Norman Yakeleya
Statements in Debates
That’s what I was alluding to regarding the communication on this project. There are certain things you want to communicate to the public, certain things you want to communicate to specific organizations out there. There is also the communication process for Regular Members that members of the public aren’t privy to. You know, some of the briefings that we had are very helpful in terms of going forward with this project.
I’m happy to hear the Minister is going to put together a communication plan of various levels. It’s a very important asset that the GNWT will own and have on the books here...
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I wanted to ask the Minister about other legal things that could be associated with the Deh Cho Bridge Project, some of the unresolved matters. For example, ATCON is in receivership and there may be claims outstanding that may be unresolved issues with the bridge. Is the GNWT likely to become involved in any legal actions related to the project? What matters might be unresolved that might cost the GNWT money? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Premier. I look forward to that discussion with the Members after he’s had some discussions with the Minister of Finance Canada.
Mr. Chair, in terms of the time frame to complete the bridge, we’re looking at 2011, in terms of this time frame and the amount of work that it is required, we aren’t too sure how things are going to unfold next week or the day after. We’re under a time frame. There are certain consequences of not meeting the time frame. In his good judgement and estimation, can the Minister of Transportation say that the quality assurance of the project, things that we...
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to ask about the toll fees and when the Minister will have some type of solid information in terms of the new information that we’re going to get for the toll fees in light of what some things that may happen in terms of revenue coming in for the payment of the bridge.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister consider withdrawing the reference question to the court?
Will the Minister commit to discussing any future decisions to refer matters to the Supreme Court with the Regular Members?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The decision to refer the question of the GNWT’s legal right to impose restrictions on the aboriginal people from the harvesting of caribou is not a good sign of consensus government. Regular Members should have been involved in the decision to refer this matter to the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories. The legal right of the government to ban aboriginal people from caribou harvesting is a major question. The result of the court hearing could have serious implications not only for the caribou hunt but for the future discussions regarding aboriginal rights and...
I’ll just close off with a question here. A comment and a question, I guess. When we first started out with this type of discussion around the Deh Cho Bridge, we always want to look at two things: the best scenario and the worst scenario. I think today we are dealing with the worst scenario. That’s reality. That also takes a lot of courage and leadership and foresight to deal with this type of issue. But we are dealing with the worst scenario today. It’s right before us.
I want to ask the Ministers about dealing with the worse scenario and this bridge being completed, what if some poor guy...
I certainly support the Minister in increasing the workforce in the North. I want to ask the Minister what his department is doing with the NWT mining society to get into communities such as the Sahtu to encourage workers in the Sahtu to come to the workplace here and to set up training programs with the NWT society. I don’t think I’ve seen them in the Sahtu. I only hear of them in the Yellowknife area. What is the Minister doing to encourage the NWT mining society to get out of the Yellowknife area and into the Sahtu to set up training programs there for the people in my region?
Mr. Speaker, when the Minister does do the checking, in terms of the defibrillators in the community arenas for community functions, can she also check to see if people other than her staff under the Department of Health and Social Services are trained, such as recreation facilitators or people, also, who just recently got hired on from the hamlet, if they can get trained if they haven’t yet been trained in terms of First Aid or on how to use these defibrillators?