Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize Cecile Desjardins, chief of Behchoko’s wife.

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I am glad to see the students here, Carol, and Judith Knapp. Welcome.

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Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (English not provided)…Mr. Speaker, recognizing the value of elders’ knowledge, I would like to talk on the motion.

WHEREAS elders have the highly valued and respected role of passing on the stories, traditions and knowledge of our culture to younger generations;

AND WHEREAS many elders are considered by their people to be experts in traditional knowledge to at least the same extent that individuals with PhD degrees are considered to be experts in their fields;

AND WHEREAS the GNWT and industry have recognized elders' traditional knowledge and expertise by calling on them for...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it has been brought to my attention, when I was visiting communities early February, that this became a bigger issue than what the Minister is outlining here. So I’d like to ask again, the Minister can commit to this House on the emergency plans, if his department can look into, he says there’s federal legislation that we have to follow, but at the same time legislation can be amended, as well. Can the Minister commit in this House to look into emergency measures to deal with power outages in the communities that have identified to have a backup generator...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (Translation not provided)

Mr. Speaker, the community I work with experienced firsthand the power outage in late January of this year, at which time there were no means of transportation in and out of the community, Mr. Speaker. The community airport does not have a backup generator. This is becoming a serious concern to the community members, Mr. Speaker. This puts the public at risk when the power goes out. No means of air transportation to and from the communities during these emergency crises. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation, can the Minister...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories represents everyone in the North and makes decisions that affect everyone on a daily basis. It is good for me to see, as a representative of the Monfwi riding, that the GNWT Cabinet meeting in Rae-Edzo on January 26th was a true success from our perspective.

While there, Cabinet met with the Tlicho Government, the executive council members, Grand Chief George Mackenzie, chiefs Leon Lafferty, Charlie Jim Nitsiza, Henry Gon and Charlie Football, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as you know, the Tlicho agreement became law on...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I think this motion we are talking about has been long outstanding, especially in the small, isolated communities where we heavily depend on elders’ knowledge and wisdom. We, as a territorial government, need to recognize that there are essential needs and services that are required to do the day-to-day activities in the communities. When we visited the communities throughout the pre-budget consultation process and also our Social Programs tour of the communities, we’ve heard over and over during our public consultation or on the side conversation where elders are sometimes...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I understand where the department is going with this, but, at the same time, I think we need to take into consideration the communities’ concerns, especially coming from the chiefs of each community. This is becoming a problem in the community. More of a challenge in the community through, during the power outage when there’s an emergency crisis really there is no means of air transportation. But he’s saying that there’s a backup. I’d like to find out, he’s saying that, the Minister is saying really there are no plans in place to deal with the federal...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, I would like to stress that, with the new information on the decline of caribou herd that we have heard last week and related increase of wolves and grizzlies in the isolated communities in my region, I would like to ask the Minister again if he will be willing to revamp or look into some sort of amendment to supplement the current funding available to the Tlicho Community Services Agency to ensure something as simple as transportation services are available to isolated communities such as Gameti, Wekweeti, and Whati, and the basic need for our safety...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker…(Translation) I spoke on something very important yesterday which was the safety of the children and transporting them to their school. I talked about bussing. (Translation ends)

…from the isolated communities. The words I am sharing today are not my words, Mr. Speaker. These are the words of our respected elders in the communities. They want this territorial government to deal with this public safety that I addressed yesterday and today. The Department of ECE and divisional boards’ responsibility is to ensure the safety of our young school children. They...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. As the Minister indicated, funding does consist of bussing if need be in the communities. Again, Mr. Speaker, I would like to stress that, with the current funding to Tlicho Community Services Agency, it is stretched as it is with no flexibility to contract out or purchase a school bus, Mr. Speaker. There is absolutely no room, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister commit in this House to invest in school transportation as part of the additional funding so there is no impact on the current funding that is geared towards providing core subjects, cultural and...