Norman Yakeleya

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate our elder Mr. Edward Oudzi from Norman Wells on being selected as the territorial recipient of the 2014 NWT Outstanding Volunteer Award for the Elder Category.

Mr. Oudzi is a well-respected elder and is especially known for his traditional knowledge, spirituality and his tireless volunteering in the town of Norman Wells.

On behalf of the Sahtu region, I pass on good wishes to Mr. Oudzi for his outstanding volunteer efforts, and all the best to him, his family and his community. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This spring I’ve had the opportunity to go on the land with my family. I brought my little boy out there. He’s 12 years old. Being out on the land for 11 days, I truly believe that the land is alive and well, and the land is the boss. The land has certain laws that when we’re in a certain type of environment that we really don’t understand. I know that when I was with my son, we were talking about walking with his grandparents on the land. His grandparents from my side of the family are not alive anymore, but they have put a place where we can go and fish, hunt and trap...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the mover and the seconder for raising this issue to this level here. In the Sahtu we’ve been dealing with this for some time. There are some inaccuracies, inconsistencies in the motion in the wording and I just don’t get it. I don’t believe in some of the whereases. There are some concerns that certainly we are talking about in the Sahtu and I want to speak on that today.

I want to hopefully give my interpretation of what’s happening in the Sahtu. Certainly, as we know, everybody has different interpretations.

In 1993 the people of the Sahtu reclaimed...

Mr. Speaker, I certainly agree 110 percent with Minister Ramsay’s observation on the Canol Heritage Trail and Doi T’oh Park.

Given that we now have 87 hikers that hike on the Canol Trail, some of the hikers have hiked over 300 to 400 miles on that trail and they’ve been coming consistently. The average hiker walks about 25 miles and it’s said they become very intimate with the trail.

I want to ask the Minister, through his discussions, through what’s happening now with the Canol and the future infrastructure projects, is the Minister willing to look at setting up a management-type of community...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of ITI. In my Member’s statement I made a brief comment on the Canol Heritage Trail. The Canol Trail follows the traditional Shotagotine Dene trails through the Mackenzie Mountains and was used over thousands of years by the Sahtu Dene and Metis. Over the last eight years, 87 hikers have had a very intimate experience with the Canol Trial. Over the eight years these hikers have experienced the value of these traditional trails.

In order to help tourism and other people who are going to take part in hiking on the Canol Trail and hiking by...

Thank you. This spring, people in Deline, Colville Lake, Fort Good Hope, Norman Wells and Tulita certainly took advantage of the geese coming over into the Sahtu region and one of the advantages of our communities that show a lot of people going out on the land was because of their agreements with the helicopter companies that they have. The helicopters today are being used by community members to get people on the land. I want to ask the Minister in regard to supporting the families and the communities in regard to some traditional programs, I guess we could look at where we can do some...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask the Minister of ITI… I talked about the activity of the Sahtu people who still continue to use the land through different methods, different avenues we have today. I know that I did ask a question at one time, I’m not too sure if it was to Mr. Ramsay, on the support that’s given to people who want to continue to strengthen and pursue their traditional way of life in the year 2014.

I want to thank Members and colleagues and say, in my grandmother’s words, when I asked her about her husband, Chief Albert Wright, about the future, Chief Albert Wright said, “Go onto the land. In the future it’s going to be very valuable.” That’s where I take my inspiration when I hike – in the past years there have been 87 hikers on the Canol – is to go on the land, live on the land. You know what? If we continue to go on the land and teach our children the value that anything in life that you want, you need to practice it first. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask the Minister, given all that we know about the Canol Heritage Trail, the federal government is working with the work committee, the land corporation authority under our land claim, specifically Chapter 17, Protected Areas. That’s where we speak to some co-management decision-making development of the park and the territorial government’s mandate under the territorial parks with ITI.

Given all of this, I want to ask the Minister, can a type of co-management committee be started up and look at what needs to be happening to get this park in its proper place...

Mr. Speaker, certainly the Minister has been very clear to use in the House that it’s still the authority of the federal government until other issues are resolved with the Sahtu Land Claim corporations and the territorial government. Once the authority comes to the territorial government, this park will be the largest territorial park in the Northwest Territories, and I continue to support the discussions. The territorial government can then work with the Sahtu Land Claim organizations on the operations, development and management of the Canol Heritage Park and Canol Heritage Trail.

I want to...