Robert C. McLeod

We would like nothing more than to have all our fire departments trained and adequately equipped to deal with fires so we don’t have situations like we just recently had in Colville Lake and Fort Good Hope. However, if we were to come in and say we are running a course here and we want you, you and you to volunteer, then we’re basically dictating to them how their community is run. If they come forward and say we have some volunteers, we are interested in this training, we would love to come into the community to ensure that the community is trained and are aware of what types of equipment...

Through our School of Community Government we do offer some training; however, we offer some bylaw training, I believe. I am not sure if dogs specifically are on there. If not, I will find out and relay that information on to the Member.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A few years ago we strengthened the Dog Act so the communities have the legislative authority to deal with the dog situation in their community, and we also fund them through the O and M allocation to deal with that if they choose to.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If the construction of a new seniors centre counts as units, we’re doing that right now. See how quick the Member is? As soon as he asks, it happens. But we continue to try and identify a lot of needs across the Northwest Territories, and we’re working on that. We continue to try to identify all of our needs. We just had a new community survey done. We used a lot of the information from that to determine where some of our strategic investments are going to be. Again, we continue to replace a lot of public housing units. I have to add that since 2006 we’ve spent over $18...

Part of MACA’s mandate now is to deal with the communities. We work with the communities. We leave all the decision-making up to the communities, which I believe is the way it should be, and it’s something that the communities have wanted for a long time and have grasped. They’ve taken that on and done an admirable job doing so.

If there’s a need in the community to bring some veterinarian in to work in the community, that again would be a decision. We’ll work with the community and help try and facilitate this.

At the end of the day, as I’ve said for the last five or six years, the ultimate...

We’ve given them legislative authority to deal with this. If they have bylaw officers, they can empower them to deal with the dog situation. If they don’t have bylaw officers, they have the authority to appoint someone as dog officers and deal with the situation, and they are funded through the O and M funding to do so.

One of the challenges that we face with the declining funding from CMHC is the ability to add new units. A lot of our public housing units now are replacement units and we’re replacing units that are already there. We’re struggling with that. We’re fortunate that the Legislative Assembly stepped up last year and filled in some of the gap, but it’s going to be awfully costly for them to be doing that every year.

Again, I’m not sure of the exact capital allotment for Aklavik. I will find the information and I will share it with the Member. We just, I think, replaced 10 units in Aklavik here just...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday in Inuvik Canadian North flight 444 landed in Inuvik like it does seven days a week, weather permitting. The significance of this flight was it was being piloted by Cece Hansen, who is retiring. It was his last flight and he wanted to fly into Inuvik.

Cece has been flying since 1967 and I believe he’s the first of our people to be flying commercial jets, so I think it’s important that we recognize and acknowledge the achievements of a lot of those who came before as they helped pave the way for lot of us in the Assembly and across the Northwest Territories.

I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to welcome constituent Val Robertson to the gallery, as well as Mr. Sonny Greenland to the gallery, and Mr. Lafferty pointed them out before, but there were a number of people here from the Community Management and Finance Training Program. I believe they’ve all left, but I’ll read their names off so they’re on the record: Judal Dominicata from Gameti, Dennis Buboire from MACA in Fort Simpson, Chris Chai from the Hamlet of Tulita, Lisa Nitsiza from the Government of Whati, Judi Wall from the Hamlet of Ulukhaktok, Alison Brown, Department of Municipal and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “Government of the Northwest Response to Motion 15-17(5), Public Access to Automated External Defibrillators.” Further to my Return to Written Question 19-17(5), I wish to table the following document, entitled “Summary of Financial Security Held by the Government of the Northwest Territories.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.