Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With this Borrowing Authorization Act we are going to the federal government and we are going to increase our borrowing limit to $100 million. What I know is that from personal banking when you go to the bank and you have enough good credit, you have some concrete, what you call it, assets that the banker says you have good credit. It’s taken you awhile to live comfortably and that you have enough assets that you could borrow more money off us, why don’t you borrow $10,000. You have a good job. You have a good income. I want to ask the Minister what is the arrangement...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to thank the Ministers for a good response to my questions. My final question would be for the devolution, what funds have you received from Canada to date on this issue here, and a comment to the Minister on the forest suppression needs for funding up front. Mr. Chair…(inaudible)…and I will have to apologize for my ignorance on this. The Minister talked about the aircraft services. Are we entering into new contractual arrangements with them or do we need to have that discussion yet? These funds are advanced. I understand why they need to be there in time for the...

Thank you, Madam Chair. My comments are mostly on Health and Social Services and I have a comment to Education, Culture and Employment. Madam Chair, maybe I’ll go a couple of concerns and comments and, like Mr. Bromley, if I do run out of time I’ll come back to conclude. I do thank the Members for providing this unanimous consent to go back to general comments on this bill here.

I want to ask a question with health on the policy for people in my communities to go to see traditional healers and what type of support is given to some of my people who want to see the Aboriginal traditional healers...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The territorial government receives funds for the French from the federal government as one of the recognized languages in Canada. Has the Minister communicated that to the appropriate Minister in Ottawa to advise them that there are other Aboriginal languages that need funding such as the one that we’re getting for this French and that this government will seek stronger dollars to implement our language programs? Can the Minister advise me?

I’m very pleased to hear the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment talk about working towards this plan and also that it will be coming up in the business plans. I want to ask the Minister if in the interim, as we work towards this plan, there are mechanisms in place that will involve the regional translators as communities have different dialects and languages so that he’s already started to put together some plans in place where the regional input will be taken also into the office of the secretariat.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize my beautiful wife and my gorgeous son up there. I want to say thank you to my wife. In my language I want to say… [English translation not provided.] In my language it means honey, I love you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to ask the Minister several questions. However, first I would like to make my comments to the bill right now.

This bill here, as the Minister indicated, hasn’t been increased for awhile. The Minister has said that this bill here, looking at an increase of $100 million from $175 to $275 million, it is increased to a short-term borrowing authority and that this money is needed to pay a $65 million bill that we need to honour to the federal government. The repayment is within a couple of months from now, March 31, 2012. I really don’t know what the financial impact...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The comments from the Minister of Finance to the interim appropriation bill here, I wanted to clarify that. I wanted to ask, hoping he was asking some of the specifics to the Minister of Health. For example, the Nurse Practitioner Program. We know it’s running. There are going to be graduates this year. This is only an interim appropriation for the operations to continue. I want to ask what plans you have for the nurse practitioners. There are going to be graduates. Is it still a program? Do we wait until business plans? I know some of these things are going to take...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I refer to questions on some of the items contained in Tabled Document 1-17(2), Interim Appropriation 2012-2013, and seek unanimous consent of committee to return to general comments on Tabled Document 1-17(2).

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are to the Minister of Health and Social Services. I spoke about the need for a compassionate policy and I want to ask the Minister what special accommodations, if any, does the health system make when a person is dying of a terminal illness.