Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to continue with my question to the Premier in terms of Imperial Oil dropping the bomb in Norman Wells by cutting the fuel supply off to the town of Norman Wells. I want to ask the Premier if he would inform me, inform the House, inform the good people of Norman Wells in terms of what specific things this government is going to do to help residents of Norman Wells to look at possibly a conversion of the household products to keep their homes heated and operational once Imperial turns the tap off April 1, 2008. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I make comments to the Minister’s opening presentation. Also, I have specific questions to some specific departments that the funding is spoken for in terms of what their plans are for. Madam Chair, the remarks would be similar to my colleague Mr. Lafferty, in terms of ensuring that the small communities are looked after in terms of standards of services and programs. I know this government and past governments have struggled with how we balance in terms of having larger centres versus some communities, as Mr. Lafferty alluded to in terms of the RCMP...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think the residents of Norman Wells would sure appreciate hearing from this government that some support may be considered. Mr. Speaker, the question I would ask to Mr. Premier regarding Imperial dropping the bomb on the town of Norman Wells in terms of this decision, we had a deal with Imperial Oil and I say we, the Norman Wells preliminary agreement that was settled. What type of assurance do we have when we sign on with Imperial for future development such as the pipeline? What type of assurance will we have that this won’t be done and our children...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the town of Norman Wells and the residents of Norman Wells appreciate the Premier’s comments in terms of how this government is going to help with the natural gas supply. Mr. Speaker, the town of Norman Wells made comments to myself and Members of this House that when we had a meeting with them in terms of NCPC, the power rates would go up by using the NCPC supply. They want to maintain a certain level of affordable rates and again I am asking the Premier in terms of helping the people in Norman Wells make a conversion of their hot water tanks, electricity, fuel...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to speak about the success story of the Norman Wells Day Care. This is a great example of how a community can work to provide for itself. In the past, I spoke about the need for day care places in the Sahtu. The entire region had only 59 licensed day care spots. The new Norman Wells Day Care will add 20 day care and 10 pre-school spots thanks to the efforts of the Norman Wells Early Childhood Society. I would like to congratulate the society for the workers, the volunteers, Chamber of Commerce, the Norman Wells Land Corporation, the Town of...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Standing Committee on Social Programs met to review Bill 3, An Act to Amend the Legal Service Act, on April 19th and 20th and on May 8th in Yellowknife, on April 23rd in Tuktoyaktuk, and Inuvik and on April 24th in Ulukhaktok; on April 25th in Colville Lake; on April 26th in Behchoko. The committee would like to thank the Minister and all the witnesses who spoke to the bill.

The committee heard from Ms. Katherine R. Peterson, a member of the private bar in Yellowknife. Ms. Peterson was very concerned that the proposed amendment would create a different or a lower...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I understand also that the Government of Canada owns one-third of the Norman Wells field. You know, where are they in this business here in terms of helping out our people in the Northwest Territories? You know, the royalties that they collect in Norman Wells, the oilfield has produced billions of dollars for Imperial Oil so the board of directors and shareholders can sit on a nice cushy place in the southern parts of the States here. So, Mr. Speaker, again, I’m demanding that this government here ask the president of Imperial Oil to come up here and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The town of Norman Wells was told that Imperial Oil were going to reduce their gas consumption in terms of supplying the town of Norman Wells. They were shocked that Imperial Oil said the reduction will be zero. Now that causes a huge crisis in my community of Norman Wells, in the region. Then Imperial Oil says, come on you guys, the pipeline is a good thing for us, sign on and let’s do something. How does Imperial Oil drag the people of Norman Wells through this, I don’t know what to call it, Mr. Speaker, but I’m asking can this government here demand to have the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to bring my Member’s Statement to the point of bridges since we’re talking about the bridge that’s going to benefit the people of the Northwest Territories; specifically the city of Yellowknife and also to the community of Fort Providence in terms of having a bridge being constructed across the mighty Deh Cho.

I want to ask and talk about my statement in terms of the Great Bear River bridge in the Sahtu River that has been somewhat postponed. I’m afraid to say cancellation because of the increased costs of this bridge. However, the people in our...

Thank you. A short comment, Mr. Chair. I certainly want to encourage this strong protocol, folks, in terms of implementing this legislation here and the situation we, in the Northwest Territories, have to deal with in terms of the shortage of lawyers and the court issue and making this legislation sensitive to people in the smaller communities to deal with and having a strong procedure in place that would ensure that they are getting the services they require to handle sensitive and difficult issues in the court proceedings.

I just want to urge the Minister, Mr. Chairman. I also note the...