Norman Yakeleya

Mr. Speaker, the National Energy Board and the Government of the Northwest Territories are certainly going to enter into a partnership where we will become the employer and the National Energy Board will become the employee on April 1, 2014. I want to ask the Minister: Would he set up a meeting with the Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated, the GNWT, the National Energy Board – because they’ll be our new regulators – and Imperial Oil to look at this report here and look at, going forward, where do we need to work together to put a zero effect of oil spills, pipeline corrosion, any type of incident...

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...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr. Bromley, for the question. When we start to have the oil and gas coming to the Sahtu communities and start to explore for the oil and gas, that could be beneficial to the North and the Sahtu people. The comments by our leadership were starting to look around at the lifting of the liquor sales at the Norman Wells liquor store and we’re starting to see that, with the additional work and the amount of work that’s in the Sahtu, and the lifting has certainly contributed to the amount of liquor being purchased at the Norman Wells liquor store, even to the point...

Thank you, Madam Chair. On my right is Kelly McLaughlin, drafter of Bill 24; and on my left is Glen Rutland, legal counsel to me as the sponsor of this bill.

Thank you, Madam Chair. It is my honour to appear in front of the Assembly today as a sponsor of Bill 24, An Act to Amend the Liquor Act. I had the pleasure of attending the committee’s public hearings on this bill in the Sahtu communities. Today I want to discuss the key points and concerns raised by those who came and spoke on the bill and what this bill proposes within the Sahtu.

Decision-making of limits on sales of alcohol in Sahtu would occur at the regional level. Regional service delivery and decision-making is not a new concept. In the Sahtu there are many examples where services are...

Certainly, the Sahtu people have been asking for on-the-land treatment programs ever since I became the MLA 10 years ago. With the closure of the Nats'ejee K'eh program, now the focus is coming back to the on-the-land treatment programs. I would ask the Minister to look at the programs. It may not fit within the prescribed policy or requirement, and this is coming from an Aboriginal community, government, that this is how they see it.

I would ask the Minister if he would dust off the proposals from the Sahtu to say yes, this could work for Colville Lake, Tulita or Deline. This can work in Fort...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I talked in my Member’s statement about some of the support that’s needed in someone’s life when they want to put away alcohol or any type of addiction. Coming from a small community, in communities the people are listening to me now, today, at this very minute. They have enough motivation and courage to say I want to do something with alcohol, put it away or do something with addictions, drugs or whatever type of addictions they have.

Are there any types of programs right now, from listening to the Minister’s Forum, where they can take their family who say we want to go...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, want to speak on this topic here. Someone told me that quitting addictions, quitting alcohol is easy. Staying sober or staying free from that is challenging. Also, somebody told me that when you overcome your own addictions, it is very, very difficult and our greatest battle starts with ourselves.

We have to clearly acknowledge our fears and be willing to follow certain prescribed remedies to stay free of our addictions. Countless men and women I have known have gotten and stayed sober and clear of addictions. Some of them may wonder how they did this. Well, I...