Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to continue on with my questioning in regard to the cost of gasoline, fuel in our small communities. I want to ask the Minister of ITI. I understand through the ITI department they have the Community Harvesters Assistance Program, or known as CHAP. This is a well-subscribed program that’s very popular in our small communities, especially for hunters, trappers and gatherers of country food. These are the people that help and continue with tradition.

So with this program, is there enough in the program to help reduce the cost of the fuel that the trappers need to go...

Mr. Speaker, a promise is a promise is a promise. In Fort Good Hope they were promised that they’d be paying less for the fuel. We haven’t yet advanced far enough in our technology with the hunters and trappers to have little squirrels or animals operate our machines. We still rely on gas, and gas is what keeps our lives stable in Fort Good Hope.

I want to task the Minister again, using the Stabilization Fund, can that be used in our communities like Fort Good Hope? The hunters and trappers were told by the government that they will pay less for fuel. Can you give them a grace period, other...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like the old saying goes, the gas goes in your car, not on your hands. Well, customers and trappers in the Sahtu cannot afford any more spillage at the pumps. They are getting gouged. My question is for Minister Beaulieu today.

Can the Minister tell this House why hunters and trappers, customers in Fort Good Hope, got a trick at the pumps last week instead of a treat? Someone needs to say more than I’m sorry.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On my left is Ken Chutskoff, legislative counsel; and on my right is Mr. Tim Mercer, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to provide the opening comments on Bill 34, 2015 Polling Day Act.

Mr. Chair, the general election for the 18th Legislative Assembly is currently scheduled to take place on Monday, October 5, 2015. Prior to the passage of fixed election date legislation in the Northwest Territories, the timing of our elections was a moving target. Subsequently, the Parliament of Canada adopted similar legislation establishing the third Monday in October every four years as the date fixed for federal elections. This has resulted in an overlap in the campaign period for the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 69(2), and have Bill 34, 2015 Polling Day Act, moved into Committee of the Whole for today.

---Unanimous consent granted

That’s why it’s so important to come into the small communities of the Sahtu and talk to us about the solutions. We don’t know, and people in our region are asking, why is the water so low? There was no oil and gas exploration. There were dams that were running low and we had to pay extra millions of dollars to offset the costs for the request for a high percentage of an increase to the power bills.

We want to know from the Minister that NTCL and the Minister, if possible, can come to the Sahtu and talk to them about some of the solutions for barging their supplies into the community. Can the...

Mr. Speaker, my questions are to the Minister of Transportation. Over the past fall here, we had some issues with the shipping company, NTCL, and certainly in some of my communities we did not see the full shipment of some of our supplies or fuel into our communities.

I want to ask the Minister of Transportation, has he had any meetings with NTCL to see what was the problem and how can it be rectified so this is not a continuous issue for us every year in the Sahtu or in any other small communities?

Thank you. Can the Minister tell us how this strategy will incorporate findings and recommendations from the recent Sahtu oil and gas needs assessment?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment today. I’d like to put aside the trick-or-treat and get right down to the cold hard facts from our oil and gas office.

I want to ask the Minister, has he had any word from any of the oil companies about them returning to the Sahtu to continue their exploration permitting?