Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The ink has barely dried on the capital budget for 2010-2011. It was just yesterday we passed Bill 6, but I am thinking ahead to the next capital budget and where we should place our emphasis and dollars in the 2011-12 infrastructure budget.

It has been mentioned several times by Members during this sitting and it has been mentioned in previous sessions as well, but it bears repeating. This government, this Assembly, must make it a priority to establish cell phone service in all of our NWT communities.

---Applause

Mr. Menicoche has spoken of the Deh Cho Trail as a possible legacy for this government. Ensuring cell service to the 25 communities who do not currently have it would certainly be a legacy as well.

It will cost approximately $6 million to put cell towers in the 25 communities that need them, but I believe there are many options out there to fund this project. The GNWT can take on the whole cost on its own or the government can share the cost with another organization. The government can put out a request for proposals for the project and see what creative proposals come back.

I recommend that the Cabinet take a look at the process used by the Yukon government. The government can tap into Infrastructure Canada funding to reduce the overall costs. The government can facilitate the project for municipalities or First Nations communities or governments. There is a federal program called First Nations Infrastructure Fund which could fit this project.

Mr. Speaker, the NWT has been fortunate with our applications for Building Canada Fund projects and the federal funding received from those projects. It has allowed this government to accomplish much in partnership with our communities. Rural and remote communities are a focus of this government. We need to narrow that focus and commit to the provision of cell service in the 25 smaller communities who currently lack it. If we start our planning now, we can easily accomplish the job before the 2011 election.

Mr. Speaker, there is a saying which goes, where there is a will, there is a way. I ask, what is the will of this government? I will have questions for the Minister of Finance later on. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the last couple of days I have been working with the Sahtu elders at a conference here. Mr. Speaker, just sitting with the elders for the last couple of days really opened my eyes in terms of the type of support our elders are asking us people here in the Assembly, our communities, in the Government of Canada.

The elders feel that they have lost their status and their role in the community governments and structures and the teachers of our way of life. They saw that a new way of life has moved them away from this family structure that is so critical to the aboriginal way of life and how we survive as aboriginal people and how we are going to go forward.

The elders talked about no longer have they enjoyed the status of respect of elders in the community and that other professions have taken over their role. They feel that they have been pushed aside. Now they are more bothersome to the people in terms of how they are being looked at in terms of advice, leading the people in certain laws that they need to practice.

Mr. Speaker, I ask on behalf of the people that I worked with in the last couple of days and the elders are asking, what can this government do to support them in the communities in terms of programs and services? How can we have our elders play a different role in this government in terms of what type of laws that should be brought forward, what type of laws need to be reintroduced back into our school? Even the school system should be at least 50 percent of our elders being there as teachers and professors. How come they are not in the school in that magnitude, Mr. Speaker? Can this government look at an elders’ advocate? It certainly is something that Mrs. Groenewegen talked about some time ago in terms of a council ran by the elders helping us with our issues that we have to face today.

The elders are very critical today in terms of the survival of the nation of people on this land here and they need to play a critical role in the way we are going forward. Even Mr. Premier talked about rebuilding relationships. The elders hope they are part of that relationship building. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Michael McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to take the opportunity today to thank all the Pages that have been working with us this week. I was very happy to have two Pages from Fort Providence. Bradley Thom and Joseph Antoine have been working here very hard for us and seeing the sights of Yellowknife. They are both from the Deh Gah School in Fort Providence, my home town. They are both 13 years old, Mr. Speaker, and they keep very busy while in the community.

Bradley has just returned from a cultural camp. He has done a bit of hunting and learning some aboriginal and cultural skills. He certainly indicates he likes having to spend time in the bush. His career goal is to work towards becoming a marine biologist, Mr. Speaker. He has indicated that he has been here a couple of times before. He has enjoyed it. He has come to find out a little more about the Legislative Assembly. His family had some history

in the political field. His grandfather was a chief of Fort Providence and also the mayor. His aunt, Tina Gargan, was also a mayor very recently in Fort Providence.

Joseph is also from the same school. He just returned from Fort Smith, where his mother was attending Aurora College. He was very interested and had never been to the Legislative Assembly. He wanted to check it out, he said, Mr. Speaker. He is a very avid hockey player. He plays hockey in Fort Providence, but the ice is not ready yet so he has been travelling all the way to Hay River to get some ice time and play hockey in that community, Mr. Speaker. His goal is to be an NHL hockey player. He is working very hard at it.

They both indicated that they want to witness the torch relay today and hoping we are not going to work too late.

