December 14, 2011 - Mr. Speaker, for many years, we had a problem filling entry-level vacancies for Corrections Officers with Northern people who had the basic skills that would qualify them to be hired.

In 2009, the Corrections Service looked at the problem and developed a six-week training program to ensure we have a representative, Northern workforce in our corrections facilities.  The end result is the Corrections Northern Recruit Training Program.

December 14, 2011 - Mr. Speaker, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment supports community-based teacher education programming, which provides increased access to students across the Northwest Territories. Graduates of these programs will increase the number of Aboriginal educators in our school system.

December 14, 2011 - Mr. Speaker, the mining, oil and gas sectors are literally the bedrock of the Northwest Territories economy.  These industries rely on modern, accessible geoscience information to make investment and land use decisions.  The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment partners with the federal department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development to deliver geoscience programs for the Northwest Territories.

December 13, 2011 - Mr. Speaker I rise today to update the House on discussions I had with the Federal Minister of Justice, the Honourable Rob Nicholson yesterday. The purpose of this meeting was to bring the concerns of my colleagues regarding Bill C-10 to the Minister and to discuss how best to mitigate the impacts of this bill on the Northwest Territories.

December 13, 2011 - Mr. Speaker, today I would like to speak about the state of the health and social service system in the Northwest Territories. We need to take decisive action to ensure that we can continue to deliver high-quality services to our residents into the future.  Sustainability of the health care system is a national issue, and one that is of concern to Canadians across the country.   Every health system in Canada is affected by rising costs, shortage of health professionals and the health needs of an aging population.   

December 13, 2011 - Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories Power Corporation has been undergoing rapid and significant transition over the past three months. This transition is required to maintain the confidence of its customers and sole shareholder the GNWT. While NTPC has delivered power to the customers of the NWT for many years, pressure with respect to increasing rates and sliding reliability demanded significant changes. While many changes have already been implemented, others will take further time to complete.

December 13, 2011 - Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about an important project that I have spoken about many times before in this House.  I am referring to the Deh Cho Bridge.

December 12, 2011 - Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories Student Financial Assistance program last underwent a substantial redesign in the fall of 2000.  Since then, it has periodically been reviewed internally, resulting in increases to some benefits, such as tuition and book allowances, repayable loan monthly limits and the lifetime loan limit.

December 12, 2011 - Mr. Speaker, of all sectors, tourism presents the greatest likelihood of creating economic opportunities in each region, and for each community – especially in the smaller communities.  Today I would like to talk about a few specific initiatives to grow tourism in the Northwest Territories (NWT).

We are now in the first year of Tourism 2015:  New Directions for a Spectacular Future, the Government of the Northwest Territories’ five-year tourism investment plan.

December 12, 2011 - Mr. Speaker, I rise today to provide Members with an update on the way the NWT Sport and Recreation Council has improved access to quality physical activity, sport, and recreation programs for all NWT residents.