Robert Villeneuve

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to finish off my quote from the elder, Alfred Taniton. I quote, Mr. Speaker, “Mother earth and everything about her is as sensitive to developments and changes as humans are to illnesses and harm. When people scratch themselves and have their skin removed, it affects other parts of our body. Although time will eventually heal the wound, we are always left with a scar which never goes away. This is what the pipeline will do to Mother Earth.” Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise to talk about some of the important environmental concerns related to the Mackenzie gas project.

Mr. Speaker, I cannot fully express the importance of the Mackenzie Valley with regards to the cultural connection it makes between people from the Deh Cho, the Gwich’in, the Sahtu, and the Inuvialuit. Mr. Speaker, the Mackenzie Valley contains one of the world’s last great free-running river systems, the Mackenzie River. Aside from being the longest river in Canada, and the Mackenzie Delta being the largest delta in Canada and the second-largest wetland in Canada...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On April 6, 2004, when the northern leaders from all regions of the NWT met to discuss northern issues, this motion, which I am in favour of, Mr. Speaker, is specific to one of these main concerns orated by all at this meeting.

The concern we as government leaders have, and obligation we have, is to communicate to the federal government on behalf of our constituents all the wishes that were brought up during those meetings. This motion, although it’s part of a larger picture, is a step in the right direction that was set in that meeting, a direction toward shared...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess maybe I just want to exchange my form of questions. I want to ask the Minister if the Protected Areas Strategy action plan includes monitoring and feedback to this government and the federal government on a semi-annual basis or even on a monthly basis on how the planning process carried out and what’s developing to date. Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I am proud to rise and announce that on September 25, 2004, I attended a graduation ceremony held in Deninu Kue, to recognize the significant achievements of three students. Mr. Speaker, I would like to again congratulate Donavan Boucher, Andy Norn and Travis Guild in reaching this significant milestone, and encourage them all to proudly display their Grade 12 diplomas.

I would like to point out, Mr. Speaker, that this graduation class represents a 200 percent increase in the number of grads from the previous Deninu School. So I would also like to...

I move that we report progress.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just have a question on the $19,000 return on maintenance costs for infrastructure assets. How many assets are we talking about with the maintenance cost for two communities of $19,000?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess the onus again would have to go back to the community members to file some kind of proposal, but I do believe that they have made numerous requests to the department to get the extra dollars that they are required, according to the government standards, building codes, et cetera. There are certain dollars that have to be allocated to make this a reality and, of course, they fell short, and they’ve gone out to industry and the industry came back with a few dollars, but really still fell quite short in meeting the final objective of $140,000, which basically is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move that we extend the question period. I seek unanimous consent to extend question period, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to make a motion that I move that we extend the question period. Thank you.