Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to hear about the initiative of the joint committee on oil and gas. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to working with the organizations in the Sahtu to determine the assistance they need in forming joint ventures and how he can assist and when?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’m here to tell you today that the Sahtu is open for business. There were four wells being drilled near Colville Lake and two wells drilled just south of Tulita from this past winter’s drilling season. Altogether, that makes six exploration wells and geographical programs running for a total of $56 million and 200 hundred jobs that have been created as a result of this exploration. This doesn’t even begin to recognize the potential, Mr. Speaker.

It is estimated that by the year 2009, if all goes well, more than 6,000 jobs will be created during the three...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When I had a community meeting in Tulita, at Willow Lake, one of the elders mentioned the Great Bear River hydro. They told us we have the power. So he was making a comment that we had the resources in the Sahtu along the Bear River. One of the elders in Colville Lake mentioned to me also that there were alternative ways that the community of Colville Lake could be looked at as a pilot project in terms of reducing power. We have a huge power plant with a limited number of houses using it. The co-op is suffering in terms of making profits. So one of the elders asked if...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Bear River hydro project caught my ear, so I want to ask a question to the Premier. In light of the Bear River project, I wanted to talk about the power rates that we have in the small community of Colville Lake. The amount that they have to pay for their power in light of the potential for the Bear River project, what can we tell the people in Colville Lake in terms of seeing a decrease in their power rates? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, also, would the Minister consider looking at the land claims agreements in the Sahtu region, where economic measures is a chapter that is being negotiated. It has been 10 years since the land claims were settled and to see how the people of the Sahtu region could benefit from that negotiated chapter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my statement today, I spoke about the tremendous oil and gas development in the Sahtu. I explained how much our people need help in negotiating with the oil and gas companies in forming joint ventures and assessing and creating opportunities so that we can build that pipeline and get all the benefits we can from exploration and development. Will our Minister commit to working with the organizations in the Sahtu to determine what assistance they need in negotiations and how the department can assist them and when? Minister of RWED.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I will also recognize the clock, and I have one final question for the Minister of Finance. I appreciate that, in light of the good news of the budget from the federal government and the recent discussions that Senator Nick Sibbeston had on naming of the Northwest Territories, the resources that the federal government takes out of the Northwest Territories I really think we should call ourselves Robin Hood, because the federal government keeps robbing us. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask a question with regard to sharing of the dollars in the Northwest Territories and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to acknowledge the volunteers of the Sahtu region. It has been brought to my attention that the community of Fort Good Hope in the Sahtu region will be hosting a volunteer awards dinner tomorrow at noon. Mr. Speaker, these volunteers will be recognized for their efforts in the search and rescue of the fatal plane crash last year that took the lives of some precious people that we dearly loved and are missed by our people.

Mr. Speaker, there are many volunteers who make huge contributions to our communities. With the region pulling...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The last comment is the museums in the Northwest Territories are an asset to our people and knowledge for our kids. I suppose the museums in what they are doing and I think museums should be in all the regions because there’s a lot of knowledge for our children to visit, and I was taken aback when I went to visit the museum in Norman Wells and saw a lot of good things that I didn’t take notice of before. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Those are my comments.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On page 9-28, on the Sahtu implementation of $20,000. Could the Minister give us a quick look into that item? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.