Sahtu

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 34)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I also want to just weigh in on the issue here. We’re talking about a small sum of money versus a whole budget here and that these iPads will benefit, as Mr. Menicoche mentioned, the parents and families, so far that we can go into disciplining children in terms of how to use these iPads.

Branding has always been a marketing ploy of whatever company you have in this world. McDonald’s has a brand, Coca-Cola, you know, ever since I was growing up, Snap, Crackle and Pop, Rice Krispies. I still remember that, that’s a branding. Yes, it has always been in the industry...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 33)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Certainly a good choice of words in the motion and interpretation of the motion.

I certainly appreciate it. It’s a crucial issue in our smaller communities and communities in the Northwest Territories. We are bringing motions to the floor, not for the sake of having a good debate and getting some air time. You bring motions because, as legislators, this is what we bring back from our communities, people we talk to. They say this is an issue in our community, how come you guys aren’t dealing with it? This is an issue when I go to Edmonton or...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 33)

WHEREAS medical and non-medical travel escorts provide a crucial service to the NWT health care system by taking care of patients who require assistance when they travel for treatment;

AND WHEREAS medical and non-medical travel escorts are predominantly volunteers from communities who must leave behind their families and employment during their absence, often for extended periods of time;

AND WHEREAS extended absences by medical and non-medical travel escorts often tax personal and family resources and create hardships;

AND WHEREAS it is now difficult to find proper travel escorts in some...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 33)

I look forward to the discussions with the Minister and Members from this side on the idea.

The mandate of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission includes a missing child project. I’d like to know what attempts, if any, have been made by the Department of Health and Social Services to identify missing children who have died while attending residential schools in the Northwest Territories.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 33)

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services. I see the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as a springboard for further action. There are forms of injustice still being experienced by Aboriginal people.

Does the Minister of Health and Social Services recognize the direct link between the residential school legacy and the need to offer better mental health and addictions services for our residents in the North?

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 33)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also want to recognize the Hall of Fame inductees who were honoured today. I want to recognize Mr. George Cleary from the original workplace of ice hockey in Canada.

---Laughter

Also, Mr. Cleary being one of the architects of the Sahtu Dene-Metis Land Claim negotiations along with my cousin and his wife, Doreen. And also the other inductees, thank you very much for your hard contribution to education for the people of the North.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 33)

I also want to say, Mr. Chair, that the Sahtu believes that the department in terms of its, I would say not a strong accountability framework, and nobody was held accountable on those. It was quite shocking when the Auditor General looked at this. So I look certainly to this Minister to strengthen the accountability, because everybody is doing it and nobody is holding them to account. It’s almost like you’re doing this and you’re doing this, but nobody is holding them to account and they may have good intentions, but that’s not it. No wonder we have some issues that we’re dealing with, with...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 33)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over 100 years ago, Aboriginal children in Canada were sent to Indian residential schools funded by the federal government and run by Christian churches. Children were stripped of their language and cultural identity. Many were abused and neglected. Traditional practices that once bonded families together were damaged.

Canada’s attempt to wipe out the Aboriginal cultures failed, yet we’re still reeling from the effects. There’s an urgent need for reconciliation for the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. May 26th is the National Day of Reconciliation and Healing...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 33)

Mr. Chair, I look forward to the department correcting these deficiencies as noted by the Auditor General. I know the department also made some responses to the deficiencies, and I’m hoping that “immediately” means right now, today, not next week or the week after.

There are deficiencies, as noted by the Auditor General, in the child and family services within this department here. There are some deficiencies that need to be corrected right now; others, as Ms. Bisaro has noted, we don’t want to wait for the whole bag of deficiencies to be looked at and corrected until we have an excuse for the...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 33)

Mr. Chair, I’m not too sure if this type of discussion has been taken up by our Aboriginal Affairs Minister and the Aboriginal governments on all the jurisdictional or intergovernmental relationship issues with our government and their government in bringing a stronger linkage between the two governments on this type of issue here with child and family services.

Child and family services are key to our communities. With health and social services, again I go back to the 16th Assembly where a great concept of the communities were going to take some type of role or leadership role when you looked...