Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In his strategy, is the Minister considering looking at a communication strategy also? Mr. Speaker, there is an elder in Fort Good Hope that somehow we missed this elder here in terms of communicating between the elder and the Housing Corporation. This elder had his house frozen up for over a month here and nothing happened in terms of Housing looking after him. He was in the bush. The technical advisor was on holidays. Just nothing happened to help this elder here. Now it is finally being looked at and still not a done deal. Is the Minister looking at the communication...

Mr. Speaker, sometimes these seniors and these elders that do have land in the community and sometimes when they make an application they find out that they owe money on this land here and sometimes that prevents them from being eligible for an application to fix up their houses there. I want to ask the Minister: is his department looking at how do we look at issues around arrears or outstanding bills that elders have without them knowing and, of course, they need their houses fixed and it stops them from being repaired?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too want to recognize constituents from the birthplace of ice hockey in Canada, the Sahtu region. I’d like to recognize Ann Kochon-Orlias from Colville Lake, Dolphus Tutcho from Deline and Theresa Etchinelle from Tulita. I’d also like to recognize Dora Grandejambe. I know her heart is in Fort Good Hope but her work is here in Yellowknife. I’d like to recognize some family and friends here also.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just wanted to ask the Minister, in terms of the federal, provincial and territorial levels, are the Ministers coordinating a strong strategic position to continue hammering the federal government on the other ways that they can support them with their housing declining dollars that they need to keep the federal government on those? Right now it seems like they are offloading the social housing to the communities, or to the Territories, and for us it is going to be hundreds of millions of dollars if we take on this role here.

I look forward to that discussion. I’m not too sure if we’ll be around to see how it goes, so I look forward to the Minister’s remarks and that to see how far it carries.

I want to ask the Minister, in terms of the education authority contributions, on the O and M to the education authorities, Mr. Chair, the Minister alluded to stating that a number of computers have come into the different authorities and are greatly appreciated by the authorities. I’ve also noted that in the Sahtu in 2005-2006 I think we had about 150 computers in our schools. In 2010-11 that number bumped up to 450 or so in...

Mr. Chair, I want to ask the Minister through working with the Board of Governors if they would work with high schools in small communities to implement a trade program in the school. I know the school in Tulita is working hard to see if they can get some funding. It’s over $100,000 to do a small trades program in Chief Albert Wright School. They are having a hard time to fundraise. Aurora College has a trades program. I wonder if that’s something that the Board of Governors and this Minister could look at creatively in conjunction with high schools that want to have trade programs in their...

Mr. Chair, I want to ask the Minister, on page 10-19 again, on the NWT Teachers’ Association Professional Development Fund. When is the government set to have another Collective Agreement negotiation with them?

It’s very disturbing to know that two communities in my riding have to look for alternative funding for what Tulita, Deline and Fort Good Hope receive base funding for. Two other communities that operate Arctic College programs have to look at alternative funding. Why can’t they receive base funding like any other community that receives base funding? Why the special treatment for the two communities?

Thank you. No argument from me to see the importance of this orientation for the teachers coming to the Northwest Territories. My point is that the NWTTA, I’m thinking why take money out of the Aboriginal pot? I think that should be done under the Collective Agreement in their professional development, because it’s just as important as some of the programs they have to take throughout the year to increase their skill or their ability to teach and using the computers or writing or reading or anything. You don’t see them taking money elsewhere. So I think we could have been stronger with the...

Okay. Thank you.