Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask the Minister of ITI about the process of devolution, the role of the National Energy Board. I know we will have some working relationship to them and I want to know about the oil and gas activity specifically to the hydraulic fracking in the Sahtu, that the National Energy Board will work with us, or actually they’ll be our employees in regard to enforcing the regulations of this drilling program.

Certainly when we were in the east part of the east corner of Saskatchewan, we were actually at a frack site. We were actually in the operation and actually we were fracking. There was no earth shattering water spewing out of the hole. It is actually quite safe. I would like to point to the Minister in terms of having the information out there. Clearly, the facts need to be looked at.

I want to ask the Minister in regards to the employment for our people. In 2010-11 $976,000 was paid to income support clients in the Sahtu. We want to reduce that. How is the Minister going to address the needs...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thomas Edison once observed that the reason most folks don’t recognize opportunity when it comes along is that it is often dressed in coveralls and it looks like work.

Opportunities in the Sahtu and opportunities in the Northwest Territories involve a great amount of work and the willingness to take a chance on something. We are told we take hold of opportunities and know the outcome, which may be uncertain. There has been a lot of media awareness, protests and discussion in the North about the Sahtu’s oil play and, more importantly, the use of the technology hydraulic...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The motion speaks to the support that’s needed in the Mackenzie Valley winter road system. Looking at the infrastructure and hearing the Minister talk, I appreciate his continuous effort to negotiate with the oil and gas industry and seeing what they’re going to do to support their operations. It’s in their best interest to seek the most advantageous road system going up from Wrigley to Norman Wells. Sometimes I wonder if the oil industry wasn’t there, then we wouldn’t have much additional dollars here. I’m wondering if this here is we’re relying on the oil company to...

The Minister outlined several areas that certainly bring interest to me. However, I do have a motion I want to read in this section here, so if I could.

Mr. Chair, I certainly appreciate the response back from the Minister on the runways. I specifically want to talk to Deline in regards to their willingness and their partnership, even though for the department, maybe for the government it seems like a small community. How do we erase the $4.5 million? Well, that is their business. Let them do it. They have been in business for long enough. Give them the ability. Give them the credence and the faith that they could come up with money. It’s for them to decide. All we do is lend our hand in a partnership and see what they can do. It might take...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to ask the Minister here on infrastructure and going forward in planning studies. The hub of the Sahtu airport is Norman Wells. With the increase of traffic, I believe Norman Wells is the second busiest airport in the North here. With the ranking so high – other than, of course, Yellowknife being the highest – does the Norman Wells Airport have the required support resources in that airport to sustain itself and to be prepared to deal with more traffic as the oil and gas systems are going forward in regard to the oil and gas exploration?

There are other airports in...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to reiterate the pressing needs…

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was in Norman Wells over the weekend and I know that our people want to work. We are the ones on our land in the Sahtu. We’ll make that decision on frack or no frack.

Now, I just want to ask the Minister, regarding this checklist, is he looking at something this winter on the Mackenzie Valley winter road with the state of our winter roads. They’re going to be hauling out some chemicals on that winter road. Is the Minister going to look at some type of funding that would make sure that it will be safe so that these trucks can drive out and we’ll know that for sure there...

My earlier comments in my Member’s statement talked about the Sahtu being on the verge of the next energy driver in Canada. I want to say to the Minister, with this type of potential in the Sahtu, is the Minister working with his colleagues with regard to preparing the Sahtu to take on this initiative, that things are in place for training, for child care, for education and for the environment, for all these things that we can say yes, we feel comfortable that everything has been encompassed, that we can go ahead to the next stage in hydraulic fracking. Is that a project that he’s willing to...