Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, also, would the Minister consider looking at the land claims agreements in the Sahtu region, where economic measures is a chapter that is being negotiated. It has been 10 years since the land claims were settled and to see how the people of the Sahtu region could benefit from that negotiated chapter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my statement today, I spoke about the tremendous oil and gas development in the Sahtu. I explained how much our people need help in negotiating with the oil and gas companies in forming joint ventures and assessing and creating opportunities so that we can build that pipeline and get all the benefits we can from exploration and development. Will our Minister commit to working with the organizations in the Sahtu to determine what assistance they need in negotiations and how the department can assist them and when? Minister of RWED.

My questions are for the Minister of RWED.

In their budget, the federal government has put $75 million for northern oil and gas development. There is also another $10 million for 2004-2005 in the northern economic development strategy. Can the Minister please provide the details that explain the following?

What this funding is for?

Who can access this funding

How you can access this funding?

When this funding will be available?

What other programs does the Government of the Northwest Territories have to help the Sahtu take advantage of oil and gas development and what is the best way for...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Mr. Premier. In light of the Bear River hydro potential for power in the Sahtu, and the rest of the Northwest Territories, between now and whenever that project comes to reality, what can we tell the people in Colville Lake and other communities like Colville Lake in terms of how to reduce the cost of power in their communities? I understand that the Bear River could be a significant benefit to a lot of people in the Northwest Territories, but between now and then I would like to know what type of plans the NWTPC has in terms of reducing the cost of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Minister, for one of the biggest forces in getting the pipeline off the ground and working through the Mackenzie Valley, the Treaty needs of the people in the local communities in the regions. The Minister informed the House as to what steps he will take with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment in terms of assessing the Treaty rights in their regions. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to hear about the initiative of the joint committee on oil and gas. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to working with the organizations in the Sahtu to determine the assistance they need in forming joint ventures and how he can assist and when?

Thank you very much. I just wanted to also mention the importance of supporting our children and youth in schools. I was really pleased to read the increase of the enrolment of our schools from 1998-99 to 2003-04. There is a significant increase in our schools, and the department must be doing something right or something that the communities and our schools are doing right together to get our students to that level of enrolment. It shows that the students, teachers, and the communities are doing something right that got our kids into school. The numbers are up and we need to continue to...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I would also like to let the committee know we are going to do this through teamwork, and my honourable colleague from Nunakput, Calvin Pokiak, will conclude the report.

The committee met on February 23rd, 2004, with the Minister and his officials to consider the 2003-2004 draft main estimates for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment.

The committee notes an estimated $213.705 million for operations expenses, an increase of $2.685 million over last year’s numbers and a total of $13.430 million for capital infrastructure for 2004-2005.

The committee is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance regarding his statement to the House this afternoon. I don't know if Santa Claus is at the North Pole or in Ottawa in terms of the goodies and the good news that he has given to the Northwest Territories in the response from the federal Member of Parliament. In terms of the Minister's statement, I believe that the budget will contribute positively to the overall situation in the Northwest Territories. I want to ask the Minister if he could explain in plain language his belief on how this budget will contribute...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am going to ask the question again and do my job before I call it a night, about the Norman Wells museum. I see it in the books here and I would like to somehow communicate to the community. They indicated to me that they were in the books somehow and all of a sudden it disappeared and they are scratching their heads and wondering why. I want to see about this issue in terms of getting this back on the books for Norman Wells. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.