Norman Yakeleya

I appreciate the Minister’s response, Madam Chair. So, making the effort, would that then look at the possibility of having some period of time when the National Energy Board would actually be in the Sahtu, working out of there for a period of time, rather than coming from a different region or coming from Alberta or Calgary, coming up to the Sahtu? We need some man hours in the Sahtu for some comforting level of the ongoing operations with the oil companies.

Madam Chair, my question is on the contracting services from 2012-13. We were at a low number and it increases quite substantially to 2014-15. Can the Minister just briefly explain why the spike in the contracting services?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If we come with this unique program that Mr. Ramsay is committing to look at and bring forward, it’s life on the land. The economy, that’s the business side, but I think it would be supporting the life on the land that supports our vision and goals of the 17th Assembly. I’ll ask the Minister, coming forward and getting some information back from our communities and seeing that we can pilot some type of unique program for the coming fall time. I’m not too sure if that’s too short of a time, but I will look forward to some type of a movement on this.

We certainly have supported the trappers, people who make their life on the land. It’s the point of view that we look at trapping or harvesting and being a fisherman, to being a trapper, to be a hunter. Some look at it as a business. We sometimes look at it as a way of life.

I want to ask the Minister of ITI, could he look across the different departments and say can we come up with a unique program, because we’re known for our uniqueness in the Northwest Territories through education, health, whatever, and say we can do this program, treatment, healthy living or education or whatever, but come...

Mr. Chair, the optimal end result of this discussion would be the Minister look at this, and given this year’s budget and again next year, we can come forward with these miniature abattoirs to say, yes, we have worked it out through the system and the regulations. For example, next year local traditional foods can be packaged, sent into these institutions to say now you have traditional foods. It will produce skill, economy and make use in the small communities. Maybe the Northern Store or Co-ops will be interested in having these foods on their shelves. My goal here is to see if this is...

It might get me into trouble not to recognize my beautiful wife up there in the gallery along with my father and my mother-in-law. I know they’re not my constituents, but they are family from Fort Providence, Albert and Caroline Bonnetrouge, and my sister-in-law, Jackie Hope. Welcome to the gallery.

I guess that’s one of the appeasing factors. We live in a clean, fresh North and we would like to keep it that way to attract the tourism.

In Asia, it would certainly be nice to take a trip over there some day; however, I will just have to wait.

Part of the tourism and promotion is to promote our lifestyle, that’s something appeasing, also, for our traditional arts and crafts – people are deadly artists and handcrafters in our small communities – that people want to see. Not made in China art, but made in the Sahtu, made in the Deh Cho, Beaufort-Delta, Tu Nedhe, whatever, made in Tlicho arts...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d certainly love to join Mrs. Groenewegen’s support for nurses and RCMP in small communities; however, I’m going to talk about the importance of life on the land for our people in our communities, people who fish on the Great Slave Lake, people who hunt up in the Bear Lake area and on the Mackenzie River, people who hunt up in the Beaufort-Delta, people who live on the land. Yesterday I heard from Mr. Ramsay that there’s a lot of support from our community members who make a life on the land either fishing, hunting or trapping and one of the things that I wanted to...

Mr. Chair, a couple quick questions to the Minister. I’m certainly pleased to see the community tourism infrastructure in the budget of $100,000, given the need for infrastructure in our communities to attract tourism into our communities. It’s not quite the same as some of the larger centres. I want to ask the Minister, if this $100,000, is this start-up funding and just ongoing funding, is it one time?

There are a lot of communities that are not on the highway system and to put more infrastructure in our small communities to attract a segment of the tourism group would considerably make it so...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Certainly with the energy contributions, we certainly were pleased and people in Deline were pleased that the MECC Committee found it in their hearts to support that continued project. They have been at it for 17 years and they were just waiting for further funding to finish off the studies so they can come back and say this is exactly what they’ll need to start the construction. That’s my understanding. The Minister can correct me if I’m wrong. To start the construction of the Bear River hydro initiative. This has been in their view for about 17 years. Incredibly patient...