Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask a question to the Minister of Health and Social Services on the cancer causing bacteria H. pylori and if there are any types of discussions that they are going to do some work in the Sahtu region. I know Aklavik has done this work and now I want to know if some of this work is going to be done in the Sahtu.

Maybe I could help on my end. I can certainly visit the people in the Sahtu and go see the elders who are living in the public housing units. The same with any MLA here when they head back to their ridings. Talk to the elders and ask, is this what you want your government to do, start charging you rent come July 1st? Sit down and talk with them. Hopefully then we can get back to the Minister responsible for Seniors, who will work with your colleagues and say is this what we want to do as a government. I ask the Minister if he would be willing to be open to our feedback once we have our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve talked to the Minister of the Housing Corporation on the plans to charge rent to the elders, and the Minister gave me a significant number of 700 seniors that are going to be impacted and some of the seniors that said it’s okay. I have a hard time believing that of elders in my region. I don’t think it’s going to be okay. I don’t know where the Minister is getting the okay from the seniors. I want to ask the Minister responsible for Seniors how he is working with this government here to be responsible for seniors that the government is now planning to charge rent...

Mr. Speaker, first initial reaction for some of the constituents of mine were saying, what is happening? What is going on? Why are they charging rent now or planning to charge seniors this rent scale? What is the thinking behind these changes to the rent scale for the elders who are going to be paying rent if it all goes through on July 1st?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I received several phone calls last night. I want to ask the Minister of Housing on the announcement of including elders on this rent scale. How many elders would be affected on this new announcement to have them start paying rent by July 1st?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This motion is restating what the Minister talked about earlier in the House, to support and give the nudge to the government that this is a priority. People in the communities would really appreciate this, because this would give justice to our people when we have Ministers, bureaucrats or any other government agencies that come into our communities. They know they will get the proper information, the terminology will be right and these translators would do great justice to the Aboriginal language services, to the Aboriginal Languages Act.

Right now it will give more...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I listened with great interest to the Housing Minister yesterday when he announced the proposed plans for the NWT Housing Corporation. During the 16th Assembly, I was among one of the Members that pushed Mr. McLeod for an overhaul for the rent scales for the young people who want to work and get a fair chance to make it on their own. I did this because the so-called economic rent being charged was too high. Basically, if someone got a job, they would have to pay so much rent. They wouldn’t have much money left for anything.

Mr. Speaker, I want to make it very clear, I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. It gives me great pleasure to recognize the leadership of Deline: elder Andrew John Kenny and I see also up there self-negotiator and a good man all around, Danny Gaudet from Deline. Steven Taniton was also there and Leonard Kenny; they had to do some other errands. Hello to Chief Tutcho and Peter Menacho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would ask that between now and whenever there is action taken, maybe all the whole Northwest Territories needs to be looked at. I’m asking right now for the Sahtu communities. Between now and then, what can this department do to advise people in the five Sahtu communities about this cancer-causing bacteria? What things should they look out for? What things should they be seeing a nurse for and asking for? This constituent of mine is being treated as we speak today for this specific bacteria. What do other people need to be aware of in their own Dene language to say...

I certainly look forward to the day when we can have elders into our schools. We worked on it long enough. I think the Minister is going to make an announcement, hopefully soon, that we’re going to have elders in our schools.

Getting back to how do we work with bullying, I know there are many other areas that we need to work on as a society as a whole. However, our children now spend most of their time in the schools Monday through Friday throughout the year. Can the Minister look at a program where possibly it could be a pilot project where the Aboriginal culture could be taught more...