Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Utilization may not have anything to do with the need for a renovation of a facility. We have some schools in the Northwest Territories that are relatively new that are in very bad condition. We have others that are even older than the old St. Pat's that are still in use and have not been significantly renovated since they were built. It is difficult to explain exactly why one might be done in one year and one not in another. The utilization rate may not be relevant when it comes to talking about renovations to a school. There could be a technical problem. There could be a problem that has developed since the construction and perhaps it was a poorly-built school in the first place. That is always a possibility.
Debates of May 7th, 1996
Topics
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 258
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 258
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Henry.
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Seamus Henry Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Does the Minister have the information available now on how many communities presently have portables to house their students?
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 259
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Minister.
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 259
Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Mr. Chairman, we don't have that information available at our fingertips. It would be safe to say many. That would be a good answer. I am not sure if I can say most, but many is certainly the case.
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 259
The Chair John Ningark
Mr. Minister.
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Mr. Chairman, I forgot to indicate something. Mr. Henry had asked if he could have a copy of our capital priority ranking sheet. I would be quite happy to share that with Mr. Henry and any other Members of the committee who would like to see it.
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 259
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. I believe all Members would like that provided, for the record. Mr. Krutko.
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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David Krutko Mackenzie Delta
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My question is regarding aboriginal languages. There seems to be a shortage of funds when it comes to hiring individuals to carry out the teaching of these programs. Has money been allocated this year to ensure there will be aboriginal teachers available to schools where the curriculum is being developed or delivered?
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 259
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Minister of Education.
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 259
Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, perhaps I could ask the acting deputy minister to answer that question. I think he has more information on it than I have.
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 259
The Chair John Ningark
Mr. Colbourne.
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 259
Colbourne
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The major goal of the teacher training program in the Northwest Territories is to develop a trained cadre of aboriginal teachers who are able to deliver programs in the aboriginal languages. That's one investment that we're making in this respect. Also, in just about all schools in the Northwest Territories, we have a category of teachers called "aboriginal language specialist teachers" who deliver those programs, as well as classroom assistants.
Each board also makes available to community education authorities, local program funding which is for the purpose of delivery of Dene Kede and Inuuqatigiit, or parts of these particular curricula in the schools. Thank you.
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 259
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Krutko.
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 259
David Krutko Mackenzie Delta
Are you saying there is money available there to administer these programs for this fiscal year?
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 259
The Chair John Ningark
Qujannamiik. Mr. Minister.
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 259
Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's built into the formula. It's in different places, but the answer is yes.
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 259
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. General comments. Mr. Henry.
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 259
Seamus Henry Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There are no adult education centres in Wha Ti, Snare Lake, Rae Lakes, Ndilo or Dettah. There is only one permanent adult educator for all the North Slave communities. When literacy is such a problem, how does the department justify this?
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 259
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Minister.
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 259
Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Just a minute, Mr. Chairman, I want to provide some statistics in my response, which I believe are in my book here but I have to find them.
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 259
The Chair John Ningark
Mr. Minister.
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 259
Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Member has brought up an area of difficulty. He's right; if, indeed, adult literacy is a problem and if it is a priority of this government, it is a concern that there are a number of communities that don't have base-funded programs for adult educators. Unfortunately, given the fiscal restraint we are under, we have a really major problem in trying to expand. There are 58 communities in the Northwest Territories and we, for the past number of years, have only had adult educators in 35 of those communities. We do not have, within our budget, the resources to expand the number of base-funded locations. Given the fact that the colleges are getting a reduced amount of funding in this budget compared to last year, it's difficult to see how we can expand the locations of base-funded programs.
The college has been extremely aggressive, though, at finding third-party funding to deliver programs in communities where base-funded opportunities are not available. In the Dogrib communities, that has been the case. We will do our best; I have told the Member for North Slave that the college will continue to work very hard to locate third-party funding in order to ensure that we can provide as many programs as possible in those communities, in the absence of having base-funded programs there. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 259
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. General comments. Mr. Henry.
Bill 11: Appropriation Act, 1996-97
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Seamus Henry Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Aurora College currently operates a program called "northern skills development program." The program is specifically for students on social services. There has been $2 million allocated in the current budget for this type of program. There is currently a waiting list in excess of 100 people on social assistance in Yellowknife, who are waiting to participate in the program. I would like to ask the Minister of Education if the $2 million includes funding for Yellowknife programs and, if so, could you provide me with an amount for the Yellowknife campus.