Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Would he inform the House in terms of the University and College Entrance Program? This program provides funding for up to two semesters and prepares aboriginal people to upgrade their education skills to qualify for university or college programs. Mr. Speaker, this program is to assist aboriginal people; however, Métis people are not eligible to apply. Can the Minister update as to what the progress is in terms of having Métis people eligible for this program? Mahsi.

Thank you. The other one is $30,000 for law and bursaries. These are for indigenous aboriginal students to pursue a law degree. Is that for several students or one student, five students at the most? Is there a limit on it? Has this funding exceeded or are we under-funded on this portion here? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, has the department, in terms of talking with the people in Tl'oondih and Fort McPherson, in terms of saying that we have X amount of days, could you fill this? I think they would take that as a welcome sign. I know there are other programs they have to use to make that operation viable, for the community to make it work well. How much support is the Department of Justice giving to the camp in Tl'oondih as to the new courthouse in Yellowknife?

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Standing Committee on Social Programs met with the Minister and his officials on January 18, 2005, to review the main estimates for the Department of Justice.

The committee noted expenditures of $79.803 million for operations expenses and $1.78 million to be spent on capital projects, of which $1.092 million is to be spent on preliminary work on a new standalone courthouse for Yellowknife.

A wide-ranging discussion on a number of issues, including proposed employee layoffs and shutdowns of facilities and services took place. The committee has the following comments...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister is correct in terms of his department doing as much as it can in terms of the regional trappers. This is our lifestyle for the trappers. This lifestyle is going to be impacted by the pipeline. I want to ask if the Minister of RWED and the government know the impacts on trappers in regard to the pipeline. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would ask the Minister if he would also give an update regarding Colville Lake. I understand Colville Lake school is not slated until 2007-08. They don’t have any running water there in the school. The recreation facility/storage room in Colville Lake is also the same room as their washroom. What can the Minister do in terms of telling the people in Colville Lake when they can expect to have a decent school with running water and a proper washroom?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Speaker, regarding Chief T’Selihye, it was reported in News/North that the students heard a big thump and walls were cracking between the old school and new school. In some reports, you can put a hand in between the buildings and feel the outside. I want to ask the Minister of Education about the status of Chief T’Selihye School in Fort Good Hope. I understand the engineer’s report has been out. What repairs will be done to the school this year? There are 167 students in that school, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, on behalf of the Sahtu region, want to send our condolences to the families of the RCMP members who were killed; especially when in our small communities they become like family members.

I would like to do my Member's statement, Mr. Speaker. I want to say that today is an historical day for hockey in the Northwest Territories. In 1825, Sir John Franklin wrote in his journal about hockey being played on Great Bear Lake. Mr. Speaker, do we know that the birthplace of one of our past-time sports, hockey, was played in Deline on the largest hockey rink in Canada...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, a lot of interest too I’ve read in the Minister’s opening marks with regard to this important department. I find it very interesting that the operations budget for the department has increased this year from last year, as stated in his presentation, by $460,000. I guess I will save some specific questions for later on in terms of the reason why there are increases in the operations budget and we’re making some cuts in other areas. The increase is $460,000 from last year’s main estimate. This increase is to help our communities become safer and provide...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, thank you to the Minister. However, sometimes the call of the community falls on deaf ears by oil companies where an oil company in Colville Lake had run over some traps in that area even though the community probably wasn’t informed. The Minister of MACA gathered all of the leaders in November to hear what the leaders want to say about the oil and gas. I would like to ask the Minister of MACA, does he have any plans for the same, specifically for trappers in the Sahtu or any other regions to organize a regional meeting with trappers to discuss the impacts of...