Debates of November 30, 2007 (day 6)

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to use my two and half minutes today as an opportunity to speak about the youth, and to the youth, of the Northwest Territories. We have some of the best programs as far as education goes and post-secondary education. I encourage the youth to take advantage of these opportunities. There’s a whole world out there, that a lot of us didn’t see when we were growing up, of opportunity and it’s a chance for youth to get some education and contribute to the leadership of the Northwest Territories. I’d also like to see, in all the regions, youth camps, dedicated youth leadership camps. I would like this government to take not a lead role, but partner up with the aboriginal governments in supporting getting the youth out on the land. Take the elders with them, have them tell them about when they were growing up and all the hardships that they faced. Have a veteran go out with them and talk to the veterans about some of the sacrifices they made. A lot of veterans that didn’t come back, Mr. Speaker, are younger than a lot of our youth today. Those would be the proper role models to have, Mr. Speaker.

If we use this as an opportunity to get the youth out in the camps and the leaderships camps, then it would give them an opportunity to stay out of town, stay away from TV. Too many times today the youth are using the wrong people for role models and they’re starting to imitate them and that’s leading to a lot of the trouble that we face today with our youth. If they can go to the camps with elders, if they can talk to veterans and use them as their role models, use people who have overcome hardship as their role models and not people that they see on TV.

I think this government should undertake to support a lot of the regions that want to have camps, get the youth out on the land. I remember as a young man, as a kid, actually, we had, we called them opportunity for youth camps where you would go into the camps all summer and stay with the elders and just….It kept your summers occupied, Mr. Speaker. Then you would go back to school again in the fall. I think we have to have a look at supporting all these initiatives that are trying to come forward and I’m not saying take the lead from the whole thing, but we should, as a government and as MLAs, support any opportunities we can for our youth as possible. Thank you.

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