Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to recognize the accomplishment of four young women from my constituency who are now enrolled in the nursing program at Aurora College here in Yellowknife.

Three of them completed high school at the Thomas Simpson School in Fort Simpson. They are: Ms. Mallory Hardisty from Jean Marie River, Ms. Amanda Bradbury from Fort Simpson, Ms. Tiiu Cli from Wrigley and Ms. Leanne Niziol, formerly of Wrigley.

I am very proud to see our young people pursuing college and university education and I hope that they enjoy the challenges that this education will...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs on the issue that I raised in the spring session. It was about land taxes, the local band, the municipality as well as federal lands. There’s been an issue and it still hasn’t been resolved. I’d like to ask the Minister, has the department taken the lead in this process lately and what is the current status? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just want to follow up on my Member’s statement on the Elders on the Land Initiative. I know that the NWT Housing Corporation changed their programming to basically four programs and when this occurred, Mr. Speaker, the Elders on the Land Initiative was nowhere to be seen. I would just like to ask the Minister of the Housing Corporation, what prompted the department to take away this program that was well used by the communities in my riding? Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I wasn’t clear on what evaluation the Minister was talking about. Are they re-evaluating the four programs? I think for me the more important thing is to evaluate the use and uptake on the old Elders on the Land Initiative, to look at it and reinstitute it, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister include that in the review that he’s speaking about? Thank you.

So the Minister has indicated that if the elder chooses and is approved through the current guidelines, that he can build his house on the land. I think part of the parameters of the original program was that if it was an elder, it was a forgivable loan and they paid the freight to his traditional lands where he wanted to build his housing unit. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to talk about housing for elders who continue to spend most of their time living in the bush. These are people like hunters and trappers who are usually independent and self-sufficient.

A few years ago, the NWT Housing Corporation had a program called Elders on the Land Initiative. It provided financial support to assist seniors who live on the land rather than in the community. They could replace their existing dwelling with a modest, simply constructed shelter. This program helped elders to maintain independent traditional lifestyles in a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a very noble cause that my colleagues have raised in terms of moving a motion asking to create a law to ban cell phone use while driving. For myself, Mr. Speaker, I’m never in favour of more laws if we don’t need it. I believe, when it comes to the safety of our constituents, our people of the Northwest Territories, that safety awareness, safety training can create a safety culture, Mr. Speaker. Safety does not mean creating more laws. Laws are about penalizing our people with fines and even imprisonment. When we go to that extent, I don’t think it benefits...

Actually I was quite happy with the first answer when he said it still existed.

---Laughter

I think I had an elder from Fort Liard that applied for it. He was basically told no, but certainly it’s something that the people want to see reinstituted and I certainly support that and I would like to convey that to the Minister.

So just once again, if he can confirm to me that there are some guidelines or there is a program that can still fit the needs of the Elders on the Land Initiative. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to see some investment in our smaller communities in terms of three community learning centres. Costs are partially offset it says by the federal Knowledge Infrastructure Fund. Perhaps the Minister can correct me if I am wrong, but when they came up with these three projects, they had to kind of be spur of the moment. I think this is part of the Stimulus Fund from the federal government.

In terms of lack of facilities in the smaller communities, I have been speaking at length with regard to the library in Fort Simpson. I am just wondering if they are looking...

As I said in my Member’s statement, the concern in Fort Liard is actually we would like to see more public housing units. I know that we are not building those, but as a suggestion and perhaps as part of the strategy for delivering homes in Fort Liard, do we have the ability to convert these homeownership homes should they continue to remain vacant? There are already three of them boarded up there, Mr. Speaker, due to the lack of clients. Can we convert these to public housing units? Thank you.