Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are to the Minister of MACA regarding the water treatment plant in Fort Good Hope.

At the Sahtu elders’ gathering in Deline on August 9th to 12th of this year, several of Fort Good Hope's elders wanted to know about the quality of the water at the Fort Good Hope treatment plant.

How often is the water "tested" for quality purposes?

What types of maintenance are done on the treatment plant and how often?

Are there other water treatment plants in the Northwest Territories similar to Fort Good Hope's?

Will the department meet with the Fort Good...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Mr. Minister. In some cases because of the technicalities of the legal translation into Slavey languages it’s really important that we have good trained interpreters or translators to do the work on behalf of our people. I’d like to ask the Minister if he would commit to looking into the use of probation officers who work in the field who could help clients in court proceedings where sometimes we don’t have any services in the small communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today is to the Honourable Mr. Charles Dent, the Minister of Justice. In small communities, we have court workers and interpreters. Sometimes these probation officers are used as interpreters at court proceedings. I would like to ask the Minister where are the procedures in terms of allowing these probation workers, court workers to assist clients that have to go to court who have to use an aboriginal language as a means to participate in court proceedings for translating services? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Probably more or less a few minutes of comments in regard to the sessional statement by the Premier. More of what I am looking at is the vision for our people in the communities, where do they see this government going in five, 10, 15 years, and there are so many things that he highlighted in his sessional statement that I look forward to seeing happen within the lifetime of this government. I’m a little more concerned about the devolution and resource revenue sharing in terms of how it is going to affect the small communities and the self-government agreements and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I also would like to ask the Minister of Justice if he would consider looking at alternatives for the communities where sometimes it is not possible to have, in terms of the costing and in terms of the travel, different alternatives to having translation provided in our communities and that he would look at having that done in the communities where a little bit of training could take place for our local interpreters to take and train just in case things don’t work out with the workers that come into our communities to do court proceedings? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The honourable Minister answered part of the question. I would like to ask the Minister also is there any specific policies within the Department of Justice that allows a probation officer, in case some of their communities don’t have court workers or trained interpreters in the legal system, in the region to assist clients in the court setting to help them in the proceedings? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Dene people throughout the Northwest Territories, I thank the Premier for supporting this at this time. Would the Premier commit to supporting the second phases as soon as we get the information to his office to start circulating it amongst the Dene governments? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier in my Member’s statement, I talked about the historical event or gathering of the Dene elders and youth at the Tsuu T'ina Reserve outside of Calgary. It has been prophesied and told by elders how people at one time separated and how there will be a time when we come together as one people, as Dene people. Mr. Speaker, I want to ask a question to the Premier. He noted that earlier he received a letter seeking some support for an elders’ gathering outside of Calgary. Also, letters went to the MLAs of the Dene ancestry. I want to ask the Premier...

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my Member’s statement today is about the international Dene elders and youth gathering. As we assemble here today to discuss the pressing issues facing our people, a group of Dene elders and youth from across the continent are gathering at the Tsuu T'ina Reserve outside of Calgary, to discuss important issues of their own. The three-day event begins October 13th and finished up on Friday, October 15th. This historical gathering marks the first time members of all the Dene families have met face to face after many centuries of separation from each other...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the elders have given us their guidance and wisdom in our path in life and what we choose to do. I would ask the Premier if he would reconsider in terms of offering some support to this international gathering for this year. I know they have asked for a specific amount, but I am not sure what the exact amount is, but I think it would be good to have some signal from this government to offer some support to the elders who are gathering down in Calgary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.