Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Standing Committee on Social Programs met to review Bill 3, An Act to Amend the Legal Service Act, on April 19th and 20th and on May 8th in Yellowknife, on April 23rd in Tuktoyaktuk, and Inuvik and on April 24th in Ulukhaktok; on April 25th in Colville Lake; on April 26th in Behchoko. The committee would like to thank the Minister and all the witnesses who spoke to the bill.

The committee heard from Ms. Katherine R. Peterson, a member of the private bar in Yellowknife. Ms. Peterson was very concerned that the proposed amendment would create a different or a lower...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I understand also that the Government of Canada owns one-third of the Norman Wells field. You know, where are they in this business here in terms of helping out our people in the Northwest Territories? You know, the royalties that they collect in Norman Wells, the oilfield has produced billions of dollars for Imperial Oil so the board of directors and shareholders can sit on a nice cushy place in the southern parts of the States here. So, Mr. Speaker, again, I’m demanding that this government here ask the president of Imperial Oil to come up here and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The town of Norman Wells was told that Imperial Oil were going to reduce their gas consumption in terms of supplying the town of Norman Wells. They were shocked that Imperial Oil said the reduction will be zero. Now that causes a huge crisis in my community of Norman Wells, in the region. Then Imperial Oil says, come on you guys, the pipeline is a good thing for us, sign on and let’s do something. How does Imperial Oil drag the people of Norman Wells through this, I don’t know what to call it, Mr. Speaker, but I’m asking can this government here demand to have the...

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In our small communities such as Colville Lake or our larger centres like Norman Wells and Deline, some of these centres don’t have chemistry labs, biology labs and physics and qualified teachers to teach it or they are overburdened by the number of students. That’s what I am asking. For these students who are graduating from our smaller communities, they are only geared to go into certain trades or careers. If they wanted to be a doctor or a biologist, they have to take extra courses. In Yellowknife or Hay River, they have these facilities available. In smaller...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today is to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Mr. Speaker. I would like to, at this time, just take a few minutes just to offer my condolences to my honourable colleague in the Nunakput riding to some of the students I went to school with that the Member mentioned earlier in this statement here.

My question is to the Education Minister, Mr. Speaker, is that in the sessional statement by the Premier, he quoted saying the education of our youth remains one of our most pressing challenges facing our territory and is a continued...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. I would like to recognize a constituent of mine from Fort Good Hope. Jerry Lennie is in the gallery. He’s in Yellowknife and visiting the House to see how we do business for our people.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recently had a conversation with a teacher in one of my communities. Mr. Speaker, that teacher was culture shocked having to come into a classroom in the Sahtu and being faced with three or four grades to teach in the same room. So it’s a little bit different in the small communities than in the larger centres.

Mr. Speaker, my question to the Minister is, on measuring success by having the students enrolled in SFA, it doesn’t show if the students are entering university or taking upgrading prior to entering university or college, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister give a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister what steps he is taking so that in the future high school diplomas in the small communities will be the same quality as the diploma from a larger centre such as Yellowknife, Hay River or Inuvik. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to send congratulations to all the Sahtu students who will be graduating from Grade 12 this spring and to the parents who have worked hard for many years to see their children to this point. Finishing high school is an achievement all students should be proud of, Mr. Speaker. A high school diploma should be a direct ticket to other opportunities, like universities and technical schools. Unfortunately, this is not the case for many of our students in small communities. Although they work just as hard as students in the larger centres to get...