SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Tu Nedhe MLA Tom Beaulieu called for a winter road to Lutsel K'e in the legislative assembly on Thursday.

He said a trip to Yellowknife by plane often costs the community's residents $400, not including meals or accommodations.

"I know the government did consider the idea of a winter road to Lutsel K'e before it deemed it too costly when compared to the status quo of using barges," said Beaulieu.

"Just because the government thinks it's not feasible, that shouldn't be the end of it. What about the needs to the people and communities?"

Move jobs to regional centres

On Wednesday, Mackenzie Delta MLA David Krutko debated with premier Floyd Roland over whether government jobs can be moved to the outlying communities.

"There are some 5,000 positions in the Government of the Northwest Territories which could be put to communities regardless of expanding our programs and services officers positions, wildlife officers, departments such as forestry or looking at areas in regard to the economic development positions in our regions, housing positions at regional centers," said Krutko.

Krutko said 40 per cent of the households in Aklavik and 43 per cent in Fort McPherson have household incomes under $30,000. Both communities have very low

employment rates as well.

Roland responded that previous attempts to move positions out to regional centres had been very expensive and the government must weigh creating employment with its ability to afford to provide services.

NWT's potato capital

Sahtu MLA Norman Yakeleya hailed his area as the potato capital of the Northwest Territories on Tuesday.

After last year's poor harvest, Green Enterprises owner Doug Whiteman and his friend, Brian Likochas, sought advice from Prince Edward Island potato

farmers. They fertilized their soil with cattle manure, improved harvesting techniques and ended the season with 9,000 pounds of spuds.

"They are tasty and they can compete with the prices in the Northern Store," said Yakeleya. "People from Norman Wells are buying these northern spuds. People from Tulita and Fort Good Hope have been taking them home by boatloads."

Green Enterprises, he said, received financial aid from the territorial government to buy a tractor and rototiller.

"Perhaps others will get into the self-sufficiency attitude, and this way, communities will become less reliant on imported produce, and produce more and become more self-reliant," said Yakeleya.

Loosen up housing program

Nahendeh MLA Kevin Menicoche sought assurance on Wednesday that the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation would be more lenient with its rules on entering the homeownership program.

"one of the single biggest issues that constituents have raised with me is that the people that can afford it and have the good incomes, perhaps double incomes in the smaller communities, are actually being rejected from the applications because they are actually making too much money," said Menicoche. "These are the people that are hard working. They are able to make mortgage payments, and thereby the corporation would be able to generate revenue."

Housing Corporation minister Robert McLeod agreed that these people should be accepted into the program and advised Menicoche that he'd directed the corporation to be more lenient.

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