Sheryl Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to take the opportunity to extend thanks and express gratitude. As we have reconvened for another sitting, I would like to thank my constituents. Without their faith in me, I wouldn't have the privilege of being here in this Chamber today. As I've stated before, I am honoured and humbled to be here to serve all my constituents and all my riding of the Deh Cho.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank family and friends from all over the NWT for their support, calls, and reaching out with when my daughter was hospitalized in Kelowna this past summer...

Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Tabled Document 193-20(1), and I would like to report progress. And, Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of the Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

I now call the Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? Member for the Sahtu.

Thank you. Thanks to the Minister for that answer. Can the Minister commit to creating local fire tower jobs for the upcoming wildfire season? That's we're talking about next year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too want to stay focused on the four priorities that we have going for us in this government.

Can the Minister of Environment and Climate Change confirm how many fire towers are currently in use in the NWT and explain how they are operated? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too -- I lived in Norman Wells a few years ago, and people probably know that I lived in Norman Wells, and even back then the cost of living was high. So I cannot imagine what it's like today. And to know that right now that Norman Wells has run out of fuel, that's a crisis, that's an emergency situation. And there's no time to play around with people's lives today right now, to try to figure out -- wiggle around and figure out whether or not this company's doing that, that company's doing this. There's no time to figure that out. If this was your family, what would...

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recognizing the local employment opportunities for the hamlet of Enterprise, can the Minister confirm the number of people the Enterprise fire tower employs throughout the year.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to talk about fire towers and job opportunities for the residents of the Deh Cho.

Fire towers are used to monitor wildfires. Government employees used to operate them seasonally, typically from May to October. We used to pay a person to stay up there and keep communities safe. The fire tower near Enterprise was completed in 2015, and it's still in active use. What I would like to know, Mr. Speaker, is how is the tower currently staffed and can the government look to create more jobs with this kind of work? As I have said in the House in...

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Mr. Speaker, for my Member's statement today, I want to speak about the motion that I gave notice on two days ago regarding federal top-up funding for Enterprise. Mr. Speaker, the motion in question will be voted on later today and it's all about getting more support for the people of Enterprise who lost everything during last summer's wildfire. Ultimately, Mr. Speaker, the displaced residents of Enterprise need practical and viable solutions right now as soon as possible. We all have known the devastating loss that the community sustained...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I want to thank my colleague, the Member from Boot Lake, for showing me, working with me, and I also want to thank the Minister of Finance too. This has been a really learning experience for me, Mr. Speaker. It's my first six months here, learning how to do what we do and how to help people, how to get things moving, how to work together, and especially learning -- well, yeah, learning how to work together. I don't have a big speech like everybody else did but I support that, and I too will be -- and I want to thank -- I also want to thank all my colleagues, like...