Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about some of the elders that have passed away in the Sahtu. Even more sadly, these elders that passed away, passed away outside of their communities, in Yellowknife, and it was very hard in the last days of their lives for family to come and receive any last messages from these elders.

I want to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services for a status update as to the proposed long-term care facility in the Sahtu. People in the Sahtu would like to see that facility up and running so we do not have to send our elders outside of the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to welcome all my colleagues back to session here. Throughout the years as a Member, we as MLAs get invited to functions and celebrations. We also get invited to other events that are sometimes not so celebratory, such as funerals and wakes.

I want to rise today to talk about the specific losses that we’ve had in the Sahtu. I’ve heard from our other colleagues of some of the people they lost in their ridings. For example, up in the Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Frank Firth, a good friend of mine that passed away in Fort McPherson, or the pilot for whom we just had a...

In northern Alberta it’s been announced that there are high levels of mercury in the moose and the waterfowl tests that the people are hunting down there now. Slowly that will come up in the Northwest Territories. Because of the new laws that are coming up North here, we in the Sahtu, and especially elders like Thomas Manuel want to ensure that any type of protection that we have such as establishing a laboratory in Fort Good Hope or in the Sahtu that would give some early indication that we better pay attention to what is coming down into our air, our land and water. I ask the Minister for...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When I was in Fort Good Hope, the elder Thomas Manuel asked about the conditions of our fish and our food, and he wanted me to ask the Minister of ENR if there is anything in the plans that would see a laboratory in the Sahtu region because of the recent increase of the exploration and the development and new laws coming through Ottawa. Any types of plans in place for a laboratory that would check on the fish or the animals that we’re eating since the scare of the XL Foods that has happened down south? He wanted me to ask the Minister that question.

Thank you. Is the Minister aware that in Alberta people from the Northwest Territories with Indian status are eligible under the post-secondary funding program and that they are eligible for grants for an undergraduate degree, a master’s degree and a PhD degree for a combined maximum of 80 months, or eight years of financing? I repeat, this is eight years of grants, not loans.

Would the Minister see this as an opportunity for us to improve our education funding for students under grants?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. On March 12, 2009, I challenged the department and the Minister of ECE to review the SFA in terms of years of eligibility. I said that I believed that the program of our southern neighbour in Alberta was stronger than ours. I challenged the Minister to see if he would do a general overview and come back with what he found out. I also challenged him to see if he could strengthen the SFA in terms of six years of eligibility. The Minister said, “Certainly we can provide more research with our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak about the need for Education, Culture and Employment to provide student financial assistance for Aboriginal students to do master’s and PhD degrees.

In 1998 this government reduced the number of years an Aboriginal student can receive SFA to six years. This was done to assist the GNWT when the federal government reduced our budget by 10 percent. MLAs agreed to this, because the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment of the day promised he would put something in place so that Aboriginal students could get the same level of student financial...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to table a letter that was addressed to Minister Duncan, Minister Ashfield and Minister Peter Kent from the Sahtu Renewable Resources Board in regard to the proposed change to the federal Fisheries Act.

Some of our reports say that about close to 70 to 80 percent of our foods come from the land, and so we have a fundamental right, or we want a fundamental protection of our foods that are on our land. That’s why the elder asked if there is any type of plan where they would check on the fish and check on the animals that we eat.

I want to ask the Minister, would he also look within his federal counterparts if there are any types of plans in place that could be placed in Fort Good Hope.

I challenge the Minister to come back next session with a plan for changes to the Student Financial Assistance program that adds another level of funding so that Aboriginal students can get the funds to obtain a master’s and a PhD degree. Will the Minister commit to that?