Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just a couple of questions. Have the Ministers had an analysis of reducing the costs in my region by having a bridge here? In light of what we’re going to increase the budget for the bridge, I think the Minister of Transportation said it has a negative effect on the cost of living to reduce the cost of living. I know at one time it made sense, but now we’re adding additional dollars to it. Is this still the case to reduce the cost in the Sahtu and in Behchoko or Fort Providence or even Yellowknife?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m informed that the percentage of NWT aboriginal high school graduates has increased significantly since 2000. In 2008 approximately 50 percent of graduates were aboriginal; in 2000 only 30 percent of the graduates were aboriginal. In the same period the total number of graduates in smaller communities nearly doubled. Fifty-five percent of those 18 years and older in the NWT are now graduated from high school.

That all sounds like good news to me, but I’m still discouraged. Many of the Sahtu high school graduates don’t have a real high school graduation. They don’t...

Thank you for the update here. The Minister stated that they’re continuing with the relationship with the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation. Are there going to be some changes? Because the way we’ve been dealing with the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation has gotten us to this place right here. If that’s the case, then I’m not feeling too comfortable in terms of if things are going to change, because right now we have a $15 million supp that is going through the process here. I hope some things are going to change in terms of our relationship with the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation. Otherwise, are we going to...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, this particular bridge has to be built. The reasons not to build it just don’t make sense anymore, especially when you have pillars in the Mackenzie River, you have projects, you have about eight pillars there to finish it off.

Mr. Chair, the issue that I have is with the management of the project. With the additional $15 million to this project you really question the control and the management team and the previous arrangements in regard to how this happened in that this is so high and we really were asleep at the wheel on this one in terms of the money that’s coming...

I look forward to some good announcements hopefully in the next couple of days. I want to ask the Minister in terms of the meat that was seized from the hunters by the ENR officers in terms of how that was distributed to the Yellowknives Dene or to the public.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of ENR. Mr. Speaker, as I said in the House yesterday, I just returned from Deline where they had a traditional hand game tournament. In the tournament, they had two teams on both sides. They also had a shooter that shoots for the team in terms of guessing where the stick is in the player’s hand. I want to ask the Minister regarding naming a shooter or an official of ENR. The chief of the Yellowknives Dene says he is the man who is going to talk, not the Dene Nation president. It’s the chief himself. So I want to ask the Minister who is...

About identifying some of the outstanding issues, is there a time frame of when this issue will be resolved? Is the Minister willing to commit, even 24/7, to have this discussion done, to have a sit down with the Yellowknives First Nation and Dene Nation, and come up with an agreement like in the good old days when we negotiated our land claim agreements?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of ENR. I’d like to ask the Minister to provide the House with an update on his official meeting with the Yellowknives Dene First Nation on the sensitive issue that we’ve been dealing with for the time being here. Can the Minister provide an update on his meeting with the Yellowknives Dene First Nation?

I look forward to the initiative that the Minister will bring forward to the Members on the Aboriginal Achievement Initiative. We know students have to do hard work. They have to be disciplined. They have to have the parents influence them to go to school. The Minister is right; if you’re not in school, valuable lessons will not be learned. In terms of monitoring support for students, is the Minister monitoring the types of supports that can be provided in the school and the types of supports needed to have successful graduates to come out with a quality diploma?

Thank you. Is there a possibility of getting the latest explanation that the Minister gave us on paper for my reading and reviewing?