Shane Thompson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for recognizing me here. We heard in the news that the federal government has put the Mackenzie Valley project on the backburner. Can the Minister please explain why we have to hear about this in the news and not through the normal process? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Minister Moses, Minister Cochrane, and Minister Abernethy for coming to the region and hearing the concerns first-hand. In my opinion, the tour was very successful and beneficial.

As well, I would like to thank the whole Cabinet for coming to Fort Simpson on October 3, 2016, for the open house and coffee shop meeting. There were over 50 folks attending, which included Ministers' staff and general public, in attendance.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to this session as we move forward. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi cho to the Minister for his answer. This is starting to feel like, unfortunately, summer students and that. Does the Minister know how many vacant positions are available for this program, and he talked about 15 as the recruitment number, but how many are actually available? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

That's great to hear. Does the Minister have any priority two candidates in this of the 39, and the number, please?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi cho to the Minister for his answer. Will the Minister please commit to provide us on this side a quarterly or bi-annual report on the status of this project so we don't lose it? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Minister for his answer. I guess we are going to have to work on our mail service here in the Legislative Assembly so that we can actually get these documents on time instead of through the news.

Can the Minister confirm if the federal government has not put this just on hold or the backburner and when did he find out if it has been put there?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm pleased to recognize two pages that are selected from my riding, Sambaa K'e, Charles Tetcho School, the two students that were working as pages during this week. The two pages are Jada Lamalice and Atanda Kotchea and Norma Jumbo is the chaperone. So I thank them and welcome them to the Legislative Assembly. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I stand before you here today to speak about some of the things that happened since we were sitting this past June. First off, I need to apologize to the Minister of Transportation and his senior staff. During the business plans, I said I did not receive a letter regarding positions within the public service. In reality, the Minister did send a letter to the standing committee with this information. Unfortunately, I didn't get a copy until later on. Therefore, I again would like to apologize.

Mr. Speaker, right after session or the sitting, I headed to...

I thank the Minster for that answer. The second question has kind of been answered, but I'll ask it anyway. Was the finding shared with the band, village and the Metis local so that they were aware of this site and that they can make proper postings on the site?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I stand to speak about a young lady who has been selected to be part of the Prime Minister's Youth Council from my riding.

Mr. Speaker, I understand that Sylvia Pascua-Matte is the youngest member on this council. She's 17 years old. She will be completing her grade 12 this year and she is a student from Thomas Simpson School. This fall she plans on attending university. She is narrowing her research as we speak.

Some of the returning Members may recognize her name as she represented Nahendeh in the youth parliament in Yellowknife where she had the...