Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask the Minister, with the support of technical and training to the communities, has the Minister entered any discussions with a company called Easy Street that can look at repairs to the chipsealed roads that are already done in the communities that have done main street chipsealing?

With the amount of responsibilities that we give to the communities, there needs to be the matching dollars to go with the responsibility. I want to ask the Minister if there are any discussions, either with his Cabinet or his own staff, to look at other additional support funding such as the ones that he’s listed off. We appreciate it, but there are ones we could look at within the life of this government to see if funding like this could be discussed at a federal-provincial level to look at chipsealing programs and dust control in our communities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Four years ago, it was reported in the Globe and Mail newspaper, the Federation of Municipalities of Canada reported that we needed at least $123 billion to repair or replace municipal infrastructure in Canada. It’s beyond our wildest imagination as to where or how Canada will ever find those resources in today’s economy let alone the Northwest Territories communities. We have gas tax initiatives, community planning and infrastructure funding, and in some places, the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund. However, this is not enough and will never be enough if we really...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice on Thursday, May 19, 2011, I will move the following motion: now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, that this Legislative Assembly strongly recommends that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment increases the living allowances set out in Schedule B of the Regulations to the Student Financial Assistance Act by 27 percent.

I look forward to that. It’s good news that the Minister has noted that the Minister of infrastructure along with the honourable Minister to look at how they can support communities. I want to ask the Minister if he’s going to involve the other municipalities in the North to look at how they can get their message to the Minister of infrastructure once the meeting is held with this government to look at dollars that could be supported in the communities for infrastructure such as the potholes or if we want to somehow initiate some partnership on chipsealing some of the communities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the Members for all speaking up and saying what you have to say; and also for the Minister’s consideration to the new Assembly once we get there.

I want to say that this motion came from a time when my family was out at Old Fort Point in the bush. When I came back to Tulita, the first person that came to me said to me that we have to do something with the young kids and their drinking. It’s getting scary and out of hand.

I know, as Mrs. Groenewegen has stated, that not all people have lived or grown up on the land and sometimes it’s very difficult, so I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS alcohol abuse has taken a heavy toll in all Northwest Territories communities;

AND WHEREAS alcohol consumption and drug use has increased among young people;

AND WHEREAS NWT Liquor Commission net revenues will increase to $24 million in fiscal year 2011-2012 from $22 million in fiscal year 2008-2009;

AND WHEREAS the Northwest Territories has only one alcohol and drug treatment centre;

AND WHEREAS there is no detoxification centre or relapse centre in the territory;

AND WHEREAS the Department of Health and Social Services strategic action plan, “A Foundation for Change...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, honourable colleagues. I want to recognize an important G’asho Got’ine from Fort Good Hope to Yellowknife, Wilbert Cook Sr. Along with him is his girlfriend, Celine, and their baby, Tyrell. Also with Wilbert Cook is Wilbert Cook Jr. and his son Joey and his son’s girlfriend, Donna. I’d like to welcome them to the gallery.

I certainly look forward to some of those discussions also. I want to ask the Premier: wouldn’t it make sense, I guess, coming back and having some of these analyses before we are done this Assembly, to look at does it make sense to put some of these key basic essential services or programs in some of the communities that do not have them versus some of the ones that are already there?

I guess what I’m looking for is, it’s been four years since I’ve been asking for an RCMP presence in Colville Lake. We’re always being told we have to deal with the fiscal constraint. So I want to see how...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The population of the Sahtu is about 2,645. Of that population there’s about 270 elders; 45 percent of our population is under the age of 24 years old. I wanted to ask the Premier, responsible for the Department of the Executive, if his department has ever done a study or analysis of what type of dollars would it mean for this government if you were to put in some of the essential, basic services in Colville, Good Hope, Deline, Tulita, in terms of bringing up some of the services that we have in other communities that have government programs that people take for...