David Krutko

Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to request from the Minister to make an offer to meet with the Gwich’in Development Corporation, the Gwich’in Tribal Council on this matter. I believe the Minister will be in the Inuvik region for the petroleum show and I think that this matter has to be dealt with ASAP. Again, Mr. Speaker, the Gwich’in have been registered in that area going back 10,000 years. I think that if the people that originate from that area can’t meet this government test of eligibility, I think we have a real problem in regard to how this government treats aboriginal people...

Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you. In regard to the policy itself, again, I noted in the policy that there are certain differences and I know that I used this scenario in Inuvik where you have three hotel companies. One is a private company, one is an aboriginal company and one is a southern company, but the Government of the Northwest Territories is only using one hotel with government employees to stay in Inuvik. So I’d like to ask the Minister if there’s a way to appeal a decision or a process where you find that it has basically been encumbering other companies from doing business with the government and one...

Sergeant-at-Arms, escort the witnesses in.

Mr. Minister, for the record, could you introduce your witnesses?

This totally undermines the whole concept of land claim settlements in the Northwest Territories and for aboriginal groups to develop an economic base so they can provide for their benefactors and the people in communities so that we are able to be self-reliant people. When this type of practice is done by the government to undermine those land claim agreements, the policy itself is in question. This policy, as far as I see it, shouldn’t be put forward to the implementation of the land claim agreements and see how it draws up to the land claims agreements. Are they exactly undermining those...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Bill 5, Apprenticeship, Trade and Occupations Certification Act, and would like to report progress with one motion being adopted, and that Bill 5 is ready for third reading as amended. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. At this time, I would like to ask the Minister if he would be bringing in any witnesses. Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Also in my statement I talked about sustainable communities and the importance of this government to look at the social and economic benefits of these types of projects in our communities and ensure that the maximum benefit goes to the local communities because we are hurting in our communities with high unemployment, but more importantly we have to find jobs and sustain those jobs. So I’d like to ask the Minister exactly what the government is doing to ensure that we are sustaining communities with these projects and not seeing the money leave the communities and go to...

Mr. Speaker, I think this is all in with the Housing Corporation but other government contracts. I think we have to debundle these contracts in such a way that people have advantages of taking the segments of the contract that meet their particular needs regardless if you are a plumber, carpenter, electrician, and I think that we have to support those local sustainable contractors in the community so that they can remain in our communities. I would like to ask the Minister in regards to the whole idea. I talked to the mayor of Aklavik. He mentioned that they had a meeting with Housing. They...