Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the question I had somewhat was answered, and I'd like to follow up with Minister Roland on this specific bill here, more in line with the debt counselling in terms of how or what type of system process we have in terms of helping people with debt counselling. I know there are many steps to go in terms of trying to get these debts collected. I know some people are good, honest, hard-working people who want to work on this and sometimes there's a blockage or barriers for whatever reason. Does the Government of the Northwest Territories have any form of unit...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I apologize to the Minister. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to ask the Minister if he would conduct, do a sweep or a survey of all the communities that have elders that are living independently that need help there. He’ll have unanimous support by the elders in terms of this is what we need. It’s not much. We have money. We’re putting our money to other priorities. We’re talking about priorities and there is money in this government. Shift them to the elders first. Do the basic thing. Do the right thing. Help them out for this year. That would eliminate all the stress and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to continue these questions to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment in regards to the Seniors' Fuel Subsidy Program. Mr. Speaker, in the communities there are some elders who receive this subsidy and some of the elders that don’t receive this subsidy. In some of the communities, it causes conflict between the elders. Some of the elders who say they should also be receiving because of the hard work they have done and the pensions that now they’re receiving from the jobs that they worked at. They don’t have any subsidies, and yet they’re...

You know, they are saving their money for it. So I'll ask the Minister again if he would consider looking at this cost of fuel in the communities for the elders. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. However, fall is setting in and winter is just around the corner, and I'm somewhat surprised and shocked that even though the program is being delivered that it has no changes yet for an increase in fuel for the small communities. Elders are getting their fuel I think by November until the end of April, so it's not enough for all the elders and the elders are struggling right now with the high cost of living in these small communities. Mr. Speaker, we do have a surplus. I wonder why the Minister's not going to the Finance Minister to knock on his door, like other...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again I would like to recognize a former Tulita resident, Mr. Paul Andrew, now residing in Yellowknife and working for CBC.

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Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to ask the Minister in terms of their being diligent about their debt collection and the prevention, or are they just lending less money out to the public in the Northwest Territories as there were no write-offs for this year or last year. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. I certainly support the departments going through their own debt counselling process in terms of retrieving some of the debts that they would like to have paid back. Maybe I could be a little more specific, Mr. Chair. Is the core need under one department to have all these debts? I know this is the last stage of the debt efforts and it's going through this bill here. I'm leading up to a framework that all the departments go there and say this is how we'll handle it. Is there one shop, I'm asking, that people in the communities and people in the Northwest...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it’s not giving myself here false hope. It’s giving false hope to the elders. We have to take care of them. We have to do something out of the extraordinary to take care of them. Give them the fuel. They are complaining to me in Colville Lake. So will the Minister do the honourable thing and respect the elders, give them the fuel that they need this year, talk to your Cabinet Ministers and give them a break? Don’t break the elders. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know it’s going to be a costly initiative. I know the existing dollars are not right now in this government. But there’s got to be some creative solution from this side and from the House here. We can’t go back to the elders in Colville Lake, Deline, Fort Good Hope and say to them listen, we have to wait another year. Sorry, but we don’t have enough money. That’s unacceptable. Mr. Speaker, we have to go back to the communities and tell the elders this is what we can do, this is emergency funding, this is what we’re doing with it. Oil companies are doing...