Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the joint ventures that sometimes happen in the Sahtu are 10 percent joint ventures just up front. The southern companies say we have a connection to the local business or the region, and then there are 51 and 49 percent joint ventures. Those are the real homegrown businesses that have equity in the region and sometimes those companies lose out on those 10 percent joint ventures. Madam Speaker, that’s what I am asking for the government to look at, is the real companies in the Sahtu to make sure those monies that are spent by the people who live and...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, some of the business that has been done in the Sahtu…Well there are different interpretations of the joint ventures and they come into the region, do their business, then take the majority of the economics out of the region, not even using the businesses in the region. My question to the Minister is can he work with his Cabinet Members to ensure that northern businesses do have some level of equality or some level playing field in terms of receiving contracts from the government, making sure that some of these outside joint ventures are encouraged to...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize the member from a Tlicho community, Joe Beaverho. Thank you.

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Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I, too, want to send out my congratulations to the hard-working people in Hay River for the fine event, and thank you, Minister, for inviting us down to the NWT track meet yesterday.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the potential to create a viable future for all NWT communities is before us. Initiatives such as devolution, resource revenue sharing and the Northern Strategy provide us with the opportunity to revamp northern government to reflect concrete commitments to build strong and sustainable communities.

My question is for the Premier of the Northwest Territories.

Is the Premier committed to using these initiatives to strengthen the whole of the NWT?

If so, how does the Premier see it unfolding and taking shape?

What concrete steps are being taken to make...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, just in the last few weeks, the Sahtu has seen a high interest of winning bids by oil companies in the valley. We are talking about $50 million or $60 million of potential investments in the Sahtu region. An all-weather road would help the Sahtu in terms of a lot of issues. Number one, it would bring down the cost of living. Madam Speaker, would the Minister be able to meet with the Sahtu people in terms of a delegation going down to Ottawa if that is what it takes to put it on the federal government’s agenda, because that’s their expenditure, and the...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, so many questions, so little time. I have narrowed down my questions to the Minister of Transportation. In Hay River, we saw a huge number of people from the surrounding communities participate in track and field. If only we had an all-weather road in the Sahtu, we would have seen an increase of participants going into Hay River. So, Madam Speaker, could the Minister commit that the future proposal going to the federal government will look at the small scale community approach to start building an all-weather road in the Sahtu region?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The whole process of this decentralization is somewhat confusing for me because the first time I really did notice it was when I saw it in the newspaper and I’m not too sure we had the opportunity to have some discussion with our community members or in our region. What’s more startling is that I found 25 percent of the referrals are from Inuvik and the Sahtu and 40 percent are from the community of Yellowknife.

This is a Territorial Treatment Centre. I support the decentralization policy this government has undertaken and that there are a lot of our youth in small...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Are there any plans to have any communities in our region to put a program in there? As I spoke to it earlier this week about the amount of garbage that is being tossed around in the Sahtu, are there any programs that are going into our community? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Madam Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. It gives me great pleasure to recognize the Sahtu powerhouse negotiating team for self-government. I’d like to recognize Danny Gaudet, chief negotiator for Deline self-government.

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I’d like to recognize O'khi Leon Modeste, elder.

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A former chief and constituent of mine and a good worker, Andrew John Kenny, the young elder.

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Elder Alfred Taniton from Deline.

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Learning to be an elder, Morris Neyelle.

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And a young elder, Fredrick Kenny.

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