Calvin Pokiak

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know some time back, that the department did say that they were going to work with ILA with regard to the permitting process and I’m very surprised that his department hasn’t even moved forward with that application process. I understand that there might be a little bit of loss but I think, if I may request, Mr. Speaker, that I think the Minister should get his department to at least submit that application to the ILA. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, I’ll give it one last kick at the cat with regard to source 177. Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot of dialogue between the Premier, discussions with the former Minister of Indian Affairs, Mr. Jim Prentice, and also a meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Calgary, and also the Tuk Community Corporation chair, the chair of IRC, and CEO, and also with the Minister of Transportation and his department. I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation, can he give an update on how the application process is going with regard to their...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, colleagues. Whose interest is it? Is it the Premier and Cabinet? This bridge, when built, will not serve the people in the Beaufort-Delta and the Sahtu regions. Once again we, in the Far North, are left out on major projects to connect us to the rest of Canada and we will continue to pay the high costs for fuel, oil and gas, et cetera.

Mr. Speaker, on other matters, I would like to thank Tim Mercer, Clerk of the Assembly, and his staff for all the support they gave me over the last three and a half years. To my honourable colleagues, it was a pleasure to meet...

Two RCMP officers will be located in the office we’ll be establishing in Sachs Harbour by 2008, although it’s one year late.

I also lobbied very hard for the last three and a half years for an all-weather road between Tuk and Inuvik, but recently, over the past few months, to find $15 million over three years to construct the 22-kilometre access road from source 177 from Tuktoyaktuk just so that the community of Tuk can have year-round access to a gravel source. This morning, Mr. Speaker, I listened, with interest, when the deputy mayor of Tuktoyaktuk was interviewed by CBC and he is obviously...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If I recall, having worked with ILA prior to being elected here, my understanding with regard to the application process is that all they require at the initial stage is the initial application fee plus the first 1,000 cubic metres so that the application can go forward. I don’t know where the Minister is getting that information, but I can guarantee you for sure that all they require is the initial application fee plus the first 1,000 cubic metres. Will he do that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister, where is that application now? Is it in the hands of ILA right now? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize my beautiful wife up in the gallery, Mrs. Lucille Pokiak…

---Applause

…and also my constituency assistant, Donna Bernhardt, who is here assisting with the Pages that I have.

---Applause

In the Chamber today, there is Trevor Okheena and out back here is Tyler Inuktalik from Ulukhaktok. Thank you very much.

---Applause

Mr. Speaker, may I request unanimous consent to conclude my Member’s statement? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today is the last sitting day of the 15th Assembly, so I would like to reflect some thoughts over what transpired over the past three and a half years.

When I arrived for MLA for the Nunakput riding three and a half years ago, I did not discuss my candidacy with my wife, Lucille, or my two sons, Bertram and Darren, because it was a spur of the moment decision. To be honest, I did not expect to be elected and representing…

---Laughter

To be honest, I did not expect to be elected and represent my constituents when elected. Mr. Speaker, becoming an MLA and representing...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Ulukhaktok is a picturesque Inuvialuit community located on the western part of Victoria Island. To the east lies Cambridge Bay and Nunavut.

During the COPE land claim negotiation, as a member of COPE I recall landing on the main street of a community for intense land claim discussions. But, more importantly, I remember the community rushing out of their homes to meet the plane with smiles and open hands ready to shake and hug the delegates as they arrived.

Mr. Speaker, the people of Ulukhaktok have depended on their traditional skills for many years....