Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, April 2, 2004, I will move the following motion: I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that the 15th Legislative Assembly is committed to working cooperatively in support of a Mackenzie Valley pipeline;

And further that this Legislative Assembly is committed to working cooperatively and endorses the efforts of the Premier and Executive Council to seek with the aboriginal governments and the Government of Canada the control of our natural resources and the sharing among northern governments of resource...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my written question is to the Honourable Joe Handley, Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation.

Can the Minister provide a current dollar estimate on a one-rate power structure that would provide an adequate rate of return to the NWT Power Corporation?

Can the Minister provide information on the project costs to maintain the NWT power subsidy program at current rates over the next five years?

Can the Minister provide the Assembly with information on the direction provided to the board of directors of the NWT Power Corporation in making the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister about the training programs. I know you have been working with the Sahtu health board and the other communities. I want to ask abut the training programs in the regions. In the report you talk about the Inuvik regional health board, the Hay River regional health board and so forth in terms of the training programs for the smaller communities; especially in the Sahtu, I'm not too sure. Has the department given any indications in terms of providing some training in the Sahtu communities in terms of the TB? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, several weeks ago, I asked the Minister of Health and Social Services to table some information on TB in the Northwest Territories, and this morning I received a report on the action plan for TB in the Northwest Territories. They had an expert do the work, and this report included 26 recommendations to improve the Northwest Territories TB program. It talks about early detection and decreasing the spread of this contagious disease. Mr. Speaker, in light of that, I would like to ask the Minister if he is willing to commit to work with the Minister of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister recommend to his department to look at the…In Sahtu there is the high cost of doing business up there and can the Minister recommend from his department costs that could minimize the cost of building log houses in terms of pricing of windows, doors and roofing for single people, single men that would like to have a log house in their communities? It takes a lot of effort and time for the communities to gather this information. Can this department put together a pricing package that would be suitable and affordable in the Sahtu region for...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Will this be in the mains next year, the business cycle?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Also, would this show up next year in our business planning?

Thank you, Madam Chair. As my honourable colleague Mr. Hawkins said, we just got elected into the government in November and we took the onus to skip the business plan to deal with the budget here. Being new to the House and the system and learning as we go, I think one of the things that I’d like to say is that we have something in front of us, let’s deal with it. Good or bad, right or wrong, we have to deal with it. I knew that this government was going to be into a debt wall when I was running for Sahtu MLA and they told me about the debt wall and how would you deal with it. I never really...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Mr. Minister. Can he instruct his department in the communities that need to work out some of the case-by-case details in terms of informing the mental health workers, or the drug and alcohol workers -- because it might be a week or two before they have their final details to secure them into these new positions -- that these workers will continue on with their employment and the detail will be worked out to secure them in their positions? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Mr. Minister. In light of that, can the Minister inform this House and instruct the majority of the authorities of the mental health and drug and alcohol workers in terms of the expectations of having these workers secured in place in this initiative, in terms of security in their positions and their roles from now on with the GNWT? Thank you.