Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Wednesday, March 2, 2011, I will move the following motion: I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Weledeh, that this Legislative Assembly strongly recommends that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment devise a certificate program to certify elders to teach in NWT schools in time for the start of the new school year in the fall of 2011. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, MLA Ramsay listed off one of the costs to house an inmate. We are paying for it here in society, Mr. Speaker. These inmates at these adult facilities, they have it good. They get their meals wheeled to them. They eat. They get programs there for them. We need to put them out on the land and do hard time. Do the wood cutting, learn this. There is $21 million going into adult facilities, $5 million in the budget for youth facilities, the wilderness camp has $135,000. This Minister says he wants to do it. Let’s put his words to action and say I want to put at least $1 million into...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to follow up on my Member’s statement to the Minister of Justice. Also, Mr. Speaker, I heard MLA Ramsay talk about the amount of millions of dollars that the Department of Justice expends in terms of housing inmates. I want to ask the Minister of Justice, with the programming, the cost of housing, with the revolving doors within our correctional centres, can the Minister inform the House if his department is looking at more permanent wilderness camps, bush camps that really needs to happen in the Northwest Territories other than spending millions in our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too want to add my voice to the Members and to talk about education. A couple of days ago, when I brought my young son to Mildred Hall School, my son was talking to me and saying that at the school they were learning the Dene laws. I said, oh, what kind of laws are you learning? He said, well, we’re learning about the Dene laws. I said, well, what laws do you know right now? He said, Dad, Dene law number three. I said, well, what’s number three? He said, Dene Law number three is love one another as much as possible. And I was going, oh, my God. Mildred Hall, I want to...

Would the Minister comment as to the request of the reports? I’m not too sure what details of the reports he can provide. If that’s something that he could comment on.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The demolition of the Chief Wilbert Wright School, now that everything is supposed to be where it’s supposed to be, the materials sent out, the area that they use for disposing of the extra is okay. Has that land now been transferred back to the hamlet through the municipal department? I know the hamlet of Tulita was hoping that this land now would be reverted back to them for the use of a recreational ball field.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the Member for Nahendeh for developing and asking me to consider seconding this. I’m very pleased to second the motion.

I’ve also looked at the seniors home repair initiatives that this Housing Corporation has put into our communities. It makes it quite difficult, even though the programs are there, for the seniors to apply to them and receive help. Sometimes they’re lucky, they can get the support. Sometimes they miss out because they don’t understand the applications or the process itself. It’s quite foreign to them. Some of them don’t understand the...

Thank you. Has the department looked at other avenues to support this initiative, or partnerships in the region or in the North to look at where some cost savings can be looked at? Because there are other needs also. I hear from Members that want to have institutions in the North also.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Being Education Week I want to ask the Minister of Education a few questions regarding the Sahtu. Mr. Speaker, education, either you’re on the land, and my people always wanted to be successful even on the land. Now today in the new world of making a living we want to be successful.

Mr. Speaker, on the land we had an open university. In the Sahtu now we have Aurora College centres. I noted that many of our students are now leaving the Sahtu region for other centres for their educational careers. I want to ask the Minister. When he is talking with his colleagues about...

I look forward to at least the Tulita report, Mr. Chair, and hopefully later on the Fort Good Hope report. I wanted to ask the Minister, I know there was an issue with the school in Colville Lake with the washroom facilities and the running water there. I know there was material there, material being ordered to get there and I think it’s already there and waiting to use it. Right now I believe that Colville Lake’s School is still using the honey bucket system and there are other issues that prevent them from hooking up the water lines and the washroom facilities. Can the Minister comment as to...