Sahtu

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 47)

Mr. Speaker, I went and visited some of the inmates at the centre. They want to go on the land. They said, we want to go. There are programs in there. There are policies in there that prevent them from going on the land. There are roadblocks in that system. Can the Minister go to the facilities, meet with the inmates that want to go? Guys are in there for serious offences. They want to go. They want to go out there. The Minister keeps giving me, well, it’s long and hard too. I don’t take that, Mr. Speaker. I want to see what this department and this government can do. Put the inmates on the...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 47)

Mr. Speaker, I think when you look at some of the inmates that are in the facilities, they are getting fat. They have nothing to do. The lack of programs that are in these facilities are not doing them any good. Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the Minister if he can find any way that could make it easier for these inmates to get on the land and do hard time out there and get some real healing done. The Minister is putting some roadblocks up and I know inmates that do want to go on the land. Can the Minister find a more creative way to get the inmates out on the land?

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 47)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my Member’s statement is with the Department of Justice.

Mr. Speaker, traditional camps are a good way to help heal people; people who will be returning back to their communities after serving time for their offences. I’m speaking about on-the-land programs to help restore Aboriginal offenders to their roots, refreshing both their skills and their spirits.

Camps like this have been run near Fort Good Hope and Colville Lake in the past, but there is currently only one six-week camp per year in the Sahtu region, Mr. Speaker. I would like this to be a year-round...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 46)

I look forward to at least the Tulita report, Mr. Chair, and hopefully later on the Fort Good Hope report. I wanted to ask the Minister, I know there was an issue with the school in Colville Lake with the washroom facilities and the running water there. I know there was material there, material being ordered to get there and I think it’s already there and waiting to use it. Right now I believe that Colville Lake’s School is still using the honey bucket system and there are other issues that prevent them from hooking up the water lines and the washroom facilities. Can the Minister comment as to...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 46)

I raised the point and I noticed that the demolition went very well for the department. They had some good discussions. Actually, a lot of people showed up, surprisingly to the contractor, just maybe because he thought there was going to be maybe a dozen people showing up to work. Actually it was just over 50 people that showed up and wanted to work. So it went very well. So I’d like to congratulate the department for being flexible and open to a good possibility. I believe that the same type of discussions now are happening in Fort Good Hope with the old Chief T’Selehye School and I hope...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 46)

Mr. Chair, I want to add my few comments to the department. I do want to say the maintainer’s position was advertised and filled by a local person in Tulita. I’m very pleased with this program and the other communities that do have it. It’s something that we should continue to look at to expand in other communities. It’s a valuable program. I do want to thank the department for going ahead with this and filling these positions as quickly as possible.

As my colleague Mr. Beaulieu indicated, that the Apprenticeship Program is something that’s very valuable in our small communities and that there...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 46)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister is certainly showing me a little love here in terms of putting this Sahtu trades centre. Would the Minister bring forward this discussion to the next Aurora College Board for serious discussion to look at a trades centre in the Sahtu in order to move it to the next step of putting it in the books?

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 46)

Thank you. The Minister indicated that they are working on gathering information; and being quite familiar with the process of moving it through the stages to a vote for capital needs, that’s quite a distance away. So I want to ask the Minister when you are gathering information within the time frame of this government, would this continue to the next government in terms of having a clear picture on whether the Sahtu will receive some good news to say that a Sahtu trades centre is coming down the tube and putting it in the books for some discussion in the House?

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 46)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too want to add my voice to the Members and to talk about education. A couple of days ago, when I brought my young son to Mildred Hall School, my son was talking to me and saying that at the school they were learning the Dene laws. I said, oh, what kind of laws are you learning? He said, well, we’re learning about the Dene laws. I said, well, what laws do you know right now? He said, Dad, Dene law number three. I said, well, what’s number three? He said, Dene Law number three is love one another as much as possible. And I was going, oh, my God. Mildred Hall, I want to...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 46)

Would the Minister comment as to the request of the reports? I’m not too sure what details of the reports he can provide. If that’s something that he could comment on.