Jackson Lafferty

Masi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker  [Translation] Masi, Mr. Speaker. Today is a special day; it's a huge day. Yesterday as I spoke, I spoke in my language. The reason I said it, I said it in my language. Today we have Mary Rose here in the audience from CKLB. I spoke with her, and they report on everything that we say and do in this House. When we represent the people, we need to talk for them, and we relay those concerns to the government.

Yesterday, as I spoke in my language, I spoke in my language yesterday on the radio. But today I will speak in English. The languages are all equal. Today, as...

Masi, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, obviously I'm not getting through to this government. I'd like to know if there's been an engagement with elders, the traditional hunters what were their thoughts on spending this $150,000 towards a freezer? I'm not sure there's been an engagement with the traditional harvesters that go out on land every year to the area. And I go there every year. I see people hunt, and  for their families. And so has there been any engagement with those traditional hunters? There's quite a few of them; not only from our region, from outside region too. So maybe I'll leave...

Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] So thank you very much about coming into our home community. So, again, Minister, when you do see firsthand this is  this is called you really know that the way it actually is. So thank you very much that you're going to be going into Behchoko about that. So most homes are not good standing right now because right now I have to say we are forever repeating and stating that the homes are boarding up, are sitting there. It's like when we do get the Ministers and the workers or firsthand to see what is going on in our homeland. Thank you very much. You would be...

Masi, Madam Chair. Just, I know we've touched on this with the Minister, the walkin freezer for a whopping $150,000. Is it necessary to have a freezer? Because if there's meat that's seized from the hunters, usually it goes to the communities. It should go to the communities. If you have meat in a freezer for over a year, obviously it goes bad. And I think there was a process where they usually take footage of what they've seized from  or taken from the hunters, and that's proof as evidence. And I'm just wondering why we need a walkin freezer for $150,000 to store the meat that's been taken...

Masi, Mr. Speaker.

[Translation] I'd just like to say, Mr. Speaker, about housing in our  in our home communities, about housing, Minister for Housing, I'd like to  yesterday I was in Behchoko. I sat with some few members, and I asked  or they asked about their condition, their situation that we see. So this is what I'd like to ask the Minister of Housing. The last  and I asked the last sitting about there's a few homes that's been just sitting there empty that has been, you know, it's all boarded up. We see that. And some other homes have been completely gone, taken down, it's don't no longer...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Dan Schofield and his wife Kim, longtime Northerners and public servants, will be retiring and leaving the North. Today I would like to acknowledge the impact he has had on many of the youth, including my own children.

Mr. Speaker, Kim Schofield has served in the North within the Justice Department. That and serving in the capacity of recreational leader, community development, director of school community government, and COVID Secretariat. The role I know Dan's best, however, as a coach, advocate for the youth.

Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize Dan for...

Masi, Madam Chair. I only have 30 seconds here, but due to these issues or committing $150,000 towards a freezer, there hasn't been any engagement with harvesters. That's why we're questioning things here in the House. We need to be accountable, accountable government. And where does the issue lie? The issue lies with illegal hunting. Let's put our manpower towards that. Let's have a monitor mechanism, enforce that even further. That $150,000 can go towards that; that's what I'm saying. But obviously the Minister and the government feel  doesn't feel the same way. So I'll just leave it at...

Masi, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, it's very difficult to accept that. The 150 caribou is obviously stored in the freezer will not be presented in court, the actual meat. It will be stored in a freezer and freezer burnt and such, and after a year, five years, nobody will want that kind of meat. Madam Chair, for $150,000 that can create a teacher position in the community or a renewable resource officer position that can monitor these illegal hunters. I think we can go more  we can do more with this money than an actual freezer where we can have footage of  pictures, have the pictures presented...

Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] yesterday when I went to  when I was in Behchoko, I did saw that the way it looks about housing. So when you see houses, some are wood burnt and all boarded up. It's been there, sitting there for the last ten, 15 years, so for a while now that I've been standing here speaking about the housing in Behchoko. When are they going to be able to tear it out and give us a date, a target date, when? Tomorrow? Next week? Or next 10 years, or 15 or so? Give us a date, please. Thank you. [Translation ends]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. [Translatin] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the Minister and also they should be at least maybe three or four from the head office to see because you will know we would be able to work with them. At times, you know when we do speak, it's like we're not going ahead. So this is why when we or the Minister have or the members that are sitting at the head office and see  they see firsthand and this is the way we would be able to get things going and moving and working on it right away. [Translation ends].