Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also want to share my condolences with you in your statement to the families who are going through their grieving process and praying for their loved ones.
If you were in my shoes, what would you do? The Sahtu is on the brink of evolving into a region that can help this government with its bank account, because the Sahtu is at the brink of becoming the economic energy driver in Canada and the Northwest Territories.
We need to invest into our communities and into our regions, and we need to invest into the Sahtu, just like we’re investing into the fibre optic line. Pay now, receive the benefits later. It’s a good business case.
I want to talk about some of the things that we are challenged with in the Sahtu. The potential of becoming Canada’s energy driver is real. We recently took a trip down to North Dakota and southeastern Saskatchewan, and we saw what the benefits could be there for the Northwest Territories and also for the communities in the Sahtu. We also saw the amount of work that was going on, and we’re at the stage of what do we do. Our needs are high, but we’re also very cautious and worried about the environmental impacts. We can become a contributor but we can also have a heavy cost to our environment. We’re at a critical time.
The recent influx of alcohol and drugs is real. Just recently there was a seizure done by the RCMP in our small communities. Alcohol is still running rampant. We as a region are dealing with it, and as a region we’re saying enough is enough.
We have social challenges. We have a high population of single parents. In Deline 35 percent of families are headed by single parents. That is a lot of work for a single parent, to raise their children, go to school, and try to do their best. Yet, in Deline only 42 percent of people are working. What do we do? There is potential to be had there.
Mr. Yakeleya, your time for your Member’s statement has concluded.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
I say to this government, through this infrastructure session here, let’s do the right thing for the people in the North, let’s do the right thing for the people in the Sahtu, and I say it’s about time we get to work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
