Over the years the policies of the GNWT have removed our elders and now they are in need of help.

I want to ask the...

Can the Minister examine a strategy as to the type of lobbying tactics we can do with the Aboriginal governments, with partnerships, to begin looking at how the department then can take every opportunity with the partnerships to go down to Ottawa or have the opportunity to speak to the federal Ministers or their counterparts?

The Tuktoyaktuk committee did a fantastic job. They got $150 million. We need that type of strategy also within the Sahtu or any other portion of the Gwich’in and a little part of the Nahendeh. We need to follow into the Inuvik Beaufort-Delta area. It may take years. We...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was listening to the honourable Member for Nahendeh talk about Highway No. 7 and I was just envious of him because he’s talking about a highway that I hope someday the Sahtu people can have that opportunity to join among their fellow colleagues when they talk about highways. We want a highway.

My question to the Minister of Transportation is: Once the project description reports are completed… We’re waiting for two more and then they will go into one package to the federal regulators or the regulators who are responsible for the issuing out these permits and the other...

Thank you, Minister, for the explanation. With some of these future expenditures, are the regions also being upgraded in their computer capacity to be in line with the ePerformance or eRecruitment? I think that’s pretty well, but a lot of the communities also do not, and I appreciate the sensitivity. A lot of our communities also of Members do not use their computers or operate on their computers. Sometimes, for some odd reason, they still prefer the good old post a notice on a billboard and read it from there. But sometimes this hasn’t always been the case here. I just want to ask the...

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.