Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, want to recognize the former Premier, Premier Floyd Roland. It’s good to see you back in the House here. Also, to Mr. Zoe. Mr. Zoe was the MLA for Monfwi and also a Minister. He was also a Clerk in the House here at one time. I want to recognize him. Also, to Mr. Hamilton. As Mr. Ramsay has said, when we were coming into the House he was leaving, but I also want to say Mr. Hamilton left a piece of advice that I hung on my wall in regard to my new job as the MLA.

I also want to recognize, if I may, your family. It’s good to see Jenny and the kids here to the...

According to reports from Imperial in 2009, 127,000 litres of water contaminated with hydrocarbons that was used to force oil up from the underground also poured into the water. Even though we do have a report-a-spill line for all these types of incidents, with the Minister of the Environment, what are the consequences to ensure for these illegal releases of contaminated water in the river?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to recognize former Member Jake Ootes and his lovely missus. And also to recognize Roy Erasmus, a former Member also for the Legislative Assembly. It’s good to see Jake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We either have the best incident reporting policy in Canada or we have the worst-kept secrets of oil and gas incidents in the Northwest Territories.

According to a recent CBC report, the National Energy Board, Canada’s pipeline regulators, showed that more than 70 incidents from spills, leaks and injuries or fires were reported in Norman Wells. That’s in six years.

Mr. Speaker, we have a problem. Are our regulatory laws strong enough? I say no, because we need to tighten them up, as per the report that CBC clearly indicated. This has shaken my confidence in our...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that Bill 24, Act to Amend the Liquor Act, be read for the third time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just for clarification, Mr. Blake and the Board of Management, I just want to ask for the definition of home. There are some people who have homes in their communities. Some are leasing it; some are renting it. Some don’t have homes. Some, of course, have their own homes. Is there just a definition for myself?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wanted to thank Mr. Bromley for bringing this motion forward and also the Members for considering it. I would like to say that I support this motion because it makes sense. The issue of affordable daycares in the Northwest Territories has been an issue for some time. There are daycares here in Yellowknife where a mother who is single or married, a mother has to pay $43 a day to put their child in a private daycare centre, if the mother or the parents need to go to work to support their family. A licenced daycare, Mr. Speaker, is between $40 and $41 a day.

In some of...

With the increase of oil and gas in our region and the development that’s going to certainly increase if the proven resources are there in the Sahtu, what type of level of increases of spills could we expect, based on the performance of the pipelines and the companies and the reports that we’re just finding out now from the CBC report? I’d ask the Minister.

Mr. Speaker, I talked about the incidents that the CBC reported on Norman Wells being the number one community of oil and gas leakage, fire, injuries and pipeline integrity. I want to ask the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources if there is a reporting protocol and why doesn’t it include any type of notification to the public on these incidents that CBC had to tell the world on this type of stuff that’s dear to our hearts.

Thank you. Now that we know, I’d say we are paid to solve problems. Let’s do this together.

I’ll have questions for the Minister of ENR at the appropriate time. Thank you.