Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to be short with my Member’s statement. But it’s written too long, so I’ll only use two pages here.

Mr. Speaker, it’s a great moment that we shared in this House yesterday. We sent a message to women, young and old, and to also to Canada.

Today I want to talk about our youth and the safe and healthy alternatives our Aboriginal Sport Circle of the Northwest Territories is providing to them.

We want our youth to excel. We want them to turn their positive energy into a powerful beat of a drum. The year 2014 was successful for our Aboriginal athletes, coaches and...

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Minister for sharing some of the information and the costs sheets with me. You know there is a gas war happening in Edmonton. It’s $1 per litre.

Would the Minister entertain giving customers, hunters and trappers in the communities like Fort Good Hope, a six-month grace period by selling fuel at the former rate of $1.80? Would he do that?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Did you know that we have a lot in common with Ontario when it comes to complaints about government services or agencies? Getting the most grief in Ontario, which the ombudsman addressed in his 2013 report, included, ringing in at number one with nearly 7,000 complaints: Hydro One. Trailing in at second: the Family Responsibility Office of Ontario with 1,157 complaints.

It’s time to get down to the facts. Isn’t it interesting that the top two agencies or the departments formerly complained about in Ontario are probably the top two in the Northwest Territories. Let’s...

Yes, I do.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. At the beginning of Bill 25, I certainly also had concerns with the reporting, the proposed structure and set up, and the jurisdiction, the authority, and maybe the confusion around the board chairs and the Minister himself. I had that confused. I have noted that I did receive a letter from our chair of the Sahtu education board and they wanted to clearly state that there are clear indications as to our superintendent and the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. I believe the Minister did receive that letter and that the board wanted to know that, you know, are...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 34, 2015 Polling Day Act, be read for the second time.

Bill 34 provides for an alternate polling day for the 2015 General Election in order to avoid an overlap of the election period for the next federal election.

So my understanding is each type of customer that purchases fuel through the petroleum products division has its own pricelist. There are 10 types of customers, including the general public who pays whatever price they have now, the GNWT, boards and agencies, community governments, federal governments and others.

Can the community harvesters, registered trappers and hunters, be deemed as one of these 10 types of customers that could go to the gas station and under the community government clients pay a lower price than the regular customers? That’s what I’m asking.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to continue on with my questioning in regard to the cost of gasoline, fuel in our small communities. I want to ask the Minister of ITI. I understand through the ITI department they have the Community Harvesters Assistance Program, or known as CHAP. This is a well-subscribed program that’s very popular in our small communities, especially for hunters, trappers and gatherers of country food. These are the people that help and continue with tradition.

So with this program, is there enough in the program to help reduce the cost of the fuel that the trappers need to go...

Mr. Speaker, a promise is a promise is a promise. In Fort Good Hope they were promised that they’d be paying less for the fuel. We haven’t yet advanced far enough in our technology with the hunters and trappers to have little squirrels or animals operate our machines. We still rely on gas, and gas is what keeps our lives stable in Fort Good Hope.

I want to task the Minister again, using the Stabilization Fund, can that be used in our communities like Fort Good Hope? The hunters and trappers were told by the government that they will pay less for fuel. Can you give them a grace period, other...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like the old saying goes, the gas goes in your car, not on your hands. Well, customers and trappers in the Sahtu cannot afford any more spillage at the pumps. They are getting gouged. My question is for Minister Beaulieu today.

Can the Minister tell this House why hunters and trappers, customers in Fort Good Hope, got a trick at the pumps last week instead of a treat? Someone needs to say more than I’m sorry.