Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Minister. Would the Minister commit to a time frame that we could work with the other regions in the Mackenzie Valley? I’m going to be asking this on behalf of the Sahtu, that we could come together and look at the possibility of looking at a mobile treatment program that they could foresee sometime in the Sahtu region in light of the potential of the Mackenzie Valley pipeline coming down. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member’s statement earlier today I spoke about the issue of drug and alcohol treatment in the region. There are a number of unacceptable shortcomings in the way that addictions treatment is currently being carried out in the Sahtu; for example, the delay of allocating space for the community wellness workers in Deline and Fort Good Hope. My question to the Minister of Health and Social Services today is will the Minister of Health and Social Services provide this House and the Assembly with an update of the space allocation of community wellness...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is the chair’s comments on Bill 12, An Act to Amend the Education Act. The Standing Committee on Social Programs conducted its public review of Bill 12, An Act to Amend the Education Act, on October 12, 2004. The committee would like to thank the Sahtu Divisional Education Council for its written submission, and the Minister and his staff for presenting the bill. The bill will amend the Education Act and make consequential amendments to the Public Service Act to provide that superintendents are not members of the public service.

The Sahtu Divisional Education...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just one question with regard to this. Not knowing much about it, does this have any impact on any other municipalities down the Mackenzie Valley or in the Sahtu region? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to ask the Minister, in terms of the explanation on the Norman Wells Natural Gas Distribution System Act and why it is unnecessary. Can I get an explanation?

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I congratulate the Minister for working really hard on our behalf and on behalf of the trappers. I would like to ask the Minister, would he inform or advise his workers in the regions on things like this that we need to do and, most importantly, to inform the trappers that are going out into the region because if this industry dies that’s a crucial part of history dying with it. I guess I would ask the Minister would he look at this issue and have the trappers have a place in this department’s vision and goals in terms of a long-term goal of this government...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell the House how serious this announcement is by the federal government in terms of closing the trappers' research facility in Vegreville to the northern trappers here in the Northwest Territories? I’m not too sure what kind of information went out to our trappers to know the seriousness of the closure of this facility and what impact it will have on our people in the Northwest Territories, especially the trappers. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I stand ready, Mr. Minister. Mr. Speaker, I’ve asked the Minister if he would again commit to meet with -- I know he made some offers to the standing committee -- the Sahtu leadership in terms of gathering information. It’s a huge concern in our region in terms of making a commitment to meet with the RWED Minister in terms of the social impacts in the communities. Drug and alcohol programs are a big issue for our region, so I guess I would ask him if he would commit to also meet with the Sahtu leadership. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Speaker, I find it unacceptable that this government has not made the drug and alcohol treatment in the regions a priority, given that the survey just reported in the news about the alcohol and drug issue that’s going to be a big issue with the development of a pipeline. I read in the 2000 report of the delivery of addiction services in the Northwest Territories, I was particularly interested in having a mobile addiction treatment centre taking into consideration the recommendations of this report, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to speak about addictions treatment in the Sahtu. Over the course of the past 12 months since we have come together for the first time as an Assembly, Members have made a number of statements about the problems our communities face with respect to alcohol and drug addictions. In my opinion, Mr. Speaker, this problem on how we assemble tends to address it. It is perhaps the most pressing issue we are dealing with today. There are a number of changes to addictions counselling services in the Sahtu. Some of them are quite...