Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Thursday, March 14, 2013, I will move the following motion: I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that, notwithstanding Rule 4, when the House adjourns on March 14, 2013, it shall be adjourned until Wednesday, May 29, 2013;

And further, that any time prior to May 29, 2013, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may give notice and thereupon...

In the North and in Canada, we are always changing and so we’ve got to look forward. I think we need to look at a new level of provincehood or the way the Constitution is, but the way it looks now, it doesn’t look in our favour. However, I’m not too sure if Canada and the Canadian people will say, let’s not give the right to the Northwest Territories people then. We can do things differently. We certainly passed the hurdle of the devolution. It’s still in its draft stages. I have hope and I have hope for my people. I believe in our people. We can do this. I want to ask the Premier, is that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about what’s next after devolution. This morning on the radio station I was listening to the chairperson from the Sahtu Secretariat, Ethel Blondin-Andrew, talking about the next steps in the progression of becoming a province that will have its own rights and meanings of being a part of the Confederation of Canada. She talked about a constitution in five to 10 years. I wanted to ask the Premier if that is the progressional steps we take in the evolution of becoming a province. We’re just about there, but we’re not quite there. We just...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We in the Sahtu want to live up to our fullest potential. It’s in our nature. We are hard workers and we believe in our families and we support each other. We love the land and we respect it. We live by Yamoria’s laws and traditions that our elders have taught us. This does not mean that we do not want to change. Our elders tell us that we must adapt to changes if we are to survive as a nation of people. They say that we will be strong if we work together.

Our goals in the Sahtu are the same goals set out in the 17th Assembly. In the Sahtu our goals are in our hearts and...

Like I said, I certainly send my prayers to the people who have to deal with this issue. So far the Minister said there are two individuals. That’s half a million dollars for each individual to seek this type of specialized treatment. Certainly, no individual in the Northwest Territories can cover the cost for this type of treatment program. Certainly, we do the best we can in light of the other pressing issues that we have in the North in regard to how we prioritize our costs with treatment and medical needed by people in our communities or in the North. I just want to make note of that.

It’s...

Mr. Chair, anybody that needs medical attention or services, certainly my prayers go out to them. I just want to look at the numbers here. Is this not recoverable to any type of federal government program? This is our cost to our own for having the best health care services in Canada?

On page 7 it says to provide funding to reflect the impact of projected shortfall for costs of blood and plasma protein products. Do you know how many people in that that reflects on the cost here?

I would again ask if the whole town of Norman Wells, through this contribution to the Housing Corporation, will see all the units in the town of Norman Wells receive this type of support as we’re giving to Inuvik because of the conversion of natural gas to synthetic natural gas.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just a quick question on the contribution to the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. Is that a similar type of support they are also receiving in Norman Wells because of the conversion of the natural gas, and what things they have to do to prepare for the conversion to other sources of energy?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We can use the scenario that the Northwest Territories is the birthplace of ice hockey in Canada. We’ve given birth to other provinces in the Northwest Territories. We have to remember that the Northwest Territories could become the next economic boom in Canada with the Norman Wells, and the road to Tuk and the mining. It could be a possibility that the people in Canada can say, yes. We’ve got our work cut out for us, but I think that’s something that we need to give to our people in the North. Devolution, fine. We’ll do the work, but we need to take the next step and...