Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to just ask the Minister about the traditional economy. Now, that’s the backbone of our people. It was a way of life until we started to look at the European value of exchange. The economy is still strong. Colville Lake and Fort Good Hope have the best fur harvesters in the Northwest Territories.

I want to ask the Minister, is his department working with the trappers in the region, specifically around Fort Good Hope and Colville Lake, in regards to seeing that this tradition is continued to be passed on to the younger generation? The best furs, I may say humbly...

Thank you. The Minister clearly laid out the amazing potential we have in the Sahtu. I want to ask the Minister, has he and his officials looked at one area that he hadn’t mentioned today, which is the Selwyn-Chihong Mine that’s at the Yukon/Northwest Territories border? I understand this mine is going to go into production. There’s close to $1 billion worth of work there, potentially with 850 workers during the construction phase and around 450 permanent workers to operate that mine.

Has the Minister looked at how we can match the young potential workers in the Sahtu with this upcoming mine...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our North is rich in resources, and yet we have yet to fully untap the potential of our people, our youth. We have potential in our lands. The trick to any government is to connect that potential with each other. That’s the trick of any leadership, any people. How do we untap the potential of our young people, the ones who are going to school, with the opportunities that are rich in our lands? Through imagination, through initiatives.

The Sahtu sits in the midst of amazing wealth and resources, but we have not yet realized how we have access to this wealth and these...

Thank you, colleagues, for allowing this motion to be brought forward and have your views on it. I certainly know that this motion here, as Mr. Abernethy so eloquently laid out, is going to die. This motion may die here in this Assembly but this issue is still alive and will be still alive in our communities, with our elders that come and talk to us. I have a list of people who have e-mailed me on their experience with the Medical Travel Policy. It may sound that there’s not an issue, but in our small communities and our larger centres, regional centres, it’s an issue, so I hope that our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

AND FURTHER, that the Department of Health and Social Services ensure that a mechanism is in place for monitoring and evaluating the Medical Travel Program;

AND FURTHERMORE, that the government produce a response to these recommended actions for consideration by the House by February 2016.

WHEREAS under Section 11(1) of the Northwest Territories Act (Canada), the Commissioner may dissolve the Legislative Assembly;

AND WHEREAS under Section 11(2) of the Northwest Territories Act (Canada), writs for the election of Members of the Legislative Assembly are to be issued on the Commissioner’s instructions;

AND WHEREAS under Section 3 of the 2015 Polling Day Act, the Legislative Assembly may, subject to the power of the Commissioner to dissolve it under subsection 11(1) of the Northwest Territories Act (Canada), continue until October 26, 2015;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask this Minister, given the situation in Colville Lake where 10 or more students have dropped out citing their own reasons, within the life of this government is he seeing this as a crisis in Colville Lake? Can the Minister commit to going to Colville Lake with officials and the Sahtu Education Board to stop the students leaving the school by the time this government is finished? Can the Minister commit to going to Colville Lake to say he’s going to do something? Is that something I can look forward to from this Minister?

The families of the students that have dropped out of school for one reason or another are saying that the small building that is shared by all the grades, they cannot concentrate in that school. Colville Lake is looking for a solution. This should be up there and making the headlines. Ten students or more have dropped out of Colville Lake’s school, citing that the building is not adequate. These are the results of the situation in Colville Lake.

How can this Minister, since we have 20 days or so left in our government, move this to the next government citing this as an emergency crisis...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to recognize all the students here in the gallery from the schools. I want to say something to the students. Never give up on your dreams. One day you could be down here too. So keep up what you’re doing, set your goals high and work hard together. Thank you for the good work that you’re doing. I’m hoping that we can get a chapter like this in the Sahtu region, also, for the same message.

I also want to recognize my little nephew. He’s here, Carter, and I’m very surprised to see him. He’s come into his own world, a young man. He’s come a long way since he was a...

Thank you, Madam Chair. No more questions. Let’s get this built fast.