Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm very afraid that this Northwest Territories cash cow is not going to get the Mackenzie Highway built up into our regions here. Mr. Premier, I want to ask you one question. We went on a hike here a couple of times. Last month, in seven days we walked 90 miles and we just did it. We saw what it took from us to do, along with the young leaders and people that accompanied us, and we just did it. I'm asking this government here to look seriously at the Mackenzie Valley highway in the next couple of days you have, in terms of just doing it, put the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have one question or maybe two. It depends on how the Minister responds. I have a question for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources around the implementation and the question on the traditional knowledge policy. I have written the Minister a letter. I asked the Minister if he would consider some options. I want to ask the Minister on the traditional knowledge policy how it is being monitored. Is it a policy that is being used by other departments in regards to this traditional knowledge policy?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the discussions I had with the people when they go to Yellowknife or Hay River and do their shopping for the winter season is when they get into the lineup or bring their food to the counter and cash out, they tend to bring a lot of money. The teller tells them it’s only this much and they say it can’t be. It’s a common discussion we have around our region.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask you a question in terms of this type of thing with the Northern Store and the co-op, how can we look at something that would give incentive to people in the Sahtu...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I talked about the high cost of living in the Sahtu. I want to ask the Premier of the Northwest Territories, in his short time with the Legislative Assembly here, in terms of what types of targets is he looking at in terms of bringing down the percentage of the cost of living in our region, the communities that are most isolated and have no highway system and pay the higher costs of living. What are his targets, dollars, can he estimate in terms of bringing down the cost of living in our communities?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, honourable colleagues. I would like to recognize a constituent in the Sahtu. She is from Norman Wells. She is an employee of the Government of the Northwest Territories and a good representative of all of the people in the Sahtu, Ms. Ruby MacDonald in the gallery.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just recently, the Premier and I and some members of the people in the Sahtu walked the Canol Trail using traditional knowledge. Using traditional knowledge, we also used the horses. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of ENR in terms of traditional knowledge. Would he report to the House in the future in terms of the effectiveness of the traditional policy that the government has implemented and hit a 10 year mark? Would the Minister then report to the House in terms of that evaluation of the TK policy? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am very interested in what the Minister said. It will be utilized in all departments of the Government of the Northwest Territories. It is hitting a 10 year mark. I am looking at how effective it is and look at some revisions based on the Hay River conference. Mr. Speaker, I have asked the Minister, would he look at the process of consultation in our communities? We have just come out of Kelly Lake in the Sahtu and TK workshop with the elders and it seems like we need to do some serious consultation with our people to get their knowledge implemented...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this government makes a mention of the Deh Cho Bridge as a cost-savings initiative. How much money will the Deh Cho Bridge save the Sahtu?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the programs we have right now is the Food Mail Program the federal government offers. We are looking for some solutions in the Sahtu. A litre of milk, as I stated earlier in my Member’s statement, is 40 cents more in Colville Lake than in Hay River. There are other costs that our members in the Sahtu region can tell this government how much more we pay. I would ask the Premier if he would work towards a fixed target within the government in terms of saying by the year in 2008-2009, we want to bring the cost of living down by this percentage. We...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The cost of living in the Sahtu is one issue that has been bothering my people for a long time. The Government of the Northwest Territories provided MLAs with a presentation in 2006 called the Cost of Living in the Northwest Territories. This presentation showed Sahtu communities are in the top 10 most expensive communities for food prices in the Northwest Territories. For instance, food in the Sahtu is actually double the cost of food in Edmonton. However, in Yellowknife, food is only 10 percent more expensive than in Edmonton. The Sahtu is also in the top 10...