Jackson Lafferty

[English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, I would just like to touch on some key points that have been addressed here today by the Legislative Assembly Members. One of the highlights is, of course, the decline of the caribou herd. We are facing a crisis here, also preserving our traditional harvesting, saving our caribou herd for the Northwest Territories.

We hear there is more than one herd, Also, thinking about the future, we talk about our younger generation, our great-great-grandchildren, the importance of working together, the GNWT, other governments, other First Nations. We all...

Mr. Speaker, yes, I would follow through with that with organizations. At the same time, we do have representatives here as well. The Aboriginal Sport Circle and also the sports organizations are clearly listening to us as we speak. So, with that mindset, we will certainly collaborate together and move forward. But this is a great opportunity for our representatives to be at the national stages, so we will support them, as well, through our educational system. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The Member referred to our statements in the House. They are important statements. Having an organization, whether they be NGOs or territorial government organizations, promoting more sporting programs, whether it be Arctic Winter Games trials or Canada Games trials, Winter Games trials, we fully support students participating in those events, Mr. Speaker. At the same time, we are not ignoring the fact that they are missing school or being absent from school on a number of occasions but they go with their homework. They go with their guidelines of what needs to be done...

Mr. Speaker, I totally agree that we must meet all the students’ educational standards across the Northwest Territories. In fact, our main targets should be far-reaching to try and be ahead of the other jurisdictions such as the southern jurisdictions. We are developing the plans and implementing those areas and we will continue to improve in those areas.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the report that the Member is referring to we received just recently. My department is going through the overall review. The recommendations were brought to our attention and, clearly, we need to work with the community; we need to work with the Member on a going-forward basis. This could be part of the business planning cycle for next time around. At the same time, Mr. Speaker, we did receive a letter from the Member’s constituent school asking about the education planning regarding their school and, certainly, we are committed to working on that. There is...

This is under the direction of the youth, the feedback of the youth. It’s under the education plan, part of the educational plan of going forward and promoting students to stay in school, the healthiness of our students. Promoting more of that into the communities, Members have alluded to where maybe other work with other departments, whether it be the recreational program or other promotional programs. We are currently doing that as the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. We are working with Municipal and Community Affairs and other health departments, as well, to promote even...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The target audience, of course, is the youth. It was the youth that gave us the direction and also the feedback on what should be advertised in the newspaper. A lot of the youth are spending a lot of their quality time, free time, in front of the TV. That’s a clear message that we’re getting from the youth to say do a different advertisement in the newspaper, on TV commercials, so it’s targeting the youth. It may not make much sense for us as adults, but it came from the youth to focus on what their intentions are. This is focused on the youth.

Yes Mr. Chairman.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, the government is concerned about the long-term health of the Bathurst caribou herd; so concerned, in fact, that my colleague the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources enacted an outright hunting ban in an area covering the herd’s wintering grounds.

Mr. Speaker, it is the view of our government that the authority to make such regulations is clearly held by the Government of the Northwest Territories; without that conviction, we could not have acted, It is also clear that the Dene Nation and some aboriginal governments do not believe that to be true. We...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to recognize Moise and Joyce Rabesca. They are in the gallery and also George Mackenzie. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.