Norman Yakeleya

Thank you. Just a request of the Minister, Mr. Chair, on the evaluation and the success of these energy programs. I would like to know about the Sahtu assessment and how these programs went into our communities. If he could provide me with a written document on these programs that went into the communities, specifically the hot water heater program and any other programs under this initiative that had some impacts in the Sahtu region. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to also comment on the type of work that the family preservations are providing and that this is something that’s been asked maybe in a different language, different forms, different concepts, but this is what I know I’ve been hearing from around the Sahtu, specifically when I met one of the community members in one of my communities that talked about having people in the community itself do its work and not be caught up in the bureaucracy of degrees or credits to education. It requires somebody to do a job.

This is the type of work that is basic, it’s simple...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Certainly a good choice of words in the motion and interpretation of the motion.

I certainly appreciate it. It’s a crucial issue in our smaller communities and communities in the Northwest Territories. We are bringing motions to the floor, not for the sake of having a good debate and getting some air time. You bring motions because, as legislators, this is what we bring back from our communities, people we talk to. They say this is an issue in our community, how come you guys aren’t dealing with it? This is an issue when I go to Edmonton or...

WHEREAS medical and non-medical travel escorts provide a crucial service to the NWT health care system by taking care of patients who require assistance when they travel for treatment;

AND WHEREAS medical and non-medical travel escorts are predominantly volunteers from communities who must leave behind their families and employment during their absence, often for extended periods of time;

AND WHEREAS extended absences by medical and non-medical travel escorts often tax personal and family resources and create hardships;

AND WHEREAS it is now difficult to find proper travel escorts in some...

I look forward to the discussions with the Minister and Members from this side on the idea.

The mandate of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission includes a missing child project. I’d like to know what attempts, if any, have been made by the Department of Health and Social Services to identify missing children who have died while attending residential schools in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services. I see the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as a springboard for further action. There are forms of injustice still being experienced by Aboriginal people.

Does the Minister of Health and Social Services recognize the direct link between the residential school legacy and the need to offer better mental health and addictions services for our residents in the North?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also want to recognize the Hall of Fame inductees who were honoured today. I want to recognize Mr. George Cleary from the original workplace of ice hockey in Canada.

---Laughter

Also, Mr. Cleary being one of the architects of the Sahtu Dene-Metis Land Claim negotiations along with my cousin and his wife, Doreen. And also the other inductees, thank you very much for your hard contribution to education for the people of the North.

I also want to say, Mr. Chair, that the Sahtu believes that the department in terms of its, I would say not a strong accountability framework, and nobody was held accountable on those. It was quite shocking when the Auditor General looked at this. So I look certainly to this Minister to strengthen the accountability, because everybody is doing it and nobody is holding them to account. It’s almost like you’re doing this and you’re doing this, but nobody is holding them to account and they may have good intentions, but that’s not it. No wonder we have some issues that we’re dealing with, with...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over 100 years ago, Aboriginal children in Canada were sent to Indian residential schools funded by the federal government and run by Christian churches. Children were stripped of their language and cultural identity. Many were abused and neglected. Traditional practices that once bonded families together were damaged.

Canada’s attempt to wipe out the Aboriginal cultures failed, yet we’re still reeling from the effects. There’s an urgent need for reconciliation for the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. May 26th is the National Day of Reconciliation and Healing...

Mr. Chair, I look forward to the department correcting these deficiencies as noted by the Auditor General. I know the department also made some responses to the deficiencies, and I’m hoping that “immediately” means right now, today, not next week or the week after.

There are deficiencies, as noted by the Auditor General, in the child and family services within this department here. There are some deficiencies that need to be corrected right now; others, as Ms. Bisaro has noted, we don’t want to wait for the whole bag of deficiencies to be looked at and corrected until we have an excuse for the...