Norman Yakeleya

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to table the Globe and Mail article, Aboriginal literacy pilot project dramatically improves test scores in Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to return to item 5 on the orders of the day.

---Unanimous consent granted

I have looked at some of the activities going on in the small communities, extracurricular activities that could support students in their education, also their health and wellness. Some of the small communities are doing very well at the territorial level in sports such as basketball, volleyball and soccer.

Is this part of their school programming that can be supported with their educational goals in the small communities?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment if he’s talked with his department… There was a young student I talked with a few weeks ago. I wanted to ask the student what the best thing about going to school is. Do you know what the student said to me, Mr. Speaker? He said, “Leaving.” I just went, “What?”

What is the Minister’s department doing to keep the students in the school rather than to leave right away?

When the government did a test in the schools, we found out, shockingly, that in our schools in our small communities, 50 percent are operating below their grade level. That’s shocking.

So, I want to ask the Minister again, with him probably not having the privilege of reading the Globe and Mail I received, to look at a pilot project in our communities that would increase these numbers here. They’re doing it at the Hillside School on the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation and Walpole Island Elementary School.

Is the Minister willing to look at this, investigate it and say yes, this could be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have the pleasure of recognizing the leadership of Deline in the gallery this afternoon. Yesterday we had some beautiful music from the Deline drummers at the celebration here. Of course, Deline is the birthplace of ice hockey in Canada and Deline is the place where you want to catch the largest, biggest trout in the whole wide world. I want to recognize the leadership, the negotiating team, the elders from Deline who are here on this historic day for themselves. They also brought along a friend, I think, one of the leaders from Colville Lake, Mr. Joseph Kochon...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Transportation. The Minister of Transportation and I had a visit in Deline last year and we talked about the safety of the lake and we did talk about the concept of the road going around a section of the lake to hook up to the winter road on the other side of the Bear River.

Is that concept still alive within this department as to the wishes of the people of Deline?

There are provisions, there are training resources in the community of Deline should an elder want to go back to the community for their final resting area. Are there provisions and resources in that community that people are trained to look after their loved ones?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week the Minister of Health and Social Services talked about the plans for palliative care beds in Deline. Is the planning study expected to be completed by the end of this Assembly? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank Mr. Bromley for bringing this motion to the committee to have a discussion and a chance to talk about it today.

In today’s society, when you look at this motion, it’s quite challenging for health care workers. Today you don’t know what type of people will walk into our health care facilities. You don’t know what type of drugs they might be on or where they’ve been or what kind of state they’re in. You think you are bringing them in to get help for whatever injury they may have or where they may be hurt really badly, but for them, being on some of...