Alfred Moses

Thank you. In terms of modernizing the agreement, when can we see a copy of that agreement once it’s in draft form, and is the Gwich’in and the other three Aboriginal groups that are affected in the Peel River watershed, will they have some input into this agreement? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also have questions today for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources in regard to my opening Member’s statement on the Peel River watershed and the Peel River itself. I want to ask the Minister what is the department’s position in this cause to protect the Peel. What is the department’s position on this? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. Good job.

It is the considered opinion of the Standing Committee on Social Programs that the bill is a reasonable first step in the NWT’s efforts to prevent bullying. However, it cannot be the last step. In fact, committee members expected more and so do residents of our territory. Further work must address the root causes of bullying.

It is significant that Bill 12 does not amend the Education Act to prohibit bullying outright. This surprised some students. In Inuvik, for example, one said, “It should be law. It’s wrong.” It is hard to argue...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For the past number of years, the Gwich’in people of the Inuvik region as well as other Aboriginal groups throughout the Yukon Territory have been fighting to get the Peel River and the Peel River watershed protected. Earlier this week in the news, we saw that the MP for the Northwest Territories tabled a bill in the House of Commons to try to get that Peel River and Peel River watershed protected.

This ecosystem is an integral component to the survival of the Gwich’in people’s way of life, their traditions and their culture. I am of Gwich’in descent and I have seen the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The questions I have today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services in regards to some campaigns. I want to know what is out there for people who are suffering from mental health and addiction disorders that might eventually find where the outcome is suicide.

I’d like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services what partnerships does the government have right now in terms of any kind of helplines that residents of the Northwest Territories can access. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Mental Health Act was first assented in this House in 1985 and there haven’t been any significant amendments to reflect the need that we have in our communities. I know, with the money that the Minister has mentioned, we can’t get into all the communities, so we have to find another way and that is through campaign and awareness.

Can the Minister give me any answers if there are any big suicide-specific campaigns that the department might be coming up with within the next year or in the near future? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, how about in the communities? I know, looking through the department’s website, I was looking for phone numbers, if somebody needs to contact somebody in the community or an isolated community. That’s where we need to get the services into these small communities that are isolated.

Does the Minister have any campaigns or any future work going into the small communities for implementing either an intervention team or a helpline? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to speak on something that has always been near and dear to my heart and that is the mental health and addictions. I know we have been almost beating this to death, I guess you could say, and we do that for a reason, because we want to protect the people of the NWT.

It was great to have the Minister of Justice table in the House yesterday the 2012 coroner’s report. It just so happened that it happened at the same time I decided to do my Member’s statement. However, what I did last night and this morning was I reviewed that report. I just want to share some...

Mr. Speaker, that kind of goes into one of my other questions in terms of funding. This $260,000 for this specific funding, how many communities are going to be able to access that funding for the training specifically for their needs? Can the Minister let me know how many communities this will be applied to or that will be able to utilize that funding? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have two quick questions here, and one that was already alluded to with the Inuvik runway. It was in the news. There was a big dip and it did prevent some planes from landing there, and they had to make some adjustments and some emergency repairs to it. As a result, there was some history that was brought up in the news reports as well. There was a discussion on the type of geographical landscape that it was built on, that it could result in future issues with the runway as well.

Has the Minister and his department looked at that in terms of safety, in terms of one of...