Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to talk to the issue of the transboundary water agreements that this government has undertaken since the Minister has taken the lead on this. The transboundary water agreements are very important, especially from our neighbours in the south of the Northwest Territories, specifically Alberta, because of the development that’s happening in the Alberta province and that the flow from these rivers have come from the majority of the rivers here.

I want to talk because in the Sahtu Land Claim Agreement it speaks to a chapter where the quality and the quantity of our...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to report progress.

---Carried

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the terms of reference for a Special Committee on Transition Matters.

I look forward to that business plan. That’s good news for this side of the table here.

I also want to ask the Minister, is there any thought to inviting some of the people in our small communities to have a discussion? Some of the discussions they had this morning with the Minister, some of our teachers in our small communities really contribute to sports in the communities. Deline has survived there for hockey. In Inuvik they had Ms. Peggy Curtis for badminton. Different teachers have played a big role in the lives in the small communities.

Do we have that type of avenue where these teachers...

Mr. Speaker, I would like to also recognize two Pages from Deline: Faith Gaudet, whose father is Danny Gaudet – it’s going to be a historical day for the Pages – and also Hanna Beyonnie, all the way back there, from Deline. Their paging today is ironic. It’s a coincidence that they’re paging at our Assembly this week. Also, some of the guests from the Sahtu are here. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also want to have some congratulatory words to the people in Deline.

Thomas Edison once observed that the reason most folks don’t recognize opportunity when it comes along is because it’s often dressed in coveralls and looks like work. Often opportunity involves a great deal of work and a willingness to take a chance on something, the outcome of which may be uncertain. Eventually you reach a point when you must either accept an opportunity with all its unknowns or else turn your back on it. No one can tell you when you have reached that point. You will know when it’s...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I’m also very pleased to be sitting here and speaking to the bill, Bill 46, Deline Final Self-Government Agreement Act. Madam Chair, my comments will be short to this specific bill.

This bill, as the Premier indicated, is the first stand-alone community self-government agreement in the Northwest Territories. It’s an historical moment for the people of Deline, for the team that worked on it from the Deline Got’ine, from the Northwest Territories negotiating team and also from the federal government negotiating team.

Mr. Premier talked about the effect of the Deline Tax...

Part of this discussion that I’m alluding to would be the wellness of these young athletes. I just had a really good discussion up in the Explorer Hotel with a lot of really exciting people putting together some good wellness packages.

I want to ask the Minister also on the health and wellness of this concept. Is that part of the discussion of a business plan on the centre of excellence for young athletes? Are we looking at a comprehensive model such as this one here?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of MACA with regards to the idea or concept for a centre of excellence for athletes. I know we talked about this just this last week, looking at if this is an idea that’s floating around in his department to look at where there is raw talent in the communities in the North that can come together and start looking at what it will take to have a sports centre for these young people to come and excel, so that they can go either into the national or international arena and win some medals for the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A lot of great ideas, a lot of great concepts and discussions start from an idea. The Northwest Territories is no stranger to a lot of great things happening in this great country of ours. In the early ‘60s they had a sports excellence program going very strong up in Inuvik called a TEST program where a lot of world-class skiers came about. The Firth twins, the late Fred Kelly, a lot of skiers came from that area and they had a good program, they had access to resources and they did well. So we know that our small communities can do well in any sports given the...