Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Members supported the idea that in order to protect youth, the proposed Bill 15 should be compatible with the NWT Tobacco Control Act and its regulations where monitoring and enforcement are concerned. During the clause-by-clause review of the bill, committee and Minister agreed to amend Bill 15 to make compliance monitoring and enforcement of liquor stores part of the mandate of enforcement officers. This includes allowing for minors to purchase or attempt to purchase liquor for the purpose of “sting operations."

People commenting on the proposed act mostly welcomed...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, honourable colleagues. I would like to recognize a constituent in the Sahtu. She is from Norman Wells. She is an employee of the Government of the Northwest Territories and a good representative of all of the people in the Sahtu, Ms. Ruby MacDonald in the gallery.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just recently, the Premier and I and some members of the people in the Sahtu walked the Canol Trail using traditional knowledge. Using traditional knowledge, we also used the horses. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of ENR in terms of traditional knowledge. Would he report to the House in the future in terms of the effectiveness of the traditional policy that the government has implemented and hit a 10 year mark? Would the Minister then report to the House in terms of that evaluation of the TK policy? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am very interested in what the Minister said. It will be utilized in all departments of the Government of the Northwest Territories. It is hitting a 10 year mark. I am looking at how effective it is and look at some revisions based on the Hay River conference. Mr. Speaker, I have asked the Minister, would he look at the process of consultation in our communities? We have just come out of Kelly Lake in the Sahtu and TK workshop with the elders and it seems like we need to do some serious consultation with our people to get their knowledge implemented...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this government makes a mention of the Deh Cho Bridge as a cost-savings initiative. How much money will the Deh Cho Bridge save the Sahtu?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the programs we have right now is the Food Mail Program the federal government offers. We are looking for some solutions in the Sahtu. A litre of milk, as I stated earlier in my Member’s statement, is 40 cents more in Colville Lake than in Hay River. There are other costs that our members in the Sahtu region can tell this government how much more we pay. I would ask the Premier if he would work towards a fixed target within the government in terms of saying by the year in 2008-2009, we want to bring the cost of living down by this percentage. We...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The cost of living in the Sahtu is one issue that has been bothering my people for a long time. The Government of the Northwest Territories provided MLAs with a presentation in 2006 called the Cost of Living in the Northwest Territories. This presentation showed Sahtu communities are in the top 10 most expensive communities for food prices in the Northwest Territories. For instance, food in the Sahtu is actually double the cost of food in Edmonton. However, in Yellowknife, food is only 10 percent more expensive than in Edmonton. The Sahtu is also in the top 10...

Mr. Chairman, I also would like to declare a conflict of interest.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to return to item 5 of the orders of the day.

Thank you. I look forward to those discussions across the North here and especially in my riding. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister then also commit to some of the department senior bureaucrats to be at this type of discussion with our people to come there with an attitude of listening to see how important these traditional knowledge experiences and wisdom are implemented to the government departments? Thank you.