Norman Yakeleya

Sahtu

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 86)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about grandparents, single parents and people who want to go to work. One of the issues in Norman Wells and Colville Lake, ironically Norman Wells is an oil-driven economy and Colville Lake is a resource economy based on harvesting and trapping.

What can this government do to help young people with a daycare centre? How can we get those doors open? Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 86)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Hearing Mr. Bouchard’s Member’s statement sure makes me happy.

During my Sahtu community tours, I found there is a population of young people we have listened to and spoken to and these young people want to work. There’s a huge population of my young people in the Sahtu who want to work. We do not want to rely on government assistance and income support over and over and over. We want to work. We finished school, we’ve gone to post-secondary, we did the trades training and we want to work. We want to make a contribution to our family. We want to buy things for our family...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 86)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the Northwest Territories there are eight health centres without full-time nurses. That’s a fact. Another fact: there are 11 communities without full-time RCMP members in that community. There are eight daycare centres that are not operating in the communities in the Northwest Territories. I’m just pointing out two in my region, Colville Lake and Norman Wells.

I want to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, seeing that we have two, can the Minister instruct the staff to work tirelessly to ensure that nobody else in Colville Lake has their doors open...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 86)

The Minister talked about the daycare centres and I appreciate the ones in Fort Good Hope, Tulita and Deline. I want to focus on Norman Wells and Colville Lake. If the funding is there, I want to ask the Minister if he can give me a commitment that prior to the writ being dropped that his staff will initiate meetings in Colville Lake and Norman Wells to act on this funding so that the daycare centres can be opened and these young people can go to work and go to school. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 86)

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to recognize the elder from Deline First Nation government, Mr. Andrew John Kenny. Andrew John Kenny mentioned to me yesterday, he said he thoroughly enjoys the Assembly, listening to the people going back and forth. “It’s a real good meeting you guys are having,” he said. “Too bad I didn’t get in there.” But he’s watching, so I have to watch the election close. Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 85)

I do want to commend the Minister for the respect for the well-respected elder who passed away, and that is why we need the urgency to have our loved ones come home so their last dying days can be at home.

I want to tell the Minister, there’s a program called Excuses No More. I wonder if the staff could look at that program, because that’s all I’ve been hearing from this department. I’ve been at this for some time, you know, and all I get, and people in Deline get, is excuses, excuses, excuses.

I want to ask the Minister, can he stand by his commitment, when he said in Deline in June, we met...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 85)

Mr. Speaker, today we would like to acknowledge a well-respected lady from Radihili Koe, Mrs. Lucy Jackson.

Mrs. Jackson will receive the Order of the Northwest Territories on Wednesday, October 7, 2015, at the Great Hall of the Legislative Assembly along with other recipients.

Mrs. Jackson is a lady with strong traditional knowledge, along with her supporting husband who is a full-time trapper.

Mrs. Jackson is known for her North Slavey translation in the Sahtu region and across the NWT. She is also a layperson at her local Roman Catholic Church.

On behalf of the Sahtu region, we would like to...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 85)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The people want their loved ones to live out their last days at home, not in Yellowknife or Inuvik or anywhere else.

People in Deline want to know why it’s so difficult to get palliative care beds in that community. I’ve been working with the community of Deline and have brought this issue to three Ministers so far. My last hope is with this Minister.

I have questioned the Minister on February 23, 2015, seven months ago, regarding the Deline palliative care study. This summer both the Minister and I met with the Deline leadership and we were advised at that time the...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 85)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have two documents I want to table. It’s “$20 Million Carbon XPrize: Pulling Money Out of Thick Air” and it’s XPrize wants technology to convert carbon emissions into viable resources.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 85)

This is where I’ll see it when I believe it. It’s been a commitment by this government, the past government, through all the governments and the Ministers to get palliative care beds in that community. I just don’t know what’s going on over there to get the beds that they need over there.

So I want to ask the Minister again, can he assure this House and assure the elder up there, assure the people in Deline that we’re going to go beyond just saying we’re going to get it, we’re actually going to put palliative care beds in the community, because from this side here it’s quite frustrating to...