Norman Yakeleya

Thanks for the flexibility, Mr. Chair. I wanted to ask a question on 10-19 on the NWT Teachers’ Association Professional Development Fund. We make a contribution to this development fund for teachers as part of their Collective Agreement. Now, I’m very happy that the department has initiated a mandatory cultural orientation week for teachers in the North every year. Is this part of their Collective Agreement funding?

I guess we need to have more discussion as to what the Minister is saying. Certainly it has been noted that is someone said that certainly if they can get up and walk to the income support office they certainly can walk to work. We have certainly changed our lifestyles in our communities. There are some young people who are really trying hard to make a go of it in life, there are other challenges that they have to put up with. Income assistance is one of them. There are also other people out there that know how to use the system and they think now that welfare is a right for them. We have...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to look at true partnerships, you know, the Sahtu would have already signed this agreement. We are not there yet. We need to really look at this, look for what it is. Chapter 22 will be impacted in our land claim, those issues that were negotiated in 1993-94.

Mr. Speaker, that’s what I’m asking this government here when you look at this deal, in terms of going forward, we want to ask, again, the Premier here in terms of how do we look at establishing true partnership. It’s not there yet. How do we do that? In chapter 6 it points to where in the protocol agreement...

The issue with the elders, it looks like it’s going to be another year longer. We’ve been talking for a couple of years on this. It seems so simple, yet we make it so complicated to put elders into our schools. We talk about our culture; we talk about tradition, supporting seniors or elders. Somehow when it’s in our government system it makes it very difficult, because there are so many rules and regulations that prevent an elder from coming into our school to teach, to get them in the system. Certainly this system shows me that it doesn’t really support our elders. We say it’s nice, we say it...

I was of the view that glasses are always half full. Certainly our glass would be full if we did sign on to this agreement here.

I want to ask the Premier in terms of us in the Sahtu getting ready. We need to look at some very serious concerns with this draft AIP and how it’s going to affect our land claim and our governments in terms of going forward. The leadership has asked the Premier, and I want to ask the Premier and his Cabinet colleagues, about continuing to move on this file here with the Sahtu to look at another opportunity to have more discussions in the Sahtu with the whole...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to ask the Minister if he’s gotten anywhere with the education authorities’ O and M contribution funding to have elders in our schools. I know that’s been a longstanding issue for me. I’m hoping he will give me a good response.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the people of the Sahtu for standing up and telling the government when we’re ready to sign the devolution AIP we will decide as a people to move on this agreement. More importantly, we will decide how we want to work and live with each other in the future.

Mr. Speaker, the Sahtu people from Deline, Tulita and Norman Wells met a few days ago in Deline to talk about the devolution table. Actually, Mr. Speaker, a leader and elder from one of our communities made a statement saying that will this be our Custer’s last stand with the governments. Only time...

Mr. Chair, with today’s technology and the younger generation and the learning that’s been more and more advanced in terms of the technology out there and we’re now asking our students to participate in the world of information and knowledge and work, especially in our smaller communities where the numbers of 150 computers jumped from 2005-06 to 2010-11 to 450 computers in our schools and there’s really no dedicated IT support for our children or our schools and we are struggling, the communities are struggling, the schools are struggling to find the funding to support the children in their...

Is that also the same type of support he’ll give for the other programs we offer at Aurora College? We are looking for a social worker in our community. I’ve already talked to the Minister about this. We’ve been waiting to get a social worker in one of my communities in the Sahtu. Is this the same type of support you’re going to give to the social workers in Aurora College?

I look forward to that discussion. I’m not too sure if we’ll be around to see how it goes, so I look forward to the Minister’s remarks and that to see how far it carries.

I want to ask the Minister, in terms of the education authority contributions, on the O and M to the education authorities, Mr. Chair, the Minister alluded to stating that a number of computers have come into the different authorities and are greatly appreciated by the authorities. I’ve also noted that in the Sahtu in 2005-2006 I think we had about 150 computers in our schools. In 2010-11 that number bumped up to 450 or so in...