Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, sometime in April, the Sahtu will have a career fair that is happening. I believe some of the diamond mines will be there. Mr. Speaker, I have asked the Minister in terms of between now and 2014 or 2011, can the Minister work with the communities up in the Deh Cho and the Sahtu, Gwich’in and Beaufort-Delta in terms of providing opportunities for these people, the people in the Northwest Territories, to work in Ekati, BHP and Diavik and stop the influx of workers coming from the South to work in those mines? I see planeloads of people coming in and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I certainly would support the Minister in terms of the initiative that his department is doing. Mr. Speaker, people in the Sahtu, the Gwich’in, the Beaufort-Delta and other parts of the North here are seasonal workers. They are limited in terms of what they can do. They have huge payloads in terms of the work they have to do. What is the Minister doing in terms of how do we get these people, these companies here, involved in the type of work that is happening in the diamond mines? Where are the numbers that show that we are going to get these people...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, would the Minister commit to looking at proposing to have a position at the Aurora College institute that promotes and supports community-based social and cultural research? We need a position; we need a staff person at the research centre of excellence in the Northwest Territories, because the Northwest Territories has a lot to offer to the world. We have to get that message to the scientists. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to this government and this Minister in terms of monitoring how these scientists involve and report back to the communities. I want to ask the Minister in terms of how does the community get its needs met in terms of being involved in the research project? I mean you’re going to meet the needs of the scientists and meet the needs of the institutions. How does it meet the needs of the community in terms of implementing their traditional knowledge into a science that is internationally recognized, not just from the scientist but also from the traditional...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to recognize a friend I met the other day, a former Member of the House of Parliament, Mr. Andrew Chatwood. Also sitting with him, his daughter, Susan Chatwood.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Frame Lake, that notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on March 15, 2007, it shall be adjourned until Wednesday, May 9, 2007;

AND FURTHER that anytime prior to May 9, 2007, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and the Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may give notice and thereupon the House shall meet at a time stated in such notice and shall transact its...

Mr. Speaker, I would like to table this document entitled Science Meets Traditional Knowledge, Water and Climate in the Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Can the Minister outline the different GNWT programs that support traditional economies?

Can the Minister outline the shares of these programs accessed by residents and organizations of the Sahtu region?

Can the Minister provide the percentage of sales realized by trappers from the Sahtu region through the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program (total of over $800,000 for 9,000 NWT pelts sold since January)?

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister is certainly right that the North is a good place to do business. Can the Minister provide to me the numbers in terms of employment for people in my region, the Beaufort-Delta and the Gwich’in, the number of businesses that are used in Diavik and BHP? What are the numbers? Show me the numbers so that we can increase those numbers. We certainly want to work with these diamond companies. We certainly want it fair in terms of working with the different companies to improve our skills in terms of preparing for the pipeline. Can the Minister...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if my question is for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment or the Minister of ITI. I would like to ask the question on the Mackenzie gas pipeline. We heard in the news that 2007 is going to be a construction date. That is seven years away. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Premier how we will get our people in business or training into the workforce. There are diamond mines down south in the region. We have seven years to get our people here and some people may just get fed up and leave the country. Some people will...