Tom Beaulieu

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

I’d like to start by quoting some people across the NWT:

“Houses are built and sit empty, the system doesn’t work...”

“Housing is beyond frustration for small communities.”

“You are losing money just letting houses sit empty.”

“There seems to be a serious flaw in the approach, if it means housing, communities develop their own policies...that may be the best thing to do.”

“Maybe direct funding for First Nations from the federal government is the way to go.”

Those were quotes from the Dene National Assembly this summer in Fort Good Hope. As...

Mr. Chairman, on the retrofit of public housing units, can the Minister tell me if there’s been any discussion with the corporation on the disposition of materials that are coming off the units that are being retrofitted, possibly to give the materials to individual homeowners that may otherwise not be eligible for regular repair programs? In a sense, for clarity, I’m saying that if they take replacing the siding with a better grade of siding on the retrofit of these public housing units, can that siding be given to an individual or individuals in the communities that are otherwise not...

Staying on the same line of questioning, Mr. Chairman, I’m wondering if there are construction regulations, or standards, perhaps is a better term, that is preventing this unit from being delivered at an economical rate per square foot.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Snookie Catholique, former resident of Lutselk’e.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I, too, felt it was quite an experience to review the act because of the nature of the work that we did as a committee to go through and review the act and talk to the communities about how the act has impacted on the lives of some of the community members that came out and spoke at our meetings. I agree with the comments made by the two previous committee members and the people that supported us in our review.

Also, in addition to what they said, I’d like to thank the people that we worked with in Alberta. It was a good way to start to see what works down there. With...

Mr. Speaker, although the 10-year Akaitcho Aboriginal Languages Plan was fully implemented, they received less than 3.5 percent increase in funding over that 10-year span. This is not enough. Will the Minister commit to increasing the base funding for this program that’s run in Akaitcho? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I talked about the need to provide more funding for aboriginal programs in the Akaitcho. I have questions for the Minister responsible for aboriginal languages, the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Jackson Lafferty.

Does the Minister recognize that keeping the regional languages committee alive is a vital part of preserving the aboriginal languages?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker...[English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to talk about aboriginal language programs in Akaitcho, which Tu Nedhe is a part of, and the need to increase support for these programs.

Mr. Speaker, in the riding of Tu Nedhe there is a combined aboriginal population of around 95 percent. However, the actual number of Chipewyan-speaking residents is becoming less and less every year. Mr. Speaker, speaking the language is important for keeping the culture alive. Speaking the language allows elders to pass on important traditional practices...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the past there was some funding for the communities that were used for training translators, interpreters and so on. Will the Minister commit to returning money to the communities for training for aboriginal languages by increasing the necessary core funding to support training in the communities as opposed to at more of a territorial level? Thank you.

I’d like to thank the Minister for that response. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister recognize that the sum of $17,000 funding allocated to each Akaitcho community is insufficient to do what the communities need to do with an aboriginal language program? Thank you.