This is page numbers 69 - 86 of the Hansard for the 17th Assembly, 1st Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was territories.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to pay tribute to a well-respected elder, Pierre Catholique from Lutselk’e, who passed away last week. Elder Pierre Catholique was born May 1, 1927, and passed away on Tuesday, November 29, 2011, at age 84.

Pierre was born and raised around the Artillery Lake area at Gahcho Kue and that’s also in the Reliance area, known as Nats’ejee K’eh. He lived a very traditional lifestyle by hunting, trapping, fishing and gathering on the land. As a young man Pierre worked with the RCMP in Fort Reliance and worked in the mining exploration industry in Pine Point and Yellowknife areas. He did commercial fishing out of Hay River. Pierre eventually settled in Lutselk’e and continued a traditional and cultural lifestyle.

Pierre was well known for making traditional art and handicrafts, such as miniature dog teams, snowshoes, caribou hide drums and baby rattles. I’m fortunate enough to have two of Pierre’s drums that he made last year.

Pierre was actively involved in the East Arm Park proposal and was a member of the Thaidene Nene Parks Advisory Committee. He was instrumental in the direction that’s been taken for creating the Thaidene Nene Park.

Pierre was very concerned about the land and water. He was the first person to tell me about the contamination at Stark Lake. He asked me to ensure that a Stark Lake mining exploration site was cleaned up. He blamed that site for the mercury levels in the fish at Stark Lake.

Pierre is survived by his children: Mary Jane, who is married to Chief Antoine Michel; Herman; Joseph; Marina, married to Robert; Henry; and he also had custom adopted Ray Griffith, who is the current band manager, as his son. His siblings are Edward, John, Joe, Victor, Alfred, Annie, Agnes and Lorraine, as well as 14 grandchildren, numerous great-grandchildren, cousins and friends in Lutselk’e, Fond du Lac, Saskatchewan, across the Great Slave Lake and across the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. My condolences go out to Pierre’s family.

A church service for Pierre was held on Saturday, December 3, 2011, which I attended. Pierre will be buried in Fort Reliance on Saturday, December 10, 2011, alongside his wife, Judith, and son Lawrence, as was his wish. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. Item 5, returns to oral questions. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Premier, Bob McLeod.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Yellowknife South

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Premier

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m very pleased to recognize four special ladies today. First of all our new president of the Northwest Territories Status of Women Council representing the Deh Cho region, Tina Gargan.

Also Georgina Jacobson-Masuzumi, a board member with the NWT Status of Women Council from the Beaufort-Delta. I think you know her, Mr. Speaker.

Lorraine Phaneuf, executive director, Northwest Territories Status of Women Council.

And Gail Cyr, special advisor to the Minister responsible for the Status of Women.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Fort Smith, Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your uncle had trouble with Thebacha, too. He used to call it Tobacca.

---Laughter

God rest his soul.

I’m pleased to stand here today. I would like to recognize in the gallery, of course, my wife, who is up today and will be joining us for supper tonight. I’d like to thank her for coming and sharing some time with us and with me. Thank you.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a pleasure today to recognize in the visitors gallery Mr. Andrew Cassidy, who is the president of the Northwest Territories Farmers Association. That is his full-time job. He’s also a Hay River town councillor. Thank you.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. I’d like to welcome my mother, Georgina Jacobson-Masuzumi into the House. Welcome.

I’d like to welcome all of our guests who haven’t been recognized to the House today. Welcome.

Item 7, acknowledgements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Robert McLeod.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to use this opportunity to celebrate the achievement of a resident and constituent of Inuvik. Ms. Alison Lennie had attended the University of Alberta for four years, got her commerce degree, and just recently wrote and passed her exam to become a chartered accountant and received her designation.

I think this is important that we use opportunities like this to celebrate the achievements and the accomplishments of our young people, and I think that goes a long way to showing that our education system is really working, and what you put into it is what you’re going to get out of it was a comment that I’ve heard in some conversations that I’ve had.

So, I’d like to ask the House to join me in congratulating Ms. Lennie and encourage all our youth from across the Territories to take advantage of all the opportunities we have as a government to go and further their education, and we as a Northwest Territories will benefit because of it. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 8, oral questions. The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.

Robert Bouchard

Robert Bouchard Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I discussed in my Member’s statement about dredging, my question today would be to the Minister of Transportation. Does the territorial government have any dredging plans in the Northwest Territories currently?

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The honourable Minister, Mr. Ramsay.

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member for the question. Currently the responsibility of dredging in Hay River would fall with the federal government. That was discontinued in 1994. Certainly the Government of the Northwest Territories understands and appreciates the need for those channels to be cleared. There have been some concerns brought forward by commercial fishers, the Canadian Coast Guard, of the silting and the reduced availability of water within those navigation channels in the port of Hay River. It’s an issue that I think we need to keep pressing on the federal government to come up with a new program

to address the concerns with dredging in the port of Hay River.

Robert Bouchard

Robert Bouchard Hay River North

My next question is: Has the department assessed the dredging needs throughout the Northwest Territories?

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

I know there’s been some work done in Hay River, some analysis done on the need to dredge in Hay River. I’m not aware of any other studies that have been conducted in other ports across the Northwest Territories, but that information I’d be more than happy to get for the Member.

Robert Bouchard

Robert Bouchard Hay River North

Can the Minister of Transportation inform me of any discussions the department has had recently with the federal government on dredging?

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

My tenure as Minister of Transportation hasn’t been a long one and I wouldn’t be able to speak to my predecessor’s discussions with the federal government specific to the dredging in Hay River.

Going forward, when I do have the opportunity to sit down with my federal colleague Minister Lebel, it’s an issue that I certainly would like to raise with him.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.

Robert Bouchard

Robert Bouchard Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Health and Social Services.

In the 16th Assembly the Department of Health and

Social Services cancelled funding for a respite program that was ongoing here in Yellowknife. It was a program that provided much needed relief to the caregivers of disabled children, and the families of those children and to the children themselves as well. The program was to be reviewed and revised. My understanding is that in the revision it was going to become a territorial program and expand well beyond Yellowknife and the three or four other communities than it was in the last Assembly. I’d like to ask the Minister whether or not that review has been completed and ask him if he can share the results of that review with the Assembly.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

I’m sorry, Mr. Speaker, I didn’t hear the question.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Take it as notice? Okay. Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Ms. Bisaro.