Michael Nadli

Thank you. What plans does the department have for increasing the number of Aboriginal northern teachers, especially in the Deh Cho and South Slave regions? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday it was, once again, my honour and privilege to present Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medals to two well-deserving recipients from the Deh Cho. The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medals are among the ways the Government of Canada is celebrating outstanding contributions that the subjects of Queen Elizabeth II have made to their country. The Commissioner, Premier, MP and Senator have been accepting nominations for the medal as part of a year-long celebration that ends on February 28th.

A former colleague, Mr. Sam Gargan, was among those who received this honour yesterday. For...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to congratulate my colleagues for leading the charge on this, Mr. Bromley and Mr. Yakeleya. Simply, I rise in favour and support of this motion and I will be voting in favour of this motion. In being here as a Regular MLA, you have to try to represent the views of people that you represent, and being a representative, you need to ensure that you work with your people; and this principle, that’s very, very paramount for me, is the principle of protecting the land.

The land is my culture and my life, and it’s relative to the land. So in that respect, we...

My follow-up question is the Minister had indicated that more likely there will be a similar effort made in British Columbia. Can we expect a similar template agreement that could result from those discussions, because, of course, the rivers in BC flow into the Liard and into the Deh Cho or the Mackenzie. Is there a similar effort, perhaps in envisioning an end product that’s similar to the transboundary agreement with Alberta? Perhaps we could expect that for BC as well. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to call Members’ attention to the new social movement called Idle No More. Idle No More started last November at a teach-in in Saskatoon which was held to protest Bill C-45. There the founders pledged to be idle no more in defending the environment and indigenous sovereignty. Thanks to social media, Idle No More spread like wildfire across Canada and around the world. In Denendeh, events took place in Fort Smith, Fort Resolution, Hay River, Yellowknife, Behchoko and at the Deh Cho Bridge in my riding.

Idle No More supported the fast of Attawaspiskat Chief...

I think this government has provided solid leadership in bringing to the forefront the water resources that flow from Alberta into the Northwest Territories. I think we have created a path, created leadership and a model, which is what can be done if governments and First Nations work together. Would there be a similar effort, at some point, in terms of offshore water and coming into a management model that could be considered that this government will entertain at some point in terms of the offshore water resources in the Beaufort Sea? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I commented or at least made the attempt to acknowledge that Idle No More did happen and it continues. I just wanted to highlight the shining example of some of the doable things that this government can do and that’s the transboundary water agreement.

Part of the exercise of the Idle No More movement is that it drew upon the commonalities of bringing two people together: First Nations and the non-indigenous people of the North. The common interest is the environment. So my question is to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. In terms of the progress of...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just reserved some of my questions for later on in the detail. For the most part, I am kind of encouraged by the movement to engage communities in terms of trying to at least advance the whole biomass initiative. I think it is a very good initiative that complements the realities of community life, especially small communities where jobs are very few and industry is not very actively present in the communities to provide businesses plus job opportunities. I think right now I understand it that there are discussions ongoing with several communities. Perhaps some of...

I’d like to thank the Minister for the response. This matter goes back to the 16th Assembly and this matter continues to be at least an agenda item for a to-do list for the government.

Would the Minister agree that our highway communities need locally stationed ground ambulance and highway fire emergency vehicles and equipment and access to training for first responders? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday I asked a question in the House in terms of the long-term plans for ambulances, and I appreciated the response. My question is directed to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

As you know, at this point we have increased industrial activity in the Sahtu, where we’re seeing large amounts of transporting of goods up to the Sahtu area; plus, at the same time, we have the bridge operable now on a 24-hour basis. So we are seeing increased activity of traffic on the highways.

My question is to the Minister of MACA. What emergency services are available now...