Kevin A. Menicoche

Certainly the community will welcome any visit by the Minister to show them their case, indeed. Would the Minister be able to confirm that at least these schools are on the long-term 20-year capital needs assessment? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to recognize my eldest sister Betty, Elizabeth Hardisty, who is in the gallery with the Official Languages Board. Great to see her here. Mahsi cho.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I know that while we did work hard with the capital estimates and trying to do the best with the limited resources that we had, but I am still very disappointed at the zero investment in Highway No. 7 for 2012-2013.

I was just recently in Fort Liard and I was speaking with the chief and the residents there, and one of our focuses, too, of the new Assembly is economic development and jobs and training, and the chief had actually said it’s no use talking about that if we can’t use the highways to get those investments here. So Highway No. 7 is very critical to Fort Liard...

Thank you very much. We wish to hear the opening remarks from the Minister of Finance on the tabled capital estimates.

I am certainly glad that the department is assessing the communities and monitoring them, but I would like to know, are these schools at least on the 20-year needs assessment capital plan. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to follow up on my constituency need for a couple of schools in Nahanni Butte and Trout Lake. I would like to ask the Minister of Education a couple of questions. I have been raising this issue for several years.

First of all, perhaps I should ask about Trout Lake. I always made the case because the community has always made the case that it is not an actual school. It is a recreational centre where they are being educated. I would like to ask the Minister of Education, are they looking at Trout Lake of building their own stand-alone school? Thank you.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] …things I will be talking about and I would like to talk to you in regard to education and about wondering how you might be able to assist us in coming up with a new school. [Translation ends]

…and I also know that money is going to be very tight, as Mr. Premier had said. But that is no excuse for planning for the needs of the people in Nahendeh, and particularly the young people of Nahanni Butte and Trout Lake who need new schools.

It seems we can spend more than $100 million on a super school in Inuvik and more than $180 million on the Deh Cho Bridge...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Premier a question with regard to Rural and Remote Communities Working Committee that we established in the 16th Assembly. Would the Premier consider a similar working committee again or even establish the same one on behalf of the small and remote communities? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Today I just want to speak a bit about health care in my riding. It was an issue that was brought to my attention as I campaigned. People in my riding are losing confidence in the delivery of health care. I would like to urge our government to help work with me to restore the confidence of the people in the health care system.

There were several instances over the past six months that people really questioned what happened. Great credit goes out to the staff on the front lines, but still people really want to believe that their needs are being taken care of. In...

Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Dehcho Grand Chief Sam Gargan in the gallery, as well as a former resident of Fort Simpson Mr. Denezeh Nakehko. Welcome.