Norman Yakeleya

Well, Mr. Chair, it does seem that we’re moving forward to hopefully actual construction on the Bear River to have a hydro plant on the Bear River for the community of Deline.

On the other issue of the Taltson Hydro, I know that the Taltson has done a lot of work. There are things that still need to be discussed. I still think that it’s a viable project and that we could continue to have that project maybe not moving right now, probably just on life support for a year or two before we can see if there’s some movement on the mines or there are other initiatives out there that certainly could...

I’ll have to do a little bit more research and digging around in this to how they’ve been drawn down and what type of capacity building initiatives the Sahtu has been using towards helping them with this project. That’s it, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. He has made my day there, Mr. Chairman.

I want to ask another question. When some of the employees that do have to take off some special leave, I think the government has been pretty good with them on some leaves, like family sickness or there is a death in the family and they have some time off and there are some special circumstances that require more than their time off because of whatever they have to deal with in a family situation. So I think that is on a case-by-case basis, so I am not too sure if there is a general wide policy where cultural leave or custom...

Mr. Chair, the Mackenzie Valley development contributions, I want just a little more information on the Aboriginal capacity building initiatives. I understand from the previous page there is about $360,000. That’s what I wanted to ask this Minister, if he had some details he could pass out to the Members here to see the plans. We have six months left in this government to work closely with our communities that are going to be at ground zero at the pipeline, when the pipeline comes down. I’d like to see what programs are going to be supportive in capacity building. Thank you.

Thank you. I’ll keep my comments very brief too. The positions within the GNWT are growing each year. It seems like we’re adding new positions to our workforce. I’m not too sure what the plan is. Is there a time when I’m going to say we need to cut back on positions or hold it or to put a freeze on it? Also to continue to support the Aboriginal people into the government’s senior management into those type of positions.

I look forward to some of the initiatives that the Minister has embarked on. I think there are some real good ones. Laying out a plan, there are the baby boomers that are going...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. If it is possible, if I could ask the Minister if he has reports as to indicate the miners or the workers that were released were the southern workers that the Minister indicated when they had the economic downturn and that certainly when mining companies changed their operations to an underground mine, then maybe that is a factor that showed that they need more skilled workers there that contribute to hiring more southern workers to operate their mines at a different level of operations.

Mr. Chair, I want to ask on the Growing Forward Project, the department has been very successful in the Sahtu with the potatoes. I think we are the spud capital of the Northwest Territories now with a good initiative last year in Norman Wells. I want to ask the Minister if the communities also wanted to look at other agricultural initiatives, can we start raising chickens and other birds like that so they become the capital of the Sahtu in terms of having those types of industries in our region to cut down the high cost of having chickens bought in the store there, or turkeys? Thank you.

Thank you. I look forward to the workshops and the meetings that are going to be held in the Sahtu and how they’re going to work with this department and the other agencies to move forward.

On the woodstoves, I’ve been told -- and please correct me if so, Mr. Minister -- in terms of giving them to some of the people or putting them in some of the houses that need some professional, I don’t know if they have professional installers or they need to look at it in terms of however, or whatever, it became an issue that in our small communities that is more like... Maybe in the larger centres they...

I again take the word of the Minister. In March I dare to ask him which day in March, so, I hope the Minister is going to follow through strong with his department. Hopefully before the closing of the winter road so I will leave it in his good hands. Thank you.

Mr. Chair, the traditional knowledge funding has dropped quite considerably from $110,000 to $65,000 for ‘11-12. Is that the funding that’s going to be continued in the future or is that the last of the funding?