Norman Yakeleya

I’m certainly very appreciative that the elders are paying zero. And it should be. These are all seniors across the North. That’s my understanding from our elders about the public housing. However, I’d like to go back and ask the Minister what the Corporation is doing right now.

When I go back to the Sahtu, people right now are living in warehouses and their families are living in warehouses. People are living in makeshift tents in the communities. We know right now, I heard from the Minister and I heard from the rest of the MLAs about the responsibilities of rents and arrears. As a matter of...

We are often asked to rise up and begin to take full responsibility for our lives today. We have created it and now we must take back what once was ours. My only hope is that we do we act when the time comes. Remember, we continue to be slaves to the NWT Housing Corporation’s policies and they determine our fate in life. I say this doesn’t need to be our destiny anymore.

Housing is essential. It’s our home, our identity, our place we call home. NWT Housing Corporation needs to be really shaken up to help our people to keep their homes and start keeping people in the houses they once built and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When the federal government began to establish itself in our communities and to assume the responsibilities of our lives and to govern all aspects of our lifestyle by first signing the treaties and the Metis script, then to work with the missionaries to convert our people into civilized people, and furthermore, to support the trading companies to begin the first economic development programs with fur trading, slowly over the years more and more established structures began to be part of our present life today. One of the biggest single established infrastructures that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The way I understood and the way I’ve seen devolution unfold, it’s like the birthing of a new nation. Any transition to a new form of life, there’s growing pains. The birthing of a new nation is through the devolution process.

When there are time constraints put on negotiations or time pressures, decisions have to be made. I agree that decisions possibly had to be made. I’m not too aware of what type of decisions that needed to be made because we weren’t part to the actual negotiations or the meetings with the federal government. I understand that some of the Aboriginal...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to return to item 5 on the orders of the day, recognition of visitors in the gallery.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With the housing and all the dollars that have gone to investing, we’re well aware of. Still, the point, Mr. Speaker, is that people are living in warehouses and tents and people are living in overcrowded units. Maybe it’s a bigger government. I’m looking for a solution here. I’m reaching out here. How do we get people who are right now living in warehouses and tents, as we speak under this roof right here, move them back in? I mean, there’s got to be another way than just saying it’s your responsibility and this is what you need to do. Obviously, they’re not getting it...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about the public housing issue and I talked a little bit about the elders and what the past historical counts that were discussed amongst the government officials and our people today. I want to ask the Minister of Housing, because of all these past grievances and what was told to people and what we’re living today is…(inaudible)…two different stories. I want to ask the Minister, in light of the federal government, he has already declined their funding to housing for the social housing programs, what other initiatives other than the...

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

I do believe the Minister when he said he will follow up and talk to his officials. I believe the Minister will do that. We have just about completed our Assembly here and shortly we’ll all be going up to reapply for our jobs if we want to come back to this career here.

I want to ask the Minister, in this short time frame and in discussions with the chairs and deputy minister, is there any type of campaign that will be initiated or going out to our communities to encourage and support people that when they do go to the health centres to ask, they have the right to ask for a proper assessment...

Thank you, and certainly we appreciate the wise decisions of the past government to move the Sahtu into its own authority, just like any other authority in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, finally the government has seen the light. Still, I hope that Colville Lake will get some improved services as it’s still back in the medieval times of health care services.

So I want to ask the Minister, given all that he’s given us in the House, will he talk to the chairs, talk to his deputy officials today and state that there is or could be an early detection cancer assessment program in our...