Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe if the Minister sat down with the people in Colville Lake, we would beg to differ on the issue of public safety and the use of that school. Mr. Speaker, the chair of the Sahtu Divisional Education Council wrote a strong letter regarding the school in Colville Lake and the lack of proper facilities to have a proper learning environment. Mr. Speaker, I applaud the Minister in terms of his strong advocacy of having graduates in the communities. The Minister is making the commitment to visit Colville Lake. Can he visit by the end of this month? This is an...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have always said that the community of Colville Lake is a long way out of Yellowknife; it's far away. So sometimes it's out of sight, out of mind, for the people in Colville Lake. If they want to maintain a traditional economy, I support them 100 percent. For a traditional lifestyle, I support them 100 percent. But it's unacceptable, in this day and age, when we have education facilities such as are built in and around the Northwest Territories, that we cannot fix Colville Lake in terms of the use of the honey bucket. Can the Minister tell us, short of moving...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, because of the number of students we have in the gallery, I want to make a quick reference. Of these 60 students, if we took only 20 out, and we put all those students in one building, from kindergarten to Grade 12, that's what the children in Colville Lake are faced with. In this time and age, Mr. Speaker, that's just totally unacceptable. So I would like to ask the Minister, can he state, for the people of Colville Lake, that their school, where they send their children each school day of the year, does the school in Colville Lake meet the current...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. A portable classroom may have a lifespan of 20 years. It makes more sense to renovate and put an addition onto the existing structure. I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

A crying shame that we have to put our students in this type of building.

In examining the history of an addition for the Colville Lake School, I know the project has been delayed, and reduced in scope, since 2000-2001. That’s five years, Mr. Speaker. It went from a $1.5 million addition to be concluded in 2005-2006 in the 2000-2001 Main Estimates, to a modular classroom, at the cost of $448,000, to be delivered in 2007-2008 in this year’s main estimates. In fact, Mr. Speaker, at one point in the 2003-2004 Main Estimates, the project did not even appear in the books for the Department of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the commitment from the Minister. Within these 30 days, the people in Colville Lake will still have the same situation. What can we tell the people of Colville Lake that have the overcrowding, the honey bucket, the boot room, that they can have some other facilities to have proper educational training? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to continue with my questions to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, regarding the Colville Lake school. As you are well aware, kindergarten to Grade 12 are all taught in one room. In desperation for quiet time, one teacher now teaches in the boot room, which is adjacent to the honey bucket and equipment room. Mr. Speaker, building codes may be violated in terms of the limited capacity and having 41 people in the school. I am not sure if the fire marshal has given any kind of indication to the Department of Education on a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once the final confirmation from the community of Deline and the departments that are associated in utilizing this facility he says build into a planning process…What is the planning process? Is it one year, two years, four years? What is the planning process? Can people in Deline actually see some tangible things happening around that facility in terms of seeing it being operated in that fashion? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member’s statement, I talked about the housing situation in the Sahtu. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services on the facility in Deline. There is an elders' long-term care facility that is not being utilized, as Mrs. Groenewegen has indicated in her statement, to the fullest extent. This situation has gone on for a number of years. My constituents are asking for a resolution. Can the Minister of Health and Social Services inform this Assembly of the current status of the long-term care facility in Deline, and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to table a letter to the House from the Colville Lake school. It’s quite disturbing, and I would like to table it.