Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of MACA. I could also ask other questions to the other Ministers, but this one I want to focus on with the Minister of MACA and ask him what types of resources are available for a youth centre in Fort Good Hope. At the same time, I want to congratulate the communities of Ulukhaktok, Fort Resolution and Deline in regard to their youth centres. I want to ask similar types of questions to the Minister on a youth centre for Fort Good Hope.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The community of Fort Good Hope could do as some of the other communities across the Northwest Territories have done. Through their capital infrastructure money that they receive through MACA, they’ve determined that a youth centre is one of the priorities in their community. Therefore, the community has taken it upon themselves to build that community youth centre, and as the Member mentioned, there is a number of communities that have done an excellent job in putting some good projects on the ground.
It is said that it takes a community to raise a child. It also takes our government and the community government to raise a youth centre. So I want to ask the Minister if he’s had any type of discussions with the Minister of Health and Social Services or the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, and even the community of Fort Good Hope, in looking at how can we put a comprehensive plan together to support a community youth centre in Fort Good Hope, where different programs and different funding from all the governments and Ministers to put an overall comprehensive plan together that would support a youth centre concept in Fort Good Hope?
I would suggest that the community determine whether it’s a priority. I mean, we’ve obviously given them capital infrastructure money. Also, once their youth centre is completed, then there is some other money through the Youth Centre Initiative that they would be able to access. I believe it’s $500,000 that is available to all the youth centres that apply. In 2012-13 I think we had 36 successful applicants. So, basically, everyone that applies gets approved for a portion of that $500,000. So the support is there. Again, at the end of the day, it would be a decision made by the community.
Obviously, as the Minister of Youth and along with my colleagues from Health and Social Services, we would support any initiative the community takes upon themselves to put a facility there for their youth. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the people in Fort Good Hope, led by the elders, want a traditional camp on the land. It’s their concept of a youth centre. It doesn’t always have to be a traditional infrastructure in the community, so they want a youth camp to bring the youth back to the land. I’ll ask the Minister of MACA to outline some programs and if he would work with the Minister of Health through the Community Wellness Plan, or with the Ministers of Justice, ITI and Education that would put together a comprehensive youth land centre camp that would support the community wishes.
Mr. Speaker, we would have to explore that further. The Member is asking about a youth centre and now a youth centre on the land, so we would have to explore that a bit more.
I must comment again that the community takes the initial initiative. They approach us; we assist in any way possible, and then we can go from there. But we’d have to explore that a little further. I’m sure this would apply to a youth centre on the land. I would have to look into that and relay that to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Fair enough, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for his openness, just as the Minister of Justice talked about the Community Safety Strategy where we’re taking a lead from communities in the Sahtu. So I look forward to the Minister possibly looking at this concept and getting a brief update as to his discussions with the other Ministers on this concept. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, again, it would be an initiative of the community to come forward to us with what their plans are. We can’t put a plan together and go to the communities and say this is what you’re going to do. We leave a lot of the final decision-making up to the community, and when they do that, then we will do what we can to assist them in any way we can.
There are a number of youth programs that we do offer. Maybe their initiative will fit into one of these programs. We don’t know that until they come to us and say this is our plan, how can you assist us, and we’ll go from there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
