Norman Yakeleya

Mr. Speaker, the town, like many of community governments, is being punished for their strict discipline and fiscal responsibility. So what’s the message we are going to give our communities? Be prepared to pay? Not all communities are equal and yet our government is looked upon to help communities and help with the extraordinary, unplanned circumstances beyond anybody’s control.

Mr. Speaker, while the Town of Norman Wells appreciates the immediate support by the GNWT department to examine long-term solutions to their shortage of the natural gas issue and an offer to cover for personnel to help...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In extraordinary times we as the government need to do the extraordinary things to help our people in our communities. No matter how much we prepare for emergencies and training, there is nothing we can do for the unplanned events. However, we still continue to prepare.

The town of Norman Wells, which happens to sit on the largest oil discovery on our lands since the 1920s, had their gas line come close to being shut down, which meant our residents, all of the entire town, would have been completely cut off from their only source of energy. Basically lights out for the...

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...

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. People in my communities are not dumb. They know that they want to give healthy foods, healthy options to their children. When you have four litres of milk at $12.56 in Tulita, milk here in Yellowknife is $4.99, that’s an increase of about 80 percent. If we have oranges at $8.35 a kilogram in Tulita and $3 a kilogram in Yellowknife, that’s a 178 percent increase.

Can the Minister commit that this program will change so that people in our small communities can buy healthy foods? We are not so dumb that we’re going to raise children on pop and chips and chocolate bars...

Mr. Speaker, what I’m receiving as some of the complaints from the constituents are that the contract between the Northwest Company and the Nutrition North Program is that the retail store is not so concerned about the diet that’s supposed to be provided under the program for the residents; it’s more concerned with the bottom line profit. So the type of monitoring that this government is responsible for, how is it that this government is educating people on nutrition and northern healthy foods when we can’t even get them in our communities? If we do get them, they’re either spoiled rotten or...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize also the lovely returning officer from the Sahtu, Margrit Minder. I’d also like to recognize from this past summer a CANOL 50-mile hiker, Tia Hanna, from the Northland residents in Yellowknife.

The amendments that Mr. Krutko brought forward seem to be in order. It seems to, for myself, give some clarity to the Community Planning and Development Act; some certainty.

Without question, when this act comes into force, the community planners not only in municipalities but Aboriginal governments are clear on where they stand. The interpretation of this amendment for myself, I’m of the opinion of the comments by Mr. Menicoche is the 17th I’m not too sure if there’s going to be or how the interpretation issue will be handled with this specific wording. Today we have the ability and power to...

I understand it’s the program. You look on the website, it is a federal program. However, this government here has tied itself to it by signing the contribution agreement to educate the public on healthy foods in our small communities. What advice has this government to date provided to the federal government to make sure the Freight Subsidy Program for food works for the people in the Northwest Territories? What I’m hearing right now is that in the Northwest Territories the freight subsidy isn’t working and we’re paying about 20 bucks for freight for five or 10 pounds of potatoes. Where’s the...