Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Sahtu got world-wide attention when major oil companies won exploration record bids for the vast hectares of land surrounding Norman Wells, Tulita and, recently, Fort Good Hope. To the Sahtu people, this area is our home and our land, but to most of the world it’s a remote frontier region yet to be developed, waiting to be tapped.

Between 2012 and 2014, the Government of the Northwest Territories conducted a needs assessment to determine the employment needs and job opportunities related to oil and gas exploration and looked at its impact on government, business...

No, thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you.

Okay. Thank you. It’s clear to me and certainly I’m going to lend my support to this supplementary. We know that the challenges have to be given special consideration and some of the issues that we have to work with in our small communities. I have no more issues on this one.

Mr. Chair, I wanted to say that the fleet that we own, the CL-215s, were, I’d say, a gift from the federal government when we purchased them. They certainly have done their work fighting fires in the Northwest Territories. Certainly, we could continue to use them. We’ve seen a number of dollars that were spent on this past summer’s fire season and I think that there’s still some useful time left in the life of these CL-215s. I’m hoping that the government would continue to look for ways that we can retain them and continue to operate them in the North.

There has to be a lot of pros on the CL...

The Premier is right; there is no silver bullet. Energy seems to be one of the major factors, the high cost of food in our Northern Stores and the lack of employment. We have the resources. Infrastructure seems to be another factor in our smaller, remote communities. If we have one litre of milk here in Yellowknife, one litre of milk in Fort Good Hope or Colville Lake, why is there a difference between that and up in Ulukhaktok? What’s the difference? Where does the price add onto that litre of milk? That is what the people are asking. Or do we just accept the fact that living in the Northwest...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment commit to this House that when he meets with his federal/provincial counterparts that the high cost of living in the Northwest Territories will be a priority item that he can discuss with the other provincial leaders as something that needs to have the full attention of Canada, to raise this issue to know that this issue here is important to people and Members of this House?

I know the honourable Minister doesn’t set the oil prices, but it’s having a huge impact. Let’s shift our attention to the working poor or the single-income families.

Why would income support only grant one purchase order to a mother of twins when clearly she is trying to feed two children? Can the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment explain to this House how a front-line worker could deny the basic support for infants in these remote communities?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Money ain’t for nothing, cheques for free. That’s according to Dire Straits. Whether it be those lyrics or the band’s name, Mr. Speaker, we’re all, indeed, in dire straits across the Northwest Territories when it comes to the cost of living.

All the great minds in the world should be able to come to the conclusion of why is the cost of living in the Northwest Territories so high. Some of the question my constituents are asking: When will we catch a break? When will the middleclass or the elders catch a break?

Well, Mr. Speaker, when one of the Members is planning to visit...

There is also a song, “Put another Log on the Fire.”

---Laughter

And that’s free and good for the communities.

I think we need to look at some of those solutions especially for young people. We, in our generation, grew up cutting wood, hauling wood by dog team and then by skidoo. We need to look at those types of solutions.

This is the important issue in the North. Do we accept the cold hard facts that when you live further out than the larger centres it’s going to be a challenge because your options are limited? You don’t have as many options as down in the Yellowknife area. That’s a fact. So...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In listening to Members talk about their concerns and possible solutions to deal with the high cost of living in the Northwest Territories, are there any discussions the Premier has come across in doing a high cost of living charrette in the Northwest Territories to have people come together and look at ways that they could reduce the cost of living in their communities? Has there been any type of discussion like that that’s so important to people in the small communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.