David Krutko

Again, last year I asked the question that I’m going to ask again. We requested having a water conference. I know there was a conference in Fort Simpson and Fort Good Hope and I know I requested a conference for the Peel River watershed. Could you give me an update of where we’re at with that? I think time might be running out here so I think we have to get that off the ground. There is in conjunction with what’s happening in the Peel River watershed with the Yukon coming to some arrangement that they’re going to try to have the arrangement agreed to the land use planning for the Peel River...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS the Department of Health and Social Services plans to discontinue long-term care service as it currently exists at the Joe Greenland Centre in Aklavik;

AND WHEREAS the Joe Greenland Centre has been an integral and important part of the community, providing essential services to elder for decades;

AND WHEREAS there are currently 76 elders aged 60 and over, half of them over age 70, in Aklavik;

AND WHEREAS keeping elders in the community is critical to the social and cultural fabric of Aklavik, and central to the long-term care is resulting in elders being moved to...

In regard to the area of land and water, more importantly water, because of the Mackenzie watershed and the tributaries of one end of the Northwest Territories either through the Yukon, Alberta, B.C., Saskatchewan. I think we do have to realize, did we notify the federal government or the Alberta government when the federal government made the announcement that they were going to formulate a review committee to look at the whole area of water resources that flow through the Fort McMurray area? Did we recommend or consider the option of having someone there or consider appointing someone of our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think other important programs that we have to consider for all communities is the area of respite care and palliative care. I think those are the type of programs more associated with large regional centres. I think the communities have to have the access and ability to have those programs also delivered so that people will live out their days in the comfort of their own homes in their home communities, and work with the families to make life as comfortable as they can. I’d like to ask the Minister where we are going with those two programs for the communities.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have a question in regard to contract services at $848,000. Could you give us an idea of what that’s for, contract services? Is that consultants?

Again I think we also have to realize that we have to deal with the emotional and physical restraints that elders are under. We have to provide those types of programs in the communities to vitalize the elders and keep them active, keep them involved in different community activities and events, and keep them mobile. I’d like to ask the Minister what we’re doing to enhance the physical aspects of elders’ care in communities so that we do keep them active and full participants in our community activities.

Again, if you are charging somebody on the basis of conservation and you find out that the issue wasn’t really conservation and you have charged somebody and you find out that the issue of conservation wasn’t the factor, the factor was that it was an undercount by way of the lack of or amount of time it took to count the species that is in question, in regards to using conservation as the reason to charge people. Now you find out that the herd is way over or a lot healthier than you basically used the situation of going out there and saying we are down to two caribou. You can’t shoot one...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to recognize Charlie Furlong who is a mentor of mine who invited me into Aboriginal politics in 1985, 26 years ago, when he was the president of the Mackenzie Delta Regional Council and I was the vice-president. It’s been some time and I’d like to thank Charlie publicly for breaking the trail and leading me astray in some cases, and for all the work that Charlie’s done for the residents of the Mackenzie Delta and the Northwest Territories. He is also serving as the chief of the Aklavik band and is now president of the designated Gwich’in...

Mr. Chairman, again, I think it’s important that we do identify climate change and impacts that we’re seeing. I think one of the most obvious impacts that we can see is the erosion that we’re seeing with the melting permafrost and the slumping that’s happening throughout the tundra in regard to the coastline erosion and erosion in our mountain valleys, and more importantly, creeks that are basically filling up with mud from slumping and sliding. I think that we have to realize that it’s eventually going to continue to grow. I think that’s one area that we can really show the rest of the world...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I also would like to talk about a similar issue in regards to energy management. I think that we have to realize that communities are probably a little ways ahead of us in a lot of this stuff and I know that the communities I represent, Tsiighetchic, Fort McPherson especially, are looking long term which they are looking at setting goals of 2025 of trying to cut their emissions down to 50 percent, and I think the communities are trying to do their part as communities in the Arctic that can show the rest of the world that we are doing our part when it comes to climate...