Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A couple of weeks ago I had the honour of heading into the community of Ulukhaktok with the Minister to open up our new facility for arts and crafts with the Co-op. We provide the venue for traditional crafts and fabric and other sewing materials that are hard to get.

Currently the arts and crafts centre employs two people and plans to be expanding soon. The possible applicants eventually will work on the arts and crafts in the centre. They will require some training. These workshops are taking place now and start within a week; knitting qivuit right in the community of...

Really good job, Mr. Minister. But now the point I’m trying to bring up is Tuk needs one now. We need an arts centre in Tuk because between Tuk, Ulukhaktok and Sachs, Sachs has the muskox, Ulukhaktok has the print shop and carving shop, now will the Minister help me to work with a committee out of Tuk to get a carving shop in Tuk? We had it about 10 years ago but it failed. Now I think that the community is looking at trying to help out the younger generation of carvers. Will the Minister commit to helping me get a carving shop in the community of Tuktoyaktuk?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my Member’s statement was on the arts and crafts centre opening up in Ulukhaktok. It would be a huge loss if we lose any skills necessary to continue our traditional arts and crafts; therefore, will this government ensure the resources are in place for the community-based workshops to increase awareness of these areas?

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Anyway, I’d like to welcome Melinda Bourke as well. She’s my wife’s niece and I’m her uncle. I’d like to welcome Marcus, as well, for doing a good job helping out as a Page in the Page Program. It is a really good program. I’d like to welcome Ms. Sarah Jerome, too, into the House. Good to see you, Sarah. And Mr. Reid, one of my old teachers up in Inuvik. We had a lot of good run-ins and a lot of good times. Thank you, Mr. Reid.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A common concern in my constituency is damage done by extreme power surges of electricity coming into the homes. One constituent has been discussing this problem for some time with the NWT Power Corporation time after time. NTPC has tried to solve the problem, with no success. It may be a part of the problem is the lack of qualified professionals who can truly diagnose what’s going wrong and fix it in the community, Mr. Speaker. This constituent had to wait a long time for a specialist to fly into the community, evaluate the problem, only to watch the individual climb...

Mr. Speaker, will the Minister ensure that my constituent complaints be looked into by the Power Corporation and be dealt with as soon as possible? They have been ongoing. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, Mr. Speaker, my Member’s statement is on the Power Corporation’s procedure for dealing with damage done to people’s appliances over the power fluctuations that we’ve been having. Mr. Speaker, how many of these claims have been received each year from our Nunakput communities that are paid out from the Inuvik office? Thank you.

Only the most important riding in this whole Territory, Mr. Speaker.

---Interjection

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What will the Power Corporation do to improve the communication with the customers in the small communities so that their complaints will be resolved sooner rather than later? Thank you.