Norman Yakeleya

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

1.

Please provide a schedule showing how often the Housing Corporation conducts assessments on its public housing units to check for mould and other potential health hazards.

2.

Please provide a copy of a policy and detailed action plan of how the Housing Corporation will deal with mould and similar health hazards in public housing units.

Thank you. It’s my understanding that Education, Culture and Employment has been the lead department to monitor and coordinate the GNWT’s support with the TRC Commission. I want to ask the Premier, through the Department of Education and Culture, collecting the archives and the photographs and putting this historical event together for the survivors and the community, if this even, or this collection at the end of the TRC process, will be made available to all the residents for a show and explain the history to the people at any public venue that could be sponsored by this government.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has a five-year mandate, and that is to examine the legacy of the residential schools in Canada. Inuvik will host this historical healing moment of our past. We have a lot of GNWT employees who have been impacted by the residential schools and the effects it has caused. I want to ask the Premier how will our government support them in this Truth and Reconciliation event in Inuvik.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, want to recognize all the Pages; specifically the two Pages from the Sahtu and the community of Deline: Raymond Bernarde and Jordon Kenny.

I also want to recognize the support in the House for Members, especially for Mr. Jacobson and his family. It’s nice to see them here and to know that the real boss is in the House.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories declared May 26th a National Day of Healing and Reconciliation. It is still the only Legislature in Canada to recognize the day and acknowledge the abuse suffered by well over 10,000 Aboriginal children in residential schools in the North alone. Of the 150,000 students, there are 80,000 students living today.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission recently travelled to the Northwest Territories, giving voice to residential school survivors and other community members. Tulita hosted a very powerful meeting on May 10th...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Grollier Hall Residential School, Stringer Hall, opened in 1959. Grollier Hall closed in 1996; Stringer Hall in 1970. The community of Inuvik was part of our family. I wanted to ask the Premier what will he do to help the thousands of students -- there are 2,500 students that attended Grollier, and a number of students in the Sahtu and other outlying communities -- get to Inuvik. I know there’s a limited number. How can we help also with the students, the community of Inuvik, to do this healing? How can the Premier help fund the students to get there?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I certainly hope that the LHO board clearly hears what the Minister has said. The board is the boss, and their comment that we have to take instructions from the district office is wiped out.

I want to ask the Minister, when he looks within solutions, can the Minister look at the concept of a community rental, community tenant/community liaison person for the housing that could help the tenants and the Housing Corporation so they can work together daily, monthly, weekly, biweekly, so they can help them with the arrears? Certainly that’s what we want to do and we need to...

I mentioned the Ministers of PWS and DOT because he talked a little bit on this issue here. For example, the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority is going to hire four, but in any other regions, none of their health boards are hiring any summer students. This is an agency of something like the Sahtu Health Board. I want to ask if this opportunity can be given the same as the Fort Smith Health and Social Services Authority, which has hired six people.

The fairness and equality is not there. Can the Minister ensure that our regions will also have the same opportunity as the boards in...

I have some information, thanks to the Minister, that he passed on to me. That’s what I want to look at in terms of one of my communities, where if a number of people do not do anything, they will be asked to leave their public housing units; a total of 10 adults, not counting the children. I want to ask the Minister in this regard, we will have a homeless problem in Deline. Can the Minister in any way, through his leadership and direction, look at putting a little more emphasis and resources to working with these people? There are 10 adults that need to see where they’re going to be housed...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister inform the House how many of these summer students have come on board with the Department of Transportation or PWS such as engineering or bridge construction or any other fields that the department is working in?