Norman Yakeleya

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.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I wanted to ask the department a question, Mr. Chairman. I was in Norman Wells and they asked about their museum. They said that it was in the government's books and all of a sudden it disappeared, and they want to know what is happening with the Norman Wells museum. I don't know if it's infrastructure dollars or program dollars, I didn't do enough checking. I said I would raise it with the Minister and I think this is the appropriate time to raise it with this department. The museum in Norman Wells is really nice, and hopefully one day I will be in that museum...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to make some comments with regard to the early childhood program. Before I make a comment, maybe I will ask a question. When was the last time the Education Act was reviewed, amended or looked upon by the Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Minister. I had one partner in the Sahtu communities who said they were interested in looking at an initiative where they can start training our young people, men and women, in terms of the heavy equipment in terms of mechanics and driving and so forth. That's something that maybe after this we can have some discussions. They were very interested, and they said we could look at this and this government to get the show on the road and start training our people here.

The other point I want to make to the Minister, Mr. Chairman, is there was a company in...

Thank you very much. I just wanted to also mention the importance of supporting our children and youth in schools. I was really pleased to read the increase of the enrolment of our schools from 1998-99 to 2003-04. There is a significant increase in our schools, and the department must be doing something right or something that the communities and our schools are doing right together to get our students to that level of enrolment. It shows that the students, teachers, and the communities are doing something right that got our kids into school. The numbers are up and we need to continue to...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I would also like to let the committee know we are going to do this through teamwork, and my honourable colleague from Nunakput, Calvin Pokiak, will conclude the report.

The committee met on February 23rd, 2004, with the Minister and his officials to consider the 2003-2004 draft main estimates for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment.

The committee notes an estimated $213.705 million for operations expenses, an increase of $2.685 million over last year’s numbers and a total of $13.430 million for capital infrastructure for 2004-2005.

The committee is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance regarding his statement to the House this afternoon. I don't know if Santa Claus is at the North Pole or in Ottawa in terms of the goodies and the good news that he has given to the Northwest Territories in the response from the federal Member of Parliament. In terms of the Minister's statement, I believe that the budget will contribute positively to the overall situation in the Northwest Territories. I want to ask the Minister if he could explain in plain language his belief on how this budget will contribute...