Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of ENR in regards to the environmental protection in working in the area of Sahtu in regards to the economic development that has happened there. I want to ask the Minister in regards to the work that needs to get up there in regards to environmental issues.

Has the Minister commissioned studies in regards to some of the environmental concerns that are coming up with the hydraulic fracking?

I’m quite pleased that the initiative is coming to some of our communities, as the Minister indicated. I would look forward to the Minister putting some type of a briefing or paper together. Hopefully, it will come into one of our Sahtu communities, or along the Mackenzie winter road, Fort Simpson or Wrigley and come through that area here. Maybe we can look at something. Right now I’m just hearing it from you and I’m happy that Smith and Hay River had the opportunity to do and we look forward to something like for some discussion. It might even be in the next Assembly, but give me something...

Thank you, Minister. I see that in another avenue here. Okay, time is up.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Wednesday, March 5, 2014, I will move the following motion: now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nahendeh, that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment be required to ensure that there is at least one fully trained early childhood educator worker for every junior kindergarten group before the program is implemented; and further, that early childhood education workers be recognized as educational professionals and paid wages accordingly; and furthermore, that Aurora College immediately implements a training program that...

Being on the tours and being in the communities and looking at the number of young people we have in the communities and the availability for them to take the opportunity to work in government or oil and gas or traditional economy, I would think that this Minister would be right on top of what’s going on in the Sahtu. They’re spending well over $100 million, Conoco alone; Husky is spending over $10 million. The Minister needs to be on top in saying we have close to 500 youth that need to be supported and we need to support them in whatever industry and skill they need to build.

So, I want to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. In the Sahtu we have about 489 youth between the age of 15 and 24 years of age, according to 2012 stats. I recently questioned the Minister of ITI on the Sahtu oil and gas needs assessment. We have close to 500 youth who are in this category. We have an industry up there. We have a strong need to start training our young people so they can stop flying in workers from the South. These are from all the Sahtu communities.

I want to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, is the Sahtu oil and...

Given the high interest in the oil and gas industry with all these contractors in communities, there are a lot of other programs going on, but right now the oil and gas industry is hiring a lot of people. Specialists are coming into the Sahtu to do a couple weeks of work then fly out. I’m looking at a training component base that’s strong in the Sahtu with the interests of the oil and gas being the main economic drivers this winter. We’re looking at this training program to the Sahtu needs assessment to be ready so that we can jump on the activity that’s happening now.

I want to ask the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are related to the oil and gas needs assessment training. I wanted to ask Minister Ramsay – I know that he was working closely with the Department of Education and Culture and the Sahtu was going to complete a needs assessment on the Sahtu oil and gas training needs – has that needs assessment been completed?

Thank you, Madam Chair. I had a good weekend to think about what I said and I will tone it down here.

I do want to conclude my opening comments to the Minister, the department and the government. I would ask them if they would seriously consider the issue of decentralization with regard to looking at the regional offices in the Sahtu with the decision-making type of authorities by our superintendents being in this position for 10 years. I thought by now that the government would start seriously considering putting in our own superintendents for airports and highways in the Sahtu region.

I have...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister of ITI has committed to having a Sahtu exploration readiness forum. We certainly need the information from the Sahtu oil and gas needs assessment to be part of the forum so we can discuss and start putting plans down to start training our people. Things are happening in the Sahtu, it’s going on now, things are going to be happening more so in the next couple of years. We really need to help these 500 youth with skill development and capacity building in our communities, in all the five Sahtu communities, so will the Minister have that report ready should...