Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. People in the Sahtu certainly appreciate the funds for the hydro symposium. Can I ask the Minister, Mr. Speaker, as a result at the conclusion of the hydro symposium, would this government seriously look at construction of some of the initiatives that they could do in the Sahtu to reduce the cost of energy?

Can the Minister inform me as to how much has been invested into the feasibility studies for the natural gas conversions?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There’s a song that goes something like this, “wintertime is coming, wintertime is coming.” However, I’m not allowed to sing it, so I’m going to say, Mr. Speaker, that winter is here and it’s time to turn up the heat in the Sahtu. I’m not talking about global warming, Mr. Speaker, I’m talking about providing affordable heat to homes and businesses in the Sahtu region.

Earlier this session, I stood up and talked about the energy initiatives in my region and I would like to come back to that today, Mr. Speaker, because it’s a hot issue. I don’t think there are any or...

Mr. Chair, I want to follow up on the line of questions from Mr. Krutko, MLA for Mackenzie Delta, on the extraordinary funding that communities used to have and just hear the exchange between the Ministers and the Member here in terms of the communities that want to understand that some of the unforeseen disasters happen and communities know that MACA will be there for them and there is a clear understanding about funding if something happens. For example, last year the ice breakup in Norman Wells and certainly they appreciated the support from MACA where some discussions happened in terms of...

If I could ask the Minister if he could maybe forward where some of the regulation requirements, if he could forward it over to us in terms of seeing where things are at with the federal government and the Minister, I would certainly appreciate that. So we could possibly give a heads up to our communities that this may be coming down and somebody should look at it when we’re looking at planning or constructing or whatever through the New Deal and what’s required of them, possibly, in the future. So then we know what’s coming down the tube from the federal government.

I want to also ask the...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The comments I have for the Minister are in terms of the empowerment of the communities to take over the facilities and some of the assets that are going to have some decision-making authorities. I would like to talk about the water and waste treatment plants in our communities and our ability to meet these new standards in Canada now. I want to ask the Minister, over time, how are we going to support our communities to meet these new national standards in our water and in sewer and in wastewater treatment plants and also the regulatory requirements that will be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regards to the training of employees and training of the departments, when can we see this department in terms of the type of training programs that will require staff members to really get a sense of the essence of traditional knowledge from our elders and how they would be implemented into future policies and programs and services within the GNWT?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources in regards to the time frame and the implementation framework on the Traditional Knowledge policy. I wanted to ask the Minister in terms of this policy going forward in terms of a work plan. When can we expect to see some type of work plan that would start seeing the department have some staff orientation and other department staff orientation on the traditional knowledge framework?

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister look into the possibilities of developing a cogeneration plant in the Sahtu?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I spoke about the energy initiatives in the Sahtu region of the Northwest Territories. I was pleased to hear the Minister, during our debriefing this morning on the Mackenzie Gas Project, on the possibility of how the GNWT can help the communities of Tulita, Norman Wells and Fort Good Hope in terms of the conversion to natural gas. Can the Minister inform me in the House in terms of where they are at with this study in terms of converting to natural gas in communities in the Sahtu?