Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to talk about the investment of our children and the people in our communities, especially in the community of Deline. Investment in our education, in our people, is very, very critical. I met with the Deline leadership this morning and they talked solely on the investment of their children, to the point where in 1995 was the first time the government said to the community we want to bring Grade 12 into your communities. The people in Deline said yes, providing you bring the resources that allow sufficient Grade 12 programs. Nothing to this date has honoured...

The Minister is correct; the positive side is that we’re racking up the infrastructure to support the thousands of truckloads that the oil companies bring into the economy of the Northwest Territories, specifically into the NWT into the Sahtu. So I want to ask the Minister about the carry-overs. Does the Minister have a suitable, qualified personnel to say yes, because this is happening we’ll have someone saying you need to get this contract in place, we need to look at this, we need to look at if there’s applications for permits or water licences, we need to do this and put some emphasis into...

Mr. Chair, I appreciate the Ministers’ responses and note the activity could maybe be ramping up in a section in the Fort Good Hope area because of the parcels that are going to possibly be taken by the oil companies. There are already two that Shell is going to be working on in that area. I’m certainly looking forward to the Minister’s announcement if the federal government does help us with some federal infrastructure.

I also see some other issues with the Mackenzie Valley Highway environmental assessment issue coming up. I want to ask the Minister with regard to the activity and safety of...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to ask a quick question on the health centre and long-term care facility replacement in Norman Wells. I want to ask the Minister when this facility will be completed. I understand it’s stretched out over a number of years to a regional plan and I wonder if that’s to help the financial situation that the government is in. It doesn’t do much for us and I’ve been hearing some of the people in the leadership saying why are we stretching it out so long. This facility is greatly needed and appreciated, and I’m just asking about the rationale as to why it’s done...

Can you imagine a community that is self-sustaining and self-determining in its own right? Anything is possible when we believe in our people.

Our people are ready. We need to be ready. There are some great opportunities in the North. We’ve got to get a trade centre in the Sahtu now because we support our vision, a vision of the territory where strong individuals, families and communities share the benefits and responsibilities of a unified, environmentally sustaining and prosperous territory. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. WHEREAS there is a requirement of the naming of two Members to hold the positions of deputy chairpersons of Committee of the Whole;

AND WHEREAS the honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Wendy Bisaro, has resigned from her appointment as deputy chairperson of Committee of the Whole to assume the role of chair of the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning.

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the Member for Thebacha, that the honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Robert Bouchard, be appointed as deputy chairperson of Committee of the Whole.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, May 31, 2013, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that the Legislative Assembly calls on the Auditor General of Canada to undertake a comprehensive performance audit of the Nutrition North Canada Program, and to report his office’s findings and recommendations to the Parliament of Canada and the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, my written questions are directed to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Would the Minister provide the Sahtu Regional Training Partnership five-year plan and the milestones that have been accomplished to date?

Would the Minister provide details on how the senior officials from the departments of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Environment and Natural Resources, Transportation, and Education, Culture and Employment plan to work together to meet the people’s training needs in the Sahtu region?

Would the Minister provide the final copy of the skilled workforce needs...

The Sahtu has been committed to spend over $635 million, close to $700 million. This year there’s more lands coming up, and we decided on September 17th there will possibly be more money spent in there. So this is telling us that this government needs to look at a trades centre. We need to get these learning centres into more than upgrading. We have to have cooking, welding, carpentry.

Can the Minister give a commitment to say we are in competition with maybe the Yellowknife Campus here for schooling? We have to look outside the box. I want to ask the Minister, can he provide an overview as to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about the Sahtu being at a critical point in training its workforce. I want to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment about the opportunity to get a Sahtu training centre in our region, due to the increase of oil and gas exploration. Last year there were 150 workers that were hired outside of our communities to come in and do work there, and also there are more and more people now taking advantage of these training opportunities.

Can we have something like a larger centre like Smith, Yellowknife and Inuvik, where now we...