Norman Yakeleya

Thank you. Just a comment here to the Minister in terms of the surplus that is projected in this department. Is there any type of assistance in helping with the high costs of fuel in the communities in the Northwest Territories? Because of this surplus we have projected here, is there any type of discussion going on in assisting the people like granny from Nahanni, in terms of the high costs of fuel and the amount of money we get in this department? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of suggestions and Colville Lake has tons of suggestions to stop this type of situation happening in Colville Lake. Are there any future plans to start spending money in Colville Lake to look at fire equipment or some creative solutions in terms of training in Colville Lake? I guess the question would be, when will the Minister come to Colville Lake and talk to the people? They will certainly give you solutions when you get there. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Mr. Minister. I understand that the community of Colville Lake wants to maintain their traditional lifestyle in Colville Lake. However, Mr. Speaker, the Minister is saying that they cannot force anybody to be on the fire department. But for people in Colville Lake, that's where we have flexibility, and there could be some creativity by this government to look at training people in the communities that do not have any type of fire department training or prevention or other services. So they're going to sit around and see another house burn down. My question to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to hear the Minister of MACA congratulate the people who deserve the awards during Fire Prevention Week. However, Mr. Speaker, I am deeply concerned about the recent house fire in Colville Lake. My heart goes out to Dora Duncan and her family and to the people of Colville Lake who could do nothing but stand around hopelessly as the house burned to the ground. People could do nothing as the house burned to the ground because there were no fire trucks, roads, or real fire extinguishers in the community for fires of that magnitude. There...

Mr. Chairman, can the Minister advise me how the revolving fund will be impacted by the contractual arrangements we have with the small communities I serve in the Sahtu and assist them in the operations?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The concern I had is he just indicated that the long-term plans is when we run out of the funds. What then? What are people to expect and what type of assistance will this revolving fund do to help the people? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

What departments are involved in the Emergency Measures Act?

Who in the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs takes the lead role?

How often are the emergency measures policy guidelines updated?

How many times does the staff meet with the communities?

How are communities categorized in the emergency measures?

Are there any territory-wide emergency measure action plans to deal with territory-wide issues?

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if there are no fire trucks or no other means of having some sort of support there to fight these fires, how can you…People are not going to be interested. You need some equipment, you need some roads and some water. You need some equipment to get the people there. So it's ludicrous. My question to the Minister is because there aren't any kind of provisions in terms of protection against house fires, can the government look at some provisions to have the equipment there for the people to use? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday I spoke to Chief Richard Kochon of the Colville Lake Dene band, and we talked about the recent house fire in Colville Lake. You could hear the sadness in his voice over the phone. He was wondering about the response from this government. Mr. McLeod, the Minister of MACA, recently made an announcement, and I quote, "Fortunately, there are many things residents can do to make their homes safer. Fire Prevention Week is a time when the local fire departments reach out to the communities, teaching people at every age how to prevent fires." Mr. Speaker, I...

The point here, Mr. Chairman, and I understand the coming in line with the federal provisions of this act, and that is where the Northwest Territories seems to be somewhat unique in always following the top dog in terms of this type of legislation. That is where the North needs to stand on its own to have this type of discussion with the legislation as is being talked about today. I am going to leave it at that, with just a comment to the Minister, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.