Norman Yakeleya

Mr. Speaker, that is, in theory, 14 kilometres of road that we have up there. I would encourage the Minister to take a trip up there and look at the conditions of this 14 kilometres of road to see where our priorities are in terms of fixing up our road. I know the Yukon has put thousands of dollars in the Yukon, so that would encourage visitors and encourage some mine companies to come into the Northwest Territories. I would ask the Minister, are there any plans of grading these 14 kilometres of road?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What if you went to a grocery store on your way home today to buy a few basic things like four litres of milk and some dish soap, and it costs you $25? Some people might think it was a mistake, but not if you live in Fort Good Hope. It’s normal.

Mr. Speaker, the cost of living in the Sahtu is amongst the highest in the Northwest Territories. We’re paying through our teeth. At $2.42 per kilowatt for electricity, Colville Lake pays the highest power rate of all Northwest Territories communities. Let’s start by having some real discussions on a review of the electrical...

Mr. Speaker, that’s why I asked the Minister earlier is he prepared to work in partnership with the Sahtu in terms of monitoring the access of this road and the airport. There’s going to be lots of development. Is the Minister again willing to come to the Sahtu, sit down with the Sahtu leaders in terms of how do we limit some restrictions of vehicle usage in that area to protect our land?

To access the Mactung Mine on the Yukon side, they have to drive from the Yukon into the Northwest Territories to get to the Mactung Mine. I wanted to ask the Minister in terms of the time frame in terms of transferring this piece of jurisdiction over to the territorial government for the Sahtu and the people of the Northwest Territories to have this park. I’m asking the Minister in terms of the time frame, because the notices have gone out to open up the Mactung Mine here. Can the Minister outline a time frame as to when this transfer will happen to see the new establishment of this park here...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about the possibility of designating the Mackenzie River as a heritage river. I would like to ask the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources if he would consider this type of initiative and consider looking at this process to nominate the Mackenzie River under the Canadian Heritage River System.

I certainly appreciate the commitment from the Minister. Can the Minister further commit to having some further options, concrete plans in terms of coming to the Assembly in terms of the possibility of advancing a nomination should there be support for nomination of the Mackenzie River as a designated heritage river?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With the recent concerns about the Alberta tar sands and the idea of using the Mackenzie River as a super highway, it seems to me that harm to the Mighty Mackenzie is going to happen. We have to take action. We cannot allow one of Mother Nature’s wonders to be hurt.

The Mackenzie River is 4,200 kilometres long. It touches many of the communities along the Mackenzie Valley. An elder once said the Mackenzie River is like the blood veins in our bodies; it gives us life. The Mackenzie is in our blood. Having just spent 10 days at my family’s camp at Old Fort Point, right on...

Mr. Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent to continue.

---Unanimous consent granted.

Mr. Speaker, these significant days in our people’s lives, sometimes I think it would be a wonderful consideration if the government could take it on its onus to advance these types of issues forward in terms of a motion like this in the House here. So I would appreciate if the Premier could take it on in his leadership to engage the Members to see if something can be done within this short life of this Assembly here, to recognize this important day for the survivors of the residential schools.

I’m not too sure if we’ll have enough time for how quickly we can engage the Members to see if we want to do something. I want to ask the Premier in terms of his leadership, in terms of the leader of this government here, in terms of taking a leadership role to say something on behalf of this government in terms of May 26 being the day that we recognize, in this government here, as the national reconciliation healing day for residential school survivors. Will the Premier do something?