Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to ask the Minister, with regards to Junior Kindergarten and the work that needs to be done in some of the educational facilities in the communities. Just hearing from Ms. Bisaro and the response back from the Minister and the Education Minister, are these works and are these some of the special situations we run into when we want to implement infrastructure to support programs and services, something not present but we have done to help the community to implement a program and sometimes it doesn’t work, sometimes according to text and I believe there is some grey...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recently in the Sahtu a couple of students couldn’t make it into the Trades Entrance Program because they couldn’t qualify. These are recent Grade 12 graduates, students that we graduated last year. We give them a huge celebration, the communities celebrated along with them, but when they came to write the Trades Entrance Program they didn’t pass. The Trades Entrance Program is 70 percent. These are students who were failed today.

I want to ask the Minister, why are we failing these graduates who want to get into a Trades Entrance Program, a career, to aspire to the...

Thank you. The overall picture the Minister has painted, looking at the overall system, re-evaluating in the last 10, 11 years as an MLA, we know in the Sahtu and the North that our education system is not comparable to the larger centres. It’s a known fact. As Mr. Premier said yesterday, it’s a cold hard fact. The cold hard fact of this issue is that we are not in the same ranking as the larger centres.

So, knowing this for the last 11 years, is the Minister willing to direct his department today to start looking at Grade 12, looking at and asking the communities, these are the programs that...

The Premier is right; there is no silver bullet. Energy seems to be one of the major factors, the high cost of food in our Northern Stores and the lack of employment. We have the resources. Infrastructure seems to be another factor in our smaller, remote communities. If we have one litre of milk here in Yellowknife, one litre of milk in Fort Good Hope or Colville Lake, why is there a difference between that and up in Ulukhaktok? What’s the difference? Where does the price add onto that litre of milk? That is what the people are asking. Or do we just accept the fact that living in the Northwest...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment commit to this House that when he meets with his federal/provincial counterparts that the high cost of living in the Northwest Territories will be a priority item that he can discuss with the other provincial leaders as something that needs to have the full attention of Canada, to raise this issue to know that this issue here is important to people and Members of this House?

I know the honourable Minister doesn’t set the oil prices, but it’s having a huge impact. Let’s shift our attention to the working poor or the single-income families.

Why would income support only grant one purchase order to a mother of twins when clearly she is trying to feed two children? Can the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment explain to this House how a front-line worker could deny the basic support for infants in these remote communities?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Money ain’t for nothing, cheques for free. That’s according to Dire Straits. Whether it be those lyrics or the band’s name, Mr. Speaker, we’re all, indeed, in dire straits across the Northwest Territories when it comes to the cost of living.

All the great minds in the world should be able to come to the conclusion of why is the cost of living in the Northwest Territories so high. Some of the question my constituents are asking: When will we catch a break? When will the middleclass or the elders catch a break?

Well, Mr. Speaker, when one of the Members is planning to visit...

There is also a song, “Put another Log on the Fire.”

---Laughter

And that’s free and good for the communities.

I think we need to look at some of those solutions especially for young people. We, in our generation, grew up cutting wood, hauling wood by dog team and then by skidoo. We need to look at those types of solutions.

This is the important issue in the North. Do we accept the cold hard facts that when you live further out than the larger centres it’s going to be a challenge because your options are limited? You don’t have as many options as down in the Yellowknife area. That’s a fact. So...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In listening to Members talk about their concerns and possible solutions to deal with the high cost of living in the Northwest Territories, are there any discussions the Premier has come across in doing a high cost of living charrette in the Northwest Territories to have people come together and look at ways that they could reduce the cost of living in their communities? Has there been any type of discussion like that that’s so important to people in the small communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Can the Minister of Education tell us what emergency measures are available for those who might be in between jobs or students without work? What can they do to ensure they have a roof over their heads this winter and dealing with the high cost of living?