Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that, on Monday, February 25, 2013, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nahendeh, that the Government of the Northwest Territories immediately initiate discussions with the Government of Canada to prioritize funding for an all-weather Mackenzie Valley Highway from Wrigley into the Sahtu;

And further, that the Government of the Northwest Territories immediately initiate discussions with the Government of Canada to seek federal investment and human resource development initiatives along the lines of...

I’d certainly look to you for guidance and if I want to continue on with asking questions to the Minister regarding positions, I could go to another page and hold off and ask him some more specific questions. I am just raring to go.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My comments will focus on the Sahtu region and the impacts of health on the department here, and the system we have operating right before us. I want to ask the Minister, when we go through the Health department, with regard to the communities that have some basic services like the community of Colville Lake, which I represent. Today we have a nurse visit there once a week. We have people in Colville Lake who are trained at a minimum level for administering pills or just looking after aches, pains and bruises. So I want to ask about the fairness and the protection of our...

The Minister raises a good point. We’re at the point now where people in the Sahtu, specifically if I name the community of Deline, people are staying in warehouses there. I know of at least five people who are living in makeshift warehouses and people are living in tents in the middle of 40 and 50 below weather. I want to ask the Minister how much support will be available through Health and Social Services if an emergency shelter was started in the Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about the emergency shelters and that there are none in the Sahtu region. I know there are some here in the larger centres. My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. I want to ask the Minister if Health tracks the origins of people using emergency shelters. I would like to know how many of those people are from the Sahtu region from last year.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to ask the Minister, is he responding to the oil and gas boom activity in the Sahtu region. Other departments that have indicated to me how they’re going to respond to the emerging needs of the Sahtu in the oil and gas activities. We know with the lifting of the restricted liquor sales in Norman Wells have increased the records of the RCMP and crime stats, and the community itself shows a lot of alcohol abuse. Crimes have gone up quite considerably and the health care systems are taking a real whack in terms of taking care of the people. I want to know how the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will follow up tomorrow with questions to the Minister of Housing on this type of situation.

My last question to the Minister of Health and Social Services is: People who are categorized as disabled or with a disability, some of them are living in these shacks that I witnessed in Deline and probably other communities.

What provisions within the Department of Health and Social Services can these people receive for emergency shelter or some type of home that would assist them with their living conditions?

I would appreciate if the Minister could help me out here and maybe get the breakdowns, especially for the Sahtu region, on the emergency shelters. We are seeing an oil and gas boom in the Sahtu region and pressure on services and housing, and there are more alcohol problems. I want to ask the Minister why there are no emergency shelters in the Sahtu region.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. People are living in warehouses, they are living in tents, they are drifting from house to house, sleeping on floors and couches, they are overnighting in RCMP cells. As NASA would say, Houston, we have a problem.

I want to put it on record, loud and clear, there are homeless in my region and in other regions too, no doubt. Why is this happening? I can only speak to what I see myself. Why do people lose their homes or get kicked out of one of them when they have alcohol addiction, which is one of the biggest causes. We know that the easiest way to get addictions...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know we can all agree that there are a number of benefits to having locally trained professionals work in our region that come from our communities. Students, schools and communities benefit from an increase in cultural sensitivity and gain knowledge of Aboriginal history, language, and connection to the culture. In the Sahtu we have some success getting residents into the Teacher Education Program and our efforts continue.

In 2009 the Sahtu Education Council brought forward a well thought out proposal to prepare students academically for entrance in the teaching...