Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations:

The issue of trespassing in land claim areas is not new. It has been brought to the government’s attention many times over the last several years. Why hasn’t the GNWT brought forward legislation to prevent trespassing in settled land claim areas?

What is the Premier prepared to do to ensure that the rights of the Sahtu people are protected, that our land claim is respected, and the trespassers are kept out of the settlement area?

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have our regional health boards established across the North here. Speaking more specifically to the Sahtu health board, how is the Sahtu regional health board going to be involved in the territorial Stanton initiative in terms of involvement and input? I know you talk about the elders and that’s a key component to the success of this initiative. In terms of our regional health boards and specifically the Sahtu regional health board, will they have input into this initiative? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services if he can inform the people in the communities about the types of action plans his department has planned for serving the percentage of patients in the Stanton Territorial Hospital. What is he doing to provide good quality service that is serving the high percentage of aboriginal patients? Thank you.

He’s the king. So sometimes when my little guy puts on a tie, he says I’m going to business. He calls this meeting business. Sometimes, can he stay home today, Dad? Or don’t go to the business meetings, you know? How come my Dad doesn’t say hello to me when he’s on TV? So, hello, son.

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When he sees me on TV he wants to know why I’m not talking to him. So, Mr. Speaker, our role as leaders, as fathers, as mothers and servants to our people, it has no, sometimes a different meaning, especially as MLAs to our little guys. They just want us home and they just want to be held, or they want...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister make a commitment to come into my region sometime in the next few months to really have a discussion on this concept? We want to hear both sides. We want to know how it’s going to impact our communities, the benefits to our communities and the things we have talked about in this House. The community needs to be comfortable and to lend the support. This concept could bring a lot of benefits to our community, but if we don’t do it right, it also could be a disaster. So we want to have a good discussion with the Housing Corporation on...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I followed the Department of Justice on this initiative because I think it’s ground breaking, I think it’s the way to go in terms of our larger institutions down the Mackenzie Valley, down the Deh Cho and right down the whole Northwest Territories that this department can be the guiding light, I guess, to the other departments, I guess, in terms of looking at large facilities that have institutions like this that could use wood pellets and get the people in the Northwest Territories to start supplying wood pellets. So I guess I wanted to ask, would the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister look at providing some directive, some initiative to all the DEAs in the Territories to come up with some draft policies to have healthy foods, healthy snacks in their schools? Take out the junk food from the school and provide direction, let his department, this government, provide some leadership. They’ve provided strong leadership in the past on some other initiatives this government has done. I suggest continuing with that leadership. Would the Minister provide a time frame or something that the communities can report to saying by...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Minister Dent. I’d like to ask Minister Dent is he putting some plan together in terms of banning the junk food in all our schools in the Northwest Territories as outlined, put the junk in the trunk as my friends say and get some action in our schools here? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are some seniors in my region who say it’s just as easy for them to get into public housing rather than try to support them through their own independent housing. It gets pretty hard for them. However, Mr. Speaker, each community and region has different scenarios, so I’m not going to take sides on this. As long as it’s fair and done in an equitable manner and that our region may be different from other communities, other regions. So will the Minister again ensure that this program here is done for how it’s intended to carry out and that our elders would be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are to the Minister of the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. Mr. Speaker, I just want to ask the Minister because there may be some fear or confusion in terms of the news report on the housing issue in Hay River and for my people back in the Sahtu communities that do need this program that are in the house they have been living in for 20 or 30 years, that they are not going to be removed right away. There are some good things and they are not going to be removed or kicked out of their space. Can I ask the Minister what he’s doing in...