David Krutko

Thank you Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister, I know I requested this some time ago and yet we are almost at the end of the life of this government. We had a meeting with the Minister in regards to finding, in regards to the rural remote communities, of giving us actual cost breakdowns per program in each community, cost per program, number of jobs in those programs and exactly what the cost to operate programs and services are in our communities and the services that are being developed out there. I would like to ask the Minister if he could pull that information together. He has...

It will work great in a world where you have an economic base to work out of, but in our communities we don’t have that. The job opportunities are not there. I believe there is only the possibility of two people getting some sort of job within the government while the other 12 people are basically out in the cold. I’d like to ask the Minister what exactly are we realistically doing to invest in the people of the Northwest Territories, especially our young people who are going off to graduate from high school and getting post-secondary education only to be told, sorry, we’re spending $1.4...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister if there’s going to be any disciplinary action against the person that wrote the letter, more importantly, undermining the Minister, undermining myself as the MLA, and undermining the community’s efforts to work with us to find solutions to this problem and make sure that we have a fair transition. Is there going to be any penalties put forth in regard to how this thing was handled, and more importantly, how this was undermining the process we agreed to?

Mr. Speaker, again, there was an understanding that the Joe Greenland Centre is going to be open until March 31st, in regard to the process for the public union arrangements we have with the staff, and more importantly, working with the families to accommodate them in the transition of trying to find other ways of dealing with their loved ones. But again, Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister: is the March 31st date the date we’re working from? Basically because of this letter, it definitely is not the understanding at the public meeting in Aklavik.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Next I have Mr. Bromley.

Mr. Speaker, again, this leaves the Joe Greenland Centre out of the picture, where we already have trained staff running the facility and in the community of Aklavik.

Mr. Speaker, the loss of 14 full-time jobs in Aklavik is a big problem here. That is 10 percent of the jobs in Aklavik. I’d like to remind Cabinet of its priorities we set at the start of the 16th Assembly. I did not think that included the unemployment dropping, or rising in our communities because of the layoffs of 14 people in Aklavik. Mr. Speaker, I was totally appalled at finding out that they were going to basically shut...

Okay. Next on the list I have Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s hard to stand up in this House time and time again and raise the issues on behalf of my constituents. But here I am again, Mr. Speaker, today, expressing my very many concerns about the Joe Greenland Centre in Aklavik.

Mr. Speaker, it has been open since 1978. Mr. Speaker, 32 years the Joe Greenland Centre has served people in the northern region...(inaudible)...communities throughout the Sahtu, Mackenzie Delta, Beaufort Sea. This is a great example of how local people can take care of the elders in the North and also in our northern communities and keeping them in...

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Just direction from the House. Would you like to just do general comments or have the Minister respond to each general comment? So maybe just asking for some direction from the House. General comments. Mr. Abernethy.

Committee agree?

---Agreed