Norman Yakeleya

I know there’s probably a little more complexity on the answers, but 800 positions that the government has right now, there are 400 they’re actively trying to fill. So the other 400, what happens? There’s active and inactive. Is that correct and can the Minister also put a financial figure to those positions that are vacant?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I’ve listened to the Finance Minister and went through the budget address and looked at some of the highlights, I was quite pleased with some of the initiatives happening in the Northwest Territories, certainly the long-held dream of Cece McCauley in Norman Wells on the Mackenzie Valley Highway and the work towards that, and the government is responding to the oil and gas activity in the Sahtu and other areas around the Northwest Territories that the government is responding with the fiscal restraint that we’re operating under. Of course, the new day for us will be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I certainly appreciate the commitment the Minister is making in this House for the residents of Norman Wells. I also ask the Minister if he would be willing, when some sort of a plan is in place, that he come to the town of Norman Wells and present this plan on how we are going to help the residents of Norman Wells with the conversion as to what requirements they need and what programs are available to them, or what type of loans we will give them as a government. Also, I will ask the Minister if he can inform his federal counterpart. Where is the federal government on...

I would ask the Minister also if this could be done as quickly as possible, because there are families, people in Norman Wells who are looking at the conversion. Right now they are saying, who is helping us? Which government is there? Imperial Oil is giving a little bit of a hand, but yet they are left with the bulk of the cost of the conversion.

Can the Minister come up with some solutions as soon as possible? For example, maybe setting up some loans through the Housing Corporation office. We have to come up with some solutions, so I want to ask the Minister, can this be done within this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Some time ago I sat down with an elder in Fort Good Hope and listened to the elder. One of the phrases I got from the elder, after listening to the elder, was “our land is holy.” I was trying to figure out what the elder was meaning.

Some time ago over the past several months, the Sahtu people have lost three dearly loved elders and a young mother and a young grandmother. These elders passed away some time ago, one last week and certainly the young mother from Deline, and they returned back to the land.

I recall when I was a young man in Tulita when the elder was talking...

I certainly look forward to the speed of light communication that we have with today’s modern technology.

I want to ask the Minister, once we have looked and identified the gaps, we look at the residents and the people of Norman Wells. They say they are short $10,000 or $12,000. Will we have the means? Can the Minister put together a funding project, a budget somewhere saying that will help them so that they will not be hurt so much financially? That’s what I’m looking for, is somewhat of a commitment so the residents of Norman Wells can know that the government here is looking to help them on...

Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the Minister of Finance, the money man, on the question with the residents of Norman Wells. They are going to be shutting off their natural gas by Imperial Oil and converting their utilities, and there are quite a few families in Norman Wells that just are doing their best; they don’t have the extra 15 or 12 thousand dollars to make a full conversion for their residence.

Is the Minister of Finance working with his colleagues or the Town of Norman Wells to look at the number of families that are going to require the additional 10, 12, 15 thousand dollars to make that...

I just want to thank the mover and the seconder on this motion here. We’re talking about education, which has been a long-standing issue in this government. This is not something new. Over the years, as an MLA, and as the Minister is well aware – this issue is not new to him – we’ve been talking about the quality of education for a long time. Whether it’s in Yellowknife or it’s in the small communities such as Colville Lake, we’ve been talking about the quality of our education and the quality of our certificates that we give our Grade 12 students, called diplomas.

When I read that we’re the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think one of the most effective ways is to lobby, to go down face-to-face with your partners to show the benefits of the Mackenzie Valley Highway from Wrigley further up north. I want to ask the Minister, is that something the Members will have some input on as to what type of lobbying will seek the most benefit from our proposal in Corridors III.

We talked earlier about the increase of oil and gas in the Sahtu and I want to ask the Minister if he has had any type of preliminary discussions with his federal counterparts to see that this important proposal seeks a favourable response so we can start developing the resources in the Sahtu in a responsible manner and that the Mackenzie Valley Highway is a must for the people in the Northwest Territories.