Norman Yakeleya

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...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize the president of the Deline Land Corporation, Mr. Peter Menacho. I’d also like to recognize our chair of the Sahtu Renewable Resources Board, Mr. Walter Bayha; and I believe the Renewable Resource Council member, a real good fisherman, Paul Modeste in the gallery, all from Deline.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my Member’s statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

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.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Health costs continue to rise, meaning that it will come to a point where money to maintain it will be a serious question in the North and the future Legislative Assembly.

With so many changes to our diet, changes to our water, and changes to our lifestyle, we are seeing a real need to provide health care workers and our people with early detection programs start assessing our people right now for cancer.

I will ask the Minister later on what types of programs are in place to start saving lives in our communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The department’s initiative is a step closer to another safety awareness for our people who are using our roads, especially ones that are driving. This bill is a good step towards safety.

The one issue that I have is going to have a concern for me -- and I want to ask the Minister if he would elaborate later on -- as to the portable use of handheld electronic devices in our region on the winter roads. We know that we have winter roads that we rely on these handheld devices for our safety, for knowing if there are big semi-trucks coming in our direction, safety for our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, along with my colleagues, want to offer my condolences to the people of Nunavut. I’m glad the Premier said some words for them. At this time they certainly need our prayers and our support.

When I heard the news I was taken back, because some time ago I was involved in the incident in Fort Good Hope and it’s very heavy on the hearts of people, the families, the grandparents, people right across Canada. I can’t imagine what the people up in Resolute Bay are going through. At this time today, they need our support. They need our prayers from this Legislative Assembly...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It seems like the answer could be very simple, yet it’s so complex. I ask this government to take this situation in Norman Wells under consideration for the 17th to have some discussion under the Extraordinary Funding Policy.

It’s nobody’s fault. The pipeline broke. The town was left with a situation where they had to bring in a machine that would keep the power and lights on in Norman Wells. The town has also asked to pay for your own power bill and go through that to the customers. The government is doing what they can for a long-term solution. The immediate solution...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the unedited Hansard of August 18th, yesterday, page 36, between Mr. Roland, Premier, and Ms. Bisaro, in one paragraph Mr. Premier made reference to the Norman Wells natural gas situation. I often say that we shouldn’t make the people of Norman Wells go back to their coffers or the taxpayers to pay for the natural gas situation within that community. But the policy applies and he had to look at it.

So I want to ask Mr. Premier in regard to the policy that he’s referring to, and if there’s any type of discussions that could be looked at within the life of this...