Norman Yakeleya

Mr. Chair, I’m not too sure if this type of discussion has been taken up by our Aboriginal Affairs Minister and the Aboriginal governments on all the jurisdictional or intergovernmental relationship issues with our government and their government in bringing a stronger linkage between the two governments on this type of issue here with child and family services.

Child and family services are key to our communities. With health and social services, again I go back to the 16th Assembly where a great concept of the communities were going to take some type of role or leadership role when you looked...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to comment on Mr. Bromley’s comments on time frame and look at some of the good work that happened in the 16th Assembly on child and family services community public hearings on this specific issue. The hope that went around the communities with the public hearings of raising the expectations and knowing that this 16th Assembly was going to make some changes and now we’re into the 17th Assembly. People’s expectations were raised and now they fall down again. We want to hold people at the helm of the steering wheel accountable. Comments like Mr. Bromley’s make...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Blake, for seconding the motion. I want to leave this motion to my colleagues to give their views on. This motion deals with the compensation of people who travel as escorts financially, emotionally, socially. Travel into our small communities is quite stressful and hectic. Travelling out of our communities is also stressful, especially on medical travel.

So, I wanted to give support to people who take patients to the hospitals in this type of situation when they travel for medical treatment. From the time I’ve known these escorts who volunteer, family...

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister inform the House… I would like to ask him if he would talk to the Minister of Justice on this issue here, because it does have some mental and health issues associated with families in our small communities who have children who have not returned back to the communities. It has caused mental anguish, some suffering to the parents and the families. That’s part of the legacy of residential school issues that we’re faced with.

Can the Minister meet with the Department of Justice and see how this issue is being dealt with by the Government of the Northwest Territories?

Mr. Speaker, during my statement I mentioned the Edmonton mayor’s plan to educate city workers about the history and impact of residential schools. The purpose is to deliver service in a more culturally sensitive manner to the city’s Aboriginal population. I think it’s a great idea.

Here at home we have incredible resources available to us: the residential curriculum produced by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. My idea is to use the curriculum in all child and family services training. Child protection workers and the supervisors should know about this history.

Can the...

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to acknowledge Mr. George Cleary, originally from Deline. Today George received a 2014 Education Hall of Fame Award.

George began his career as an educator in his early years of life. Although he moved to other professions, George continues to support educating his people in leadership roles and the importance of self-reliance and self-responsibilities.

Congratulations to George and his family on this worthwhile award.

Also along with Ms. Bisaro’s comments, I guess you’re looking at a situation where the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. Even though they’re doing the same service, even in the accountability framework, who do you report to? Who are you accountable to? We didn’t know this until the Auditor General did the audit. They brought up all these issues. So some of the issues we’ve raised with the Minister, the government. People are telling us stuff in the communities who have to deal with child apprehension or dealing with Social Services. They are telling us real stuff, things...

In fact, in a recent report in the House, the Auditor General said that child and family services are failing Aboriginal families in the Northwest Territories, so the government has a major task ahead to change the welfare system.

During oral questions I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services.

From the action plan and the communication plan, I’m hoping that the Minister would look at all forms of communication and methods out there, CKLB or radio, not just a website. When you look at some of the stats in the Sahtu region, not all households in the communities are hooked up to the Internet. So, we don’t have everybody going to the website and English is not always their first language. There’s a high percentage of our people. So I guess in that sense, the target area, it’s the older people, then it has to be done in Dene Kede and do it in English there. So the communication plan...

Just a comment there. Again, it goes back to the measurements of the reporting and how these are crucial in the small communities with the appropriate organizations. The Auditor General has made a scathing report on this section here, also, in terms of his findings. It’s so needed when you have children involved in the small communities. Of the thousands of children that are apprehended in the Northwest Territories, 95 percent are Aboriginal. I look, I guess, to see how these four indicators are going to improve the system in the communities with the people who are doing the work and see how...