Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Throughout our lives in whatever jobs that we do and how we interact with people as a Member or a private citizen or businessperson, we run into a lot of good people in the Northwest Territories. I was very surprised to hear of an elder in Colville Lake who went missing. I thought back in January when I saw him and spoke to him and he talked about his life on the land. He actually gave me some fish and some meat and he talked about living out on the land and being out there in Colville Lake. I was saddened to hear, when I phoned Colville Lake yesterday, that they still...

Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs initiate discussions with stakeholders on the development and delivery of a public education program on dogs, and as appropriate, assist with the development and the delivery of such programs. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As Mr. Ramsay indicated, this bill certainly caused a lot of discussion to some of the clauses that we’ve worked on. It was quite a task for Members to come together and move it to this level here. I do want to say that this act is outdated and that we’re bringing it forward where it’s a somewhat controversial matter.

We did not have the opportunity as committee to go to the smaller communities and to listen to the Aboriginal people in the smaller communities. We took the onus, and it was our decision, to go into the larger centres. However, we missed the opportunity to go...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do want to say that with this motion, hopefully we would legitimatize, I guess, the elders into our education system. We do have them in our schools, yet they’re still struggling in terms of compensating them. They still are nice to have but not really essential. This certification would make it just like a teacher or any other profession in our education system. They will be equal partners. Right now it’s just listen to the elder and if they’re there, they’re there; if not, we’ll do something else. It doesn’t put them on the same level playing field in our education...

WHEREAS it is critically important that elders in the Northwest Territories share their knowledge and culture in our schools;

AND WHEREAS elders in most communities are willing to teach the young people in schools, or as part of school programs on the land;

AND WHEREAS the simple presence of supportive elders in school and the high degree of respect that they get adds to students’ sense of security and strengthens their ability to learn;

AND WHEREAS elders should be compensated for their work and time, like anyone else providing a valuable service to the GNWT;

AND WHEREAS the Government of Nunavut...

Mr. Speaker, with our small population, compared to the province of Alberta, I want to ask the Minister, does it make sense to have any type of carbon tax in the Northwest Territories going forward in the 17th?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to talk about the carbon tax. The carbon tax government revenue option paper in 2008 indicated that the GNWT, when they did the assessment stating that carbon tax would increase the cost of living in the Northwest Territories. This goes contrary to one of our goals to reduce the cost of living in the Northwest Territories. I want to ask the Minister of ENR with the carbon tax that is coming up for some discussions here, we need to protect seniors and low-income residents and recognize the regional cost of living. How is the Minister going to propose to look at...

Again, as I read further into the comments, I don’t know what to make of it. I want to ask the Minister, in this transaction that happened between the Norman Wells issue here, the Land Corporation and MACA, when the Minister is taking a look at it will he do a review to satisfy some people out there that we did follow policy, all transactions happened in a fair manner and that this deal here is one that should never be questioned again to the extent that I saw in the Hansard?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of MACA. It has to do with an issue that was brought up in the House on March 1st, with Mr. Bromley and the Minister, an exchange of the Norman Wells land sale, land base. The comments I’ve read and the exchange that I’ve read, it was pretty brutal and the people of Norman Wells we’re pretty well taken back and very hurt about this deal and they really are hurt about the comments made in this House.

I want to make it clear to the Minister here, when this deal was going through and this history of this deal, did MACA exclude the interests...

Mr. Chair, it’s been indicated before that the committee did not go to the smaller communities to hear some discussion around this work. We went to the larger centres. We certainly heard very passionately from the larger centres that we went to, but we did not go to the predominantly smaller communities of Aboriginal people, we did not get their view, really get their view and their definition of this clause. When we did talk about it in committee it was the majority of Members that wanted to go with this section of the legislation. So I’m going to, and this is what we worked out in terms of a...