Kevin A. Menicoche

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I too will be supporting the motion, but I do have more to add. It’s a very good motion. I know that the honourable Member for Nunakput wanted some options for housing but I really feel that we should also be, it should be the whole program. That’s the way we looked at it.

At one time we did have our housing program before it was converted to ECE and back again, and even further back it was listed at 75 percent of household income. It was a real break. Then the rent was at $600 a month. I don’t know, along the way somebody signed off to produce it up to 90...

Absolutely. I always believe that communication is key and as long as we’re talking, we can identify this priority for the community. Inuvik has a $100 million school, Tulita about a $60 million school, but I don’t think Trout Lake is asking for millions of dollars, Mr. Speaker. They’re looking at a small size, like the size of Jean Marie River. I’m sure it will be even under a million to create something like that for the community of Trout Lake and that’s what I’m asking the Minister to look at. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated in my Member’s statement, once again I’m fighting with government to get a new school in Trout Lake. I’d like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment when can we begin the planning process for inclusion into a capital plan for a school for Trout Lake. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister how can the community of Trout Lake be more helpful. Does he need petitions? Does he need letters from the chief and council even to come over and to meet with him directly as well there, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

I’m very pleased with the Minister’s answer that it will be considered. Every year I’ve been asking to put it in the capital plan, Mr. Speaker. I’d just like to ask the Minister again, will he recognize the needs of the students and the community of Trout Lake and put a new school for Trout Lake in the capital planning process or at least a plan to scope out a new school for Trout Lake, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

I rise once again to implore this government to hear the needs of the community of Trout Lake who wish to see a stand-alone school. Trout Lake is one of the many growing communities in the NWT. Younger families have been moving back and there are more children in the community. Also, technically the previous Charles Tetcho School was never replaced. Our government promised to replace it but it was never done.

The school is presently housed in the community recreation centre. Actually, government has some planned renovations to this...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Those that do, I believe, aren’t getting the chance, Mr. Speaker. The word that’s been used in the public is like nepotism, but it’s not really nepotism if it’s someone from your home province. Nepotism is about hiring family and close family members, but it’s more like the buddy system that’s going on. How do we prevent it and how can we track that, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

I don’t know if the new advisory group had a chance to operate yet, but I think the reality of the situation in our North and some of the issues are that the upper management is non-Aboriginal and when Aboriginals apply for jobs they’re not getting them. I don’t know, those statistics do not show up, but it happens time and time again. I think it happened in Justice recently, where three Aboriginals were not hired and a non-Aboriginal was, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister how would the department track issues like that. Thank you.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

Today I would like to raise my concerns with regard to Aboriginal employment and representation in our Government of the Northwest Territories. We have an Affirmative Action Plan that government employees should have a representative workforce, which means half our workers should be Aboriginal. Our population is 51 percent Aboriginal. The most recent Public Service Annual Report indicates that indigenous Aboriginals, P1s, who have the highest hiring priority represent only 31 percent of our Government of the Northwest Territories...

The stats have been stable for the last 10 years. We’ve had only, like, 30 percent indigenous Aboriginal employment for the last 10 years and the stats aren’t growing. Some of the barriers are systemic, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister again: in the 20/20 strategy and the new Aboriginal board, is there a mechanism for somebody to appeal a job that they felt they should have got but a non-Aboriginal got it, like in the case of Justice and the Corrections Centre?

There are many other areas too, Mr. Speaker. I get lots of inquiries where Aboriginal people from my constituency applied for...