Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister is correct in terms of his department doing as much as it can in terms of the regional trappers. This is our lifestyle for the trappers. This lifestyle is going to be impacted by the pipeline. I want to ask if the Minister of RWED and the government know the impacts on trappers in regard to the pipeline. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would ask the Minister if he would also give an update regarding Colville Lake. I understand Colville Lake school is not slated until 2007-08. They don’t have any running water there in the school. The recreation facility/storage room in Colville Lake is also the same room as their washroom. What can the Minister do in terms of telling the people in Colville Lake when they can expect to have a decent school with running water and a proper washroom?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Speaker, regarding Chief T’Selihye, it was reported in News/North that the students heard a big thump and walls were cracking between the old school and new school. In some reports, you can put a hand in between the buildings and feel the outside. I want to ask the Minister of Education about the status of Chief T’Selihye School in Fort Good Hope. I understand the engineer’s report has been out. What repairs will be done to the school this year? There are 167 students in that school, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Just reading the opening comments from the Minister, for general comments, Madam Chairperson, I want to say…Like my colleague Mr. Menicoche mentioned, in the Sahtu region housing has been a really big issue for me in terms of the services, the building of houses, and just basic, general housing. I believe, over the past year, we have made some progress in terms of taking care of those needs. We are still a long way in terms of the housing programs, especially for the community of Fort Good Hope which is in dire straights in terms of home repairs and...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I was at a negotiation session one time and I read where it says in order to get to the Promised Land you have to negotiate your way out of the wilderness. I think that’s what we’re doing here. I think the Northwest Territories has a lot of promise and things could happen in the Northwest Territories. I think right now with this Northern Strategy, that the Premier is giving us an opportunity to look for vision in the Northwest Territories; things that we’d like to see in the North.

Within the 15th Legislative Assembly we have only a short period of time...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, three communities in the Sahtu are going to be directly impacted by the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline. They are very afraid in terms of the social impacts. There is increased exploration activity in my region right now and we are seeing the impacts. We are also seeing the benefits. However, the people are really concerned about the social impacts in terms of family violence and alcohol. So again, Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister what specific things is his department going to do to ensure that people in the Sahtu will see some benefits in terms of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today is to the Minister of RWED, Brendan Bell. Mr. Speaker, I heard on the reports that the communities may have a difficult time in terms of the National Energy Board or the Joint Review Panel in terms of the social impacts of the pipeline. I understand that the report is evidence-based in terms of the impacts of the pipeline. I wanted to ask the Minister of RWED is there anything that his department is doing in helping the communities get this information to the boards that gives them more weight on the impacts that pipeline would have on...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the volume has increased and I would ask the Minister if he would consider advising us on this side of the House in terms of finishing up the winter bridges program. I know some people were looking at an all-weather road into the Sahtu. Would the Minister consider having that discussion with the people in the Sahtu in terms of having an all-weather road into the Sahtu region? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last week the honourable Premier, Joe Handley, and Mr. McLeod drove up our winter road into the Sahtu. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Transportation. In terms of the winter road complaints from the Sahtu people and the increased volume of traffic into the Sahtu due to the oil and gas exploration, I would ask the Minister if he would inform this House and the people in the Sahtu what the plans are of the department to improve the road conditions in our region for next year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the past week, I was in Tulita for a funeral for an elder who happened to be my aunt. Mr. Speaker, in times like this, people in small communities take the time out to support one another in difficult times.

Mr. Speaker, we also had the opportunity of having the honourable Premier Joe Handley and Minister McLeod come to the community at that time. They drove up to the Sahtu region.

I want to say, Mr. Speaker, how much the people in Tulita and the Sahtu region appreciated having Mr. Handley and Mr. McLeod come to the community and give their...