Sahtu

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 44)

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...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 44)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask the Minister of ITI, with this program Take a Kid Trapping, I said in my Member’s statement the value of cultural and Aboriginal programs into the schools. I want to ask the Minister of ITI if in the future the success of this program will also include the success in terms of increasing the funding so that this program can be more permanent into the educational programs in schools.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 44)

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.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 44)

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?

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 44)

I have an issue on this one here with the recycling program. I have a concern from a constituent in the Sahtu that talks about the recycling program and the consumer is specifically in Tulita. For the past several months, there was nowhere in Tulita to return the recyclables and they are paying for the environmental fee, environmental fee upon purchases and that they are paying recycling fees and there is nowhere to get their portion of it refunded. They want to ask the department to see if they can help open up a recycling depot to help the people out. This constituent feels so strongly about...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 44)

Mr. Chair, I bring this up because in the activity description on 13-24 it talks about wildlife health studies. I just wanted to make the importance of fish studies in my regions, in my communities.

Mr. Chair, at one time in my life I did fish studies on the Mackenzie River and we were catching Arctic ciscoes. When we caught the Arctic ciscoes, there’s a little tag on the fish. When we were doing the studies we would take these little tags and then send them out to Vancouver for analysis and when they get the reports back these little tags on these little Arctic ciscoes, they were tagged in...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 44)

I just have a few questions before we move on. I just want to ask the Minister has his department been keeping a close working relationship with our health department on the fish monitoring situation in the lakes in the north. I know there was an issue that was brought up some time ago with the mercury in our lakes, and the health board and the Sahtu Renewable Resource were looking at closely monitoring those lakes. When I was in Tulita just after Christmas, the Sahtu Renewable Resource Council president had some people coming in from down south to look at these lakes and monitor them. I want...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 43)

I want to ask the Minister, there’s support from this House and several industries across Canada and the Northwest Territories. I want to ask the Minister if, when he had his discussion with Minister Strahl, can the Minister inform the House if in his discussions with Minister Strahl he came to why the federal government is not supporting the Mackenzie Valley Highway by putting serious dollars to build it even after the PDRs that we pretty well closed. Why isn’t the federal government supporting this?

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 43)

Mr. Speaker, I’m asking the Minister to invite the Minister to come up and live with us along the Mackenzie River for a couple of days, maybe a week, you know, then to see if we get his attention. Right now the federal government is doing nothing. People along the Mackenzie River are complaining about the fish, the water. He doesn’t seem to care. The only way we can get some attention from the federal government is to take him to court. I’ll be very surprised if he makes an announcement in a week or so to putting a water monitoring station along the Mackenzie River, and tell that to the elders...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 43)

Mr. Speaker, could the Minister invite Minister Kent along the Slave River, the Slave Lake and down the Mackenzie River, stopping at each section of the river to drink the water, look at the fish, look for himself to really point out the seriousness of the pollution coming down the river? Can the Minister invite the Minister of Environment of the federal government to come down through the Great Slave Lake and to the Mackenzie River?