Norman Yakeleya

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.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to table a letter I received from Lorraine Kuer, a teacher at Chief Albert Wright School in Tulita, which is signed by 19 staff and teachers in Tulita.

Mr. Speaker, the letter is addressed to the Government of the Northwest Territories and it describes the housing crises facing teachers in the Sahtu region and other small communities in the Northwest Territories, and it challenges the government to take immediate action to redeem the situation. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I support the Minister in terms of aggressively looking at some initiatives that would keep our teachers here and have them be aware of the high cost of living in the Sahtu. We are no strangers in the Sahtu region, we know that. I would ask the Minister what would he do with his department in terms of working with the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation to look at some unique initiatives of providing some secure housing to our people in the Northwest Territories and the Sahtu region. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the reason why I say this is that the federal government sometimes puts the squeeze on the communities, you know. There’s a time frame to do some really decent work in terms of the Protected Areas Strategy. So I’m asking the Minister if he could ensure that the Protected Areas Strategy deserves the quality and the work that it presents itself to the communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what strategy is our government going to use to ensure that the federal government does come to the plate to get the ball rolling in terms of protecting our areas in the Northwest Territories? I’m asking the Minister what type of strategy we have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to that assessment report from the Minister. Also, would the Minister provide this House with a timetable that he is going to work with the Minister of Health and Social Services in terms of seeing what type of occupancy that the people in Deline can look forward to in terms of occupying that seniors facility and that they can at least have some decisions as to where to go next with that facility? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister inform the House here as to some sort of a time frame that they would make a decision on it with the community of Deline, in terms of the uses of that facility? Thank you.