Michael Nadli

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Saturday, October 27th, marked an historic occasion in Fort Providence. A time capsule sealed on October 7, 1992, was opened and items sealed in the capsule for 20 years were returned to the people in the community.

The sealing of the time capsule 20 years ago marked the end of an era as Elizabeth Ward School became Deh Gah Elementary School. On Saturday the occasion was marked by Jane Arychuk, former school principal, returning to the school, and Margaret Vandell and her son Wayne cutting the chain and locks on the large Rubbermaid tub.

Once opened, large envelopes and...

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to present a petition dealing with the matter of the establishment of a cellular telephone service in Fort Providence, Northwest Territories.

The petition contains 995 signatures of Northwest Territories residents. The petitioner’s request that the Government of the Northwest Territories work with the appropriate organizations to actively support the establishment of cellular telephone service in Fort Providence, Northwest Territories.

At this point in the history of the NWT, we’re seeing an increased interest in terms of resource development in this part of the Northwest Territories called the boreal ecology, the terrain, or the ecosystem. At the same time, recently there have been pressures on the barren land caribou as well as the Woodland caribou. Recently, with the bison anthrax outbreak, these have put pressures on the ungulate species. I wanted to know if there were any special monitoring efforts to be made on the part of the department on the moose population.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I made a statement in terms of how the moose play a significant role in Dene culture. Recently we had, of course, gone through a fall hunt where it was noticeable that the moose were not actively present in the area where people usually hunt. The question that I have for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources is: With the recent bison anthrax outbreak, was there any impact on the moose population?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to thank the Minister for giving us an overview. I just wanted to see if the Minister would commit to involving the communities and ensuring that they play a part in terms of the management of the moose population, and other wildlife species, as well, for that matter, and to see how it is that the department will work with communities.

I’d like to thank the Minister for giving us an update. I wanted to find out if there has been a survey on the moose population and when was the last time such a survey was done and what were the findings.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] I want to speak a bit in my language.

The moose is a large animal that thrives in the wild. For Aboriginal people, this huge animal is very important. In our culture we use the moose for clothing, food and tools. This is why moose are very important to us in our culture.

In regard to our ancestors, we cherish the moose and we use it for a lot of things. When we are hunting in the bush, we are hunting for our elders, our family. When we are hunting along the river, the person that I am talking about is a person that likes to be in the wild, in the bush...

It is rather disappointing that we’re not making the same effort as our colleagues in Nunavut. Why are the human papilloma virus screening rates lower among Aboriginal women and lower in regional centres and small communities than in Yellowknife? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I made a comment on acknowledging the National Cervical Cancer Awareness Week. I’d just like to follow up on it. Perhaps in a sense, maybe for some to talk openly about what happens, perhaps it’s an uncomfortable matter, but I think for a case like this talking about it, raising awareness is the mission, especially for the public out there in the Northwest Territories when we have lots of cases of cancer.

So my question is to the Minister of Health and Social Services. How are young people in the Northwest Territories taught the basics of sexual health, including...

Thank you. What about adults? In our health system, how do we make sure that adults know about the human papilloma virus and cervical cancer? Thank you.