Debates of March 14, 2007 (day 2)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have some concerns brought to me by my constituents. Almost all the research taking place in our region is coming from outside institutions in the Northwest Territories, specifically my region. Communities are not being brought into the research that involves them, that serves their own needs. It always serves the institution needs or the organization needs. Yet they receive numerous research proposals from institutions based on the outside, Mr. Speaker.

The reason that the community wants to be involved is that they can learn too, so they can strengthen their ability to participate in decision-making processes. This is a matter of life and death for my people, Mr. Speaker, who are now facing major social impacts of development in our region. Yet despite the major investments in research in the Northwest Territories in honour of our International Polar Year, virtually none of the research will directly involve the benefits of northern communities.

Mr. Speaker, as I said, in recognition of International Polar Year, the Northwest Territories has a golden opportunity to establish a research institution as a centre for excellence in community-based research, especially in social and cultural research. Mr. Speaker, in the early part of the decade, the Aurora Research Institute did have a full-time staff person responsible for promoting and supporting community-based research. Projects supported in the Sahtu region and elsewhere were very, very successful, but this position has not been fulfilled.

Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister at the appropriate time regarding how can the community get involved in this type of research in terms of what can the government do to strengthen our research and our capabilities in terms of looking after the people first and the institutions second. Mr. Speaker, thank you very much.

---Applause