---Laughter

They are driving home tomorrow, so I want to wish them all safe travel, and everyone else who is travelling tomorrow and today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. Item 5, returns to oral questions. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today we commemorated the return of the 100 millionth container for recycling since we started the program four years ago and we have in the gallery some of the folks that have made that possible. We have Luke Groscoe, the owner of the Behchoko bottle depot; Archie Black, Behchoko bottle depot supervisor; and Nini Black; Adam and Donna Pich, owners of the Yellowknife bottle depot. Thank you for all your good work and welcome to the Assembly.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Speaker, I, too, would like to recognize some of the Pages in the House: Angel Kowana from Aklavik, Jessie Pascal, and her sister who is the chaperone here today is Janeta Pascal. Again, I’d like to wish you all the best on your trip home and I hope this was a learning experience. Hopefully, we’ll see you back here again someday. Mahsi cho.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, want to recognize two long-term Yellowknife South constituents, Adam and Donna Pich. Business must really be picking up because they had to go back right away.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Welcome to everyone in the gallery today. I hope you’re enjoying the proceedings.

Item 7, acknowledgements. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to acknowledge Mathew Anikina, Debbie Gordon-Ruben, Marion Green, Vanessa Anikina, Kristin Green, Lena Kotokak and Dwayne Illasiak for being selected to represent the Northwest Territories at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and the Paralympic Games as Inuit demonstrators.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. Item 8, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are around my Member’s statement in regard to working in conjunction with Government of the Northwest Territories departments and municipal governments to ensure that we are able to take advantage of federal program dollars, but, more importantly, to assist communities where they don’t have capacity by way of having the technical capacity of engineering technicians to basically deal with people that have planning backgrounds, regardless if it’s looking at the scope of work that has to be done, developing the proposals and whatnot.

So I’d like to ask the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs exactly how can communities access these program dollars and get assistance from the GNWT, especially when you talk about positions such as the capital technician positions in the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, to work with communities to assist them

whenever we develop these types of proposals to take advantage of federal funding. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Robert McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department is always willing to work with the communities and at the community’s request, we’ll go into the community and work with them in identifying some of their projects, and some of the financing options, and some of the technical options that are available to them. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister exactly what is the process for a community to access these individuals, the people in the department, so that they can come into the communities, help them develop these proposals, take a look at the problem, regardless if it’s shoreline erosion or structural challenges that we’re facing, regardless if it’s permafrost or dealing with those systems in our communities. I’d like to ask the Minister what’s the process a community has to access these individuals in the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, the community would make a request to the department and just ask them to come in and work with them. Once they’re there, they’ll assist them in working on a proposal for the community and possibility a scope of work if it’s within their technical expertise. They’d be willing to assist them in financing options and just getting their proposal put together so it’s ready to go if any funding pots become available. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, one thing that we found with a lot of the federal funding is they’re time sensitive in which you, basically, have to have what they call shovel ready projects, and again, because of the short time frame that we’re looking at, that we have to be able to streamline the process so that we’re able to take advantage of these timelines. So I’d just like to ask the Minister again, exactly who is the contact person that these communities should call? Should they call the regional superintendent or call the Minister’s office, call the deputy Minister’s office? Who is the person that’s at the front line that they should first make contact with?

Mr. Speaker, the people would contact the regional superintendents of MACA in the five regions that are out there. They, in turn, will discuss with their staff and see who would be going into the community to assist the community with their proposal. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, again, I’ve phrased this issue in this House in regard to the Aklavik situation in regard to the shoreline erosion that has basically come to the surface because of the

inspection that was done by the community which realized that this project has to get some attention.

So I’d just like to ask the Minister here today if he can have someone go into Aklavik and assist them in regard to trying to pull this thing together. They’ve got numbers out there, they’ve provided some information to the different Ministers, myself, but, again, it’s not good enough. We have to do more to ensure that those reports are pretty detailed and they are able to pass the checkmark of meeting the federal government standards. So I’d just like to ask the Minister, can he give me assurances that we will have people in the community to assist on this particular project?

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the Member that I will pass that information on to the department and see if we could have somebody go into the community of Aklavik and work with them on their issue of the shoreline erosion. There is some historical data that they could probably use and help them put a proposal together so they have a proposal that’s ready to go, should some more funding become available.

There are always different pots of money out there that we’re always attempting to access with the federal government, so if we have the proposal ready to go, that’s the first step and then should funding become available, we have something to submit immediately. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.