Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to follow up on Mrs. Groenewegen’s questions to the Premier on Cabinet coming into our region. Some of our regions that we represent have four or five or six communities. Sometimes when we ask Cabinet Ministers, through their busy schedule sometimes it’s a quick visit in or a quick visit out, or we can do two communities rather than three communities. Sometimes we are left with why our community didn’t get the Premier or Cabinet Minister. We have to do a very careful balancing act on how we sort that out.

I want to ask if he would look at when they do, when...

Can the Premier tell us how he’s going to involve this Assembly? How do we staff the right person? Are we going to have some staff in Ottawa that would help us bridge the link between us and the Minister’s office to strengthen the agreement with our Aboriginal partners on this important issue and other issues in the North such as the Mackenzie Valley Highway? How are we going to evolve and determine the staffing if we are going to have a staff in Ottawa to help us get our financial, political, economic situation here in the Northwest Territories, and most importantly, our relationship with the...

Hopefully, somewhere between now and whenever Minister Duncan comes north and meets with all the Aboriginal leaders to discuss this important issue, being a former chief negotiator of the land claim and self-government, that the federal government tag the amount of money to conclude a deal with the benefits if we go ahead to sign or not to sign.

With the devolution we have an 18-month time frame. I want to ask the Premier, in his discussions so far with the Aboriginal governments, the federal government, if that 18-month time frame is something that we’re working towards or something that could...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Also during my campaign tour in the Sahtu region I spoke to many people in Fort Good Hope, and actually spent extra time there because of the amount of related cancer deaths in Fort Good Hope. When I left, there were people that were being diagnosed. As of yesterday, somebody else was diagnosed with cancer in Fort Good Hope. That’s about eight people. About nine people died in Fort Good Hope of cancer.

People are afraid of the water they are drinking. People are afraid of the water quality in the Mackenzie River and eating the fish that they have every winter, every fall...

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to deal with the motion that I gave notice of earlier today.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to say to the Premier that I look forward to the humanistic possibilities of what he can do to come into our small communities. I look forward to his position when we ask that question again, either in the halls or in the office or he can come and visit me also.

If we were to work together in consensus building and collaboration, I like what the Premier said to develop guidelines. It’s very easy to go to one location and spend two or three days there. There are communities that only have one location to go to. In Yellowknife you can walk around the blocks. You have the Ministers all living here. That’s where we get the issue of small communities and larger centres. If there are two or three communities you can hit, fine, but sit down and let’s talk about it. There are how many communities you can visit a year? Well, that’s something that I’d like to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS Section 61(1) of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act requires that there shall be an Executive Council of the Northwest Territories;

AND WHEREAS members of the Executive Council are appointed by the Commissioner on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that this Assembly recommends to the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories that the following Members be appointed to the Executive Council:

Mr. Glen Abernethy, the Member for Great Slave;

Mr. Tom Beaulieu, the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS Rule 85 requires that Members be appointed to the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that the following Members be appointed to the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning:

Ms. Wendy Bisaro, the Member for Frame Lake;

Mr. Frederick Blake Jr., the Member for Mackenzie Delta;

Mr. Robert Bouchard, the Member for Hay River North;

Mr. Bob Bromley, the Member for Weledeh;

Mr. Daryl Dolynny, the Member for Range Lake;

Mrs. Jane Groenewegen, the Member for Hay River South;

Mr...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Monday, October 31, 2011, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that the Assembly recommends to the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories that the following Members be appointed to the Executive Council:

Mr. Glen Abernethy, the Member for Great Slave;

Mr. Tom Beaulieu, the Member for Tu Nedhe;

Mr. Jackson Lafferty, the Member for Monfwi;

Mr. Robert C. McLeod, the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes;

Mr. J. Michael Miltenberger, the Member for Thebacha; and

Mr. David Ramsay, the...