Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is in follow-up to my Member’s statement with respect to the Tu Beta Ts’ena, “Water is Life” film that was premiered last night.
During my discussions with a number of people in the audience after the film, it was easy to tell that people were very passionate about this film. I think it is very important for this film to get into as many places as possible so people can get to see this film. It would be good for this government to get it into all of the schools.
So my question to the Premier is: would he commit to purchasing copies of the film from the Akaitcho Territory Dene First Nations and getting that film into every one of the schools in the Northwest Territories so that our youth can see that film?
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The Hon. Premier, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’d be prepared to try and see what we can do to get this information out to all the students in the Northwest Territories. We ourselves are undertaking a number of initiatives to get on top of the water situation, more so than we have in the past, through partnerships with provinces in western Canada as well as re-energizing the Mackenzie River Basin Board that was put into place a number of years ago. So we’d look at opportunities along with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to see what we can do in this area.
That kind of sounded like a yes. That’s good. Just so you know, the film is $30 a copy, so it shouldn’t cost us too much to get enough copies for all of our schools. And since we’re talking about schools in the Northwest Territories, I think it might also be good to ensure that we get a copy of that film into every high school that falls within the Mackenzie River water basin. I think we’re going to need as much help as we can get, and we might as well get some of the youth of Alberta helping us fight the tar sands.
I’d like to see if the Premier would be willing to commit to getting enough copies so that we can get them into the high schools that fall within the Mackenzie River water basin outside the Northwest Territories as well.
Mr. Speaker, first things first. We need to get our house in order, and we’re doing that. Again, I’m glad to know that the price of the movie is $30. We can work with the appropriate departments to try and make sure that we get this information and the movie out to as many students in our schools as we can. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
