Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Friday, October 31, 2014, I will move that Bill 34, 2015 Polling Day Act, be read for the first time. Mahsi.

Thank you. It’s a well-known fact, also, that government operates and makes changes at lightning speed, maybe a year or two.

So I want to ask the Minister, given the time within our Legislative Assembly, can the Minister direct his staff to dedicate a staff person to go into the Sahtu communities to look at career planning, counselling, so they know that they need to take math and science, so when they finish Grade 12 these are the opportunities in the trades and apprenticeship and the students have a fair chance at least within the life of this government? I know that the Education Act will...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. In our region we’re finding it very difficult to attract apprentices, people who want to get into the trades, because of the quality of the education they are receiving in high school. It makes it difficult for them to enter into a trades entrance program or to get into the Apprenticeship Program because of the lack of skill or training.

I want to ask the Minister, is his department doing anything to improve the quality of education for Grade 12s that want to enter a trades program or a Trades Access...

Can the Minister of Education tell us what emergency measures are available for those who might be in between jobs or students without work? What can they do to ensure they have a roof over their heads this winter and dealing with the high cost of living?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s not all doom and gloom in the Sahtu, but some people are struggling. Whether a young family in Deline, an elder in Colville Lake or a single mother in Fort Good Hope, people are having to pay more to put food on the table and more to warm their houses this winter.

Will the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment tell us about the increase of people relying on income assistance since the drop of oil prices has slowed the economy in the Sahtu?

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...