Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The department may feel they can deal with the existing workloads and future workloads of this here; however, I heard some concerns in my region that sometimes these issues take six months to a year to get the information to the people because of the limited resources in the office of vital stats; a simple request for a birth certificate or issues of certificates of marriage and so on. So I am very concerned. I just wanted to make sure again that they know what they are walking into.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will this Minister in this government make it a priority of the Department of Justice to move it out of the pilot project concept into a firm program that could be used in our region, expand it to other areas, involve other departments in terms of having this camp be as successful and be a leading solution to all other programs in Canada? Could I have the Minister commit to me in the House here to move this forward into a high level of priorities within his department? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this initiative came from the elders in the Sahtu. They thought about it for a long time. I’m a voice for them in this Assembly here. Mr. Speaker, this initiative has also been voiced to people in the Tlicho, as Mr. Minister has indicated. The Member for the Beaufort-Mackenzie Delta in terms of Tl’oondih. I want to ask the Minister, Mr. Speaker, in this issue here, can this be replicated to young people that we have in the Northwest Territories and the Sahtu region where a lot of issues are being dealt with now by the young people through the youth of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Frame Lake, that the Speaker be authorized to set such sitting days and hours as the Speaker, after consultation, deems fit to assist with the business before the House.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, August 17, 2007, I will move the following motion: I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Frame Lake, that the Speaker be authorized to set such sitting days and hours as the Speaker, after consultation, deems fit to assist with the business before the House.

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will be seeking unanimous consent to deal with the motion today.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister advise his department officials in the interim, advising all public about the use of ATVs in the boundaries of the proposed park of severe warnings of not allowing them to come into our area and disrupt the environmental nature of this park? Can the Minister send out a strong notice to all: beware ATV owners and riders in the park? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last month, several hikers along with myself and the Premier and some youth have hiked the Canol Trail. Mr. Speaker, it's a beautiful area, very sensitive. There were a lot of good discussions that happened there. One of the things I wanted to ask the Minister of ITI and his responsibility for this park here, proposed management park, is in terms of the protection. Can the Minister provide to this House an update as to how this park will be developed and managed in the next coming years in terms of what can he say to this House in terms of giving...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as we know from previous discussions on devolution and resource revenue sharing, this issue here is very important to the people in the North in terms of getting it on the federal government’s agenda and having some results. Given that the Public Service Alliance and the Western Arctic MP started a lobbying campaign for a substantial increase of the northern residents deduction, what else does this Minister suggest the GNWT can do to finally get results providing this incentive to its citizens in the North?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier, I spoke about the motion that this government looked at, instructing the Government of the Northwest Territories to work with the counterparts of the jurisdictions to increase the index of northern residents reduction. I would like to find out from the Minister of Finance what progress he has made to date to have the federal government increase the northern residents deduction. In January, the Finance Minister started discussions with his territorial and provincial counterparts and they wrote letters to the Finance Minister. Will the Minister tell this...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is my last question to the Minister on this discussion here. It is something that we can continue to support. I know in our communities we have some really good water quality. The thought of the day that this bottled water is safer than tap water because it is bought in stores, it is wrapped nice and neatly. It shows a mountain and a little stream coming down. Why in the Northwest Territories and through the department that this new act can say very loud and clear that our water is one of the safest and cleanest waters in the world here? It is free. I want to...