Norman Yakeleya

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to recognize my lovely wife and my lovely supporter. I want to recognize her for being here in the gallery to see us work and to be here supporting me.

I certainly look forward to the day that the initiatives that the Minister has indicated in the House become a reality. The fact of the matter is that I want to ask the Minister, in light of research projects that tell us there is contaminated fish in the Sahtu and other areas of the Northwest Territories, people are now starting to see new diseases coming up, can the Minister at least put a few million dollars of all the hundreds of millions of dollars that are going into fibre optics, television, TV, whatever, maybe take a little money out of the Deh Cho Bridge and put it into where they can...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to follow up on my colleagues Mr. Jacobson and Mr. Menicoche and myself on the issue of health care in our smaller communities. The three of us represent 15 communities in total. So that says something to the Minister when he meets with the chairs of the health boards, but also with the senior officials of the Health department. I want to ask the Minister specifically if there are any types of discussions going on for any type of early detection program on cancer in our communities.