Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I applaud the government on this that they are going out and seeking students and leaders of tomorrow. Can the Minister let the House know, because of this program, will it hurt other programs that are funded towards the youth for the next two years?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier today, the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment made an announcement with regard to the Youth Abroad Program. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister for some clarification. When he says “young people,” can he give me the definition of young people? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Education in his Minister’s statement…I applaud him and the Minister of MACA for putting the initiative out there in the communities to help our youth. At the same time, Mr. Speaker, youth are killing themselves in the small communities. The honourable Members Mrs. Groenewegen and Mr. Dent were talking about that earlier and I’m asking the Minister what can we do to set some strong policies? I appreciate the Minister revisiting the portfolio and seeing what can we do for youth in the communities that sets some strong guidelines...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my statement today I talked about supporting the youth. My question will be directed to the Minister of MACA with regard to supporting our youth in the Northwest Territories. I ask the Minister of MACA what initiatives we can see in the Northwest Territories that would continue supporting our youth in terms of ability to make great contributions to our people in the communities in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to speak about our future. Mr. Speaker, the elders have always told us and spoke very passionately about our future, and they continue to speak even more so in light of the changes of our lifestyles and our communities.

Mr. Speaker, we have heard, witnessed and supported our youth in many areas that contribute to the strengthening of our families, our communities and, more importantly, strengthening the youth spirit. Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge several youth in communities in the North; specifically, a young lady in Fort...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Minister. I am just getting some clarification for myself. Are the career and technology study courses offered in small communities in regions like mine? Will they have an opportunity to apply for a program such as this? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that’s a lot of people who used to be in high school. Can I ask for the age of the young people? I have a high percentage of young people in my region. For example, close to 30 percent of the youth are in Tulita, same as Fort Good Hope. I would like to get more clarification in terms of the ages of the youth. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I throw my full support behind this motion and second it, due to the injustice that I see that’s going on by the federal government and the struggles that we have as a territorial government in terms of providing adequate -- like any other Canadians -- basic, simple programming services. We could pay for it. We could do it. There are lots of people who have opinions that support that this government can sustain itself with the amount of dollars that have been coming out of the Northwest Territories over the years and the kinds of infrastructures that we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Premier. I understand, reading through the Hansards of previous sittings here, that the federal government really was not too sure of or may have a problem with sitting with the aboriginal organizations or aboriginal governments in terms of negotiating resource revenue sharing or devolution. Has the federal government changed its views on that? I understand they just want to deal with the GNWT. Thank you.