Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the previous Minister of the Housing Corporation did a tour of the Sahtu region, and one of the issues that came up for the people was the block housing and the ways that we could cut down costs. But it also makes sense to use our own resources and also use the opportunity to provide training for our people. Would the Minister commit to this House and to the people of the Sahtu that the previous commitments made by the Minister in terms of providing a package for log housing that could be suitable and affordable for people in the Sahtu region? Thank you...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again I want to ask request the Minister what type of plans does his department have in terms of working with the federal government to ensure that maybe the federal government does need to phase out the funding for housing here, similar to what the government has looked at with the First Ministers’ health funding or the equalization payments? Surely this government can question the federal government in terms of looking at housing as a crucial and essential need for the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The activity in the Northwest Territories should – I’ll cross my fingers here -- the pipeline go through, is going to be quite busy with regard to the different regions of the Northwest Territories. Isn’t the federal government a little bit concerned about that level of activity happening in light of what’s happening around the world in terms of protection of our airports and our people? Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, just to follow up on Mrs. Groenewegen’s comment, it just doesn’t make sense that the only airport in the Northwest Territories that’s going to have this type of equipment is Yellowknife, and 737s land in Inuvik, Norman Wells and other communities in the Northwest Territories that don’t have this system. I want to know if the Minister would have any indications of future plans such as Inuvik and Norman Wells and maybe Fort Smith or Hay River…Has the federal government given any indication as to upgrading those airports also where 737s do land and take off? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my written question today is directed to the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development.

Could the Minister provide detailed information of the direct financial benefits the GNWT has received over the last five years as the result of oil and gas exploration programs in the Sahtu and in the NWT?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll do a follow-up question to the Honourable Charles Dent with regard to teachers. I want to ask the Minister what is this government doing to keep teachers in the North? What type of incentives are they working on to keep the teachers in the North, so they don’t have to deal with issues such as housing? I know that the government is not in the housing business now. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Minister. When will this strategy or discussion come to the House or come into the Sahtu region for communities to discuss this amongst themselves to see that the teachers don’t have to go through this again next year? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today is to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment in regards to the crisis issues in the Sahtu, and specifically in the Tulita community school. We have teachers staying in hotels. I want to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment what is he doing with his partners in the Sahtu Divisional Education Council to work with the teachers to see that this issue is resolved and that this won’t happen again in the future? Thank you.

Thank you. Just one final comment here, Madam Chair. I'm still trying to make sense of the restrictions on 737 aircraft by January 2006 with regard to the Yellowknife Airport, yet these types of aircraft leave other airports in the Northwest Territories, so this doesn’t make sense right now. I wonder if the Minister would have some meetings with the federal Minister in terms of any future discussions or any future direction with regard to our airports that we would have some input, rather that showing up in our books here. It just doesn’t make sense to me, so that’s all I have to say...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With regard to the user fee, it’s quite a large amount of money that’s going to be spent for the user fee. I guess I want to see what type of recovery process or how long it’s going to take, 10, 15, 20 years, to recover that money. I just want to ask Mr. Dent if he can shed some light on that.