Kevin A. Menicoche

Mr. Speaker, I did have an opportunity to look at our collective agreement with respect to further training by our teachers, and what's in there is that teachers do get application for education leave but they have to do it with reduced pay, at 60 percent of their salary level. I don't believe that that does enough to encourage our professionals to continue furthering their skills in language development. I would just like to ask the Minister how can we further encourage our aboriginal language professionals to look at further training? Mahsi cho.

Mr. Speaker, this is important enough for me to bring up because what happens is that when an aboriginal language instructor is unable to make it to work, the class is generally cancelled for lack of qualified substitutes. I will bring this up in questions to the Minister responsible at the appropriate time. Mahsi cho.

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Yes, it is.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, regret that we have to be deliberating the confidence that the House has in Mr. Zoe. There is a motion on the floor, Mr. Speaker. I am going to go on record that I will not be supporting the motion. I have a few reasons that I will be speaking against this motion.

In this great country of ours, we have a due process of law. There are certain allegations being made and to my mind, Mr. Speaker, they are unsubstantiated. I believe that the punishment that’s been talked about so far, which is the removal of the portfolios, is adequate for now. I believe there...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just with regard to equalizing how communities are paying for power, three years ago when it was a problem to supply electricity to Yellowknife due to low water levels, all the people in the NWT were asked to subsidize people in the capital by paying higher rates. Today when there is a problem supply of electricity in smaller communities due to rising fuel prices, as in this case, will the government be asking the people in Yellowknife to repay the favour by charging them higher rates to offset the hardships faced by smaller communities? Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the government is recognizing that rising fuel prices will affect elders on fixed incomes more than other people. Does the government have plans to introduce power subsidies for the elders, like existing fuel subsidies with regard to power rate prices? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, mahsi. (English not provided)

Mr. Speaker, we have recently seen a huge increase in the price we pay for fuel. Indications are that prices will continue to rise in the future. This situation is causing difficulties for people in the North no matter where they live. However, Mr. Speaker, I am very concerned that the rise in fuel prices is causing additional hardships for certain residents of the Northwest Territories, but not for all. I am referring to those people who live in smaller communities where electrical power is supplied by diesel fuel generators. These people will...

Madam Chair, I wish to report progress.

Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. To the motion here is that my constituents didn’t indicate any interest in supporting a motion like this and for me I’m not going to be supporting this motion. There are a couple things that are kind of leading me in this direction that are contrary right now to the aim of the claimant groups in my Nahendeh riding. As well, I believe that we are also asking the wrong question with this motion. It’s kind of like what has been happening back home with the change of village to hamlet status. People are saying let’s do this change, but the proper information is...

Mr. Speaker, given that the NWT is the only jurisdiction in Canada that does not have a single pricing policy for electricity and given that the current situation with rising fuel prices is making inadequacies inherent in our policies painfully apparent, does the government have plans to get in step with the rest of Canada and charge all of its citizens the same price for electricity?