Norman Yakeleya

Thank you. I knew I was smart. I knew I should have listened to my Mom, who said, “You’re smart. You’re smart.”

I want to ask the Minister on the implementation plan for the Sahtu that we fulfilled all obligations under the Sahtu Implementation Plan by our government, because I’m hearing some other things from the federal government that they’re not quite all completed. You know, some of the implementation plan is 10 or 20 years late. I’m trying to figure that out. Thank you.

I certainly hope the Minister sees him real soon and makes a point of this inequity, unjust, and that one of the pillars of Canada received some recognition and not to have this type of issue with us.

Anyhow, I just wanted to raise that for the Metis locals. We fund the Native Women’s Association double what the Metis locals are getting. Again, I wish the Premier and I wish the Minister good luck to talk to the federal Minister on this issue here.

I hope the periodic basis is at last once a year. We appreciate it. I don’t even think the federal government is funding it and we’re doing it. That’s the unique challenge in the communities. Some of them do not yet have a land claim organization to fall back on, especially for the Metis people and the locals to come up to the same par as the Dene organizations, band councils. This is peanuts compared to their organizations. There is still an inequity and injustice from one Aboriginal group to another Aboriginal group. It’s clear. We see it in this government and the federal government. I’ve...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to get a breakdown just to confirm the core funding to the Metis locals. Can I get a breakdown on what exactly the Metis councils are getting?

Thank you, Madam Chair. I have one question for the Minister with regard to the percentage of senior management or Aboriginal employees within the government sector. We are hearing that there is a different percentage in each department. Are we getting closer to representing the population that we serve with our government employees? I know there was some type of discussion, and with the time we have left in this government, are we moving the bar up a half percent or a percent or something where we can say yes, we’re getting closer to the number of representation by the population that we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Thursday, February 12, 2015, I will move the following motion: I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that, notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on Thursday, February 12, 2015, it shall be adjourned until Monday, February 16, 2015;

And further, that any time prior to February 16, 2015, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may...

Yesterday I had an exchange with Mr. Premier about the different things we can do in our small communities. This morning I was talking to a resident in Tulita that said I finished Grade 7 but today I have a successful business in Tulita. That’s what I’m looking for in our schools. More of that type of leadership education in our schools where kids today can just do what they have to do to be successful, successful thinking in the schools. That’s where I’m looking.

Is that something the Minister is looking at in regard to education in the North?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. In my Member’s statement I talked about the quality of education in our small communities, especially with the fact of finding that our students are not at the same level as our southern students on their education.

I want to ask the Minister what he is doing to bring these numbers up so that we know that our students are getting a quality education and that they can bring the level up to a number that we can be proud of.

I’m thinking about the meeting we had last year in Sahtu when we talked about the implementation plan of the Sahtu Land Claim Agreement and some of the work that needed to yet be negotiated and worked on. Out of the number of activities, how many does the federal government yet need to complete? How long will it take for them to complete the implementation plan? I’m hearing that the territorial government is up to date on our implementation plan. I know some dates take a little longer than we anticipated, but what I’m hearing is that we’re okay.

I congratulate the Premier and the staff on the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This morning I was looking at some of the stats that I’ve been compiling, and one of the most frightening stats that I picked up and started to read had to deal with the shocking report that the Department of Education had compiled. It has to do with our future of the Northwest Territories and our small communities, and it’s startling and it’s frightening. I was wondering: how do we work on this and get this to be something that we can celebrate? It has to deal with the results that the consultants found in our children in our small communities.

The results were showing...