Norman Yakeleya

Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate the Members around this table here talking about hydraulic fracking in the Sahtu region. When I was in the Sahtu over the weekend, people in the Sahtu will determine if they will go ahead with hydraulic fracking or not. The people in the Sahtu will decide just what type of scale it will be at.

I want to follow up with a question from my colleague in terms of public engagement in hydraulic fracking for the people of the Sahtu on environmental, social and economics. Would the Minister work with Members on this side in regards to putting on a government public...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are to the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment on the hydraulic fracturing in the Sahtu.

We have certainly heard Members from this side talk about going into the Bakken and seeing the activity. In North Dakota there were guns blazing toward hydraulic fracturing, so I want to ask the Minister in regards to what we saw in southeastern Saskatchewan and in North Dakota. What are some of the big differences between what is happening there and what potentially could happen in the Sahtu in regards to the jurisdictions and regulations?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister if he and I could go into the Sahtu this winter when Conoco is doing their testing of the hydraulic fracking, if he and I can go into the Sahtu and visit when they are doing their hydraulic fracking. At the same time, we could have a public meeting in the Sahtu in regards to this operation.

Mr. Speaker, certainly I said earlier, I was in Norman Wells over the weekend and people there are ready to go to work. They know what fracking could come to if we don’t do it properly. They know the work is there and they are willing to work and there’s excitement in the region. Certainly, there are issues that Members have talked about that we need to look at.

I want to ask the Minister in regards to doing it properly, doing it right and doing the best they can. We have an opportunity to work in this area here. Is the Minister working closely with the National Energy Board since they will...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister commit to coming to the Sahtu to see for himself the needs to have these kinds of infrastructures in place such as what I’m talking about, the daycare centres?

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to those plans being developed. However, I want to ask the Minister, we know for sure that there are high percentages of single parents in the small communities and we know that the unemployment rate is fairly high. I want to ask the Minister in regards to putting in infrastructure such as daycare centres that will allow single parents to have a place where their children can be watched over as they seek employment. What are the plans for those in the Sahtu to have that type of infrastructure in the communities?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a song titled “These Boots are Made for Walking.” However, I won’t do that song here.

---Laughter

The Sahtu will be idle no more. We want to work. We want to build our region. As I mentioned yesterday, the Sahtu is on the verge of making real and solid contributions to the North. We will do it and you can help, Mr. Speaker, and the Legislative Assembly can help. You can even give us a hand at building the North.

As I stated yesterday, 35 percent of families are headed by single parents in Deline. There are 26 percent of people in Colville Lake living in a house...

Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment:

Please provide a listing of all programs and services that direct supports to single parents in the Sahtu communities.

Please provide a listing of the different types of infrastructure in place to support single parents who want to attend an educational institution or to gain employment.

Mr. Speaker, the action now is happening in the Sahtu. People want to work. Single parents want to provide. They want to invest into their children and into their education, and they want to make a contribution to their families.

If the Minister can speed up the planning process, people right now want to work in communities such as Colville Lake, Deline, Tulita, Fort Good Hope and Norman Wells, looking at infrastructure that will put people to work. Right now there is not much support for them.

Can the Minister look at, within this time frame, within a couple of years of this government, to put...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I spoke on the willingness of the people of the Sahtu who want to work. I spoke specifically to the high percentage of single parents of children. I want to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment what type of infrastructure is going to be considered in the Sahtu to help single parents who want to work and want to contribute to their families.