Thank you. On the list, I have Mr. Ootes.
Debates of March 2nd, 1998
Topics
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Jake Ootes Yellowknife Centre
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just have two items I would like to ask a couple of questions on. Does the department now fund the NWTTA for their president?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1246
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you, Mr. Dent.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1246
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you, Mr. Ootes.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Jake Ootes Yellowknife Centre
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With division there is a likelihood, or a possibility, of the creation of two teachers associations. If that does come about, will the department consider funding, for an interim period, the positions, because of the smaller contributions being made by its membership and the viability may not be there? That would ensure some stable labour relations and, perhaps, contribute to the smooth transition of the two associations?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Minister.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is not currently in our plans. It would seem to me a very interesting situation if the employer was paying for the association's leader. I think it might call into question the independence of that position. I am not sure how appropriate it would be for us to take that responsibility.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1246
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Ootes.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Jake Ootes Yellowknife Centre
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I believe years ago that were the case, where the territorial government contributed through a grant system or some process. It was many years ago. The purpose of it being the viability of the organizations because they will be cut down in size substantially and the organizations may be pressed for funding if that happens, hence the reason for raising the concern in question.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1246
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you, Mr. Dent.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Perhaps the Member is remembering when there used to be a line item in the budget that referred to the NWTTA president's salary. That was recovered from the union. It was not ever actually paid, for at least 15 years, it was never paid for by this government. It was an arrangement that, while the government may have paid the salary, it was 100 percent recovered from the association. There has never, as far as we are aware, been a situation where this government has paid for the president's salary.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1247
The Chair John Ningark
Mr. Ootes.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
March 2nd, 1998
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Jake Ootes Yellowknife Centre
Mr. Chairman, just on another subject, I had asked the Minister about a week and a half ago about violence in the schools, just a question to start with. Does the department track incidents of violence centrally in one central location? Thank you.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1247
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Dent.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1247
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1247
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Ootes.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Jake Ootes Yellowknife Centre
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is of concern and I am sure the Minister is well aware of it through reports back to him. It certainly is of concern to the NWTTA. That along with the low morale of teachers, a lot of this goes hand in hand. We talked about it before in the House during question period. Could the Minister address this question again to keep tabs of the violence issues in schools? It definitely is of concern to the association. It leads me to believe that we cannot just leave it to the boards alone. While the boards, yes, have the responsibility of instituting policies and procedures, we should be very cognizant of it if it means teachers are leaving the north over it, et cetera. Thank you.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Minister.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have committed to work with the NWTTA to take a look at this issue and concerns the association has. I certainly do not find violence in the schools acceptable. I cannot say that we have a concrete answer for the Member as to what the approach will be, but we are certainly prepared to work with the association to see if we can, in concert with the divisional educational councils, come up with an approach that works in the north.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1247
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Ootes. Educational development. Mr. Erasmus.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to get back to the right to receive a good education which we have heard is in our act; also, to the fact that culture-based education has been proven to be much more effective for aboriginal people and, I suppose, for any race or culture, considering the fact that, at last count, there was somewhere in the neighbourhood of 4,000 aboriginal people in Yellowknife, making it the community with the largest aboriginal population in the NWT.
The Minister had indicated that people should become more involved on the parental advisory committees and run for school boards. Mr. Chairman, I would suggest that perhaps it is time to look at guaranteed seats on those boards, rather than making people run for office. I know that the Western Constitutional Working Group has been looking at guaranteed representation for the Legislative Assembly in future. If we can look at guaranteed representation in our constitution in the Legislative Assembly, it might be time we also did this, on a smaller scale, on the school boards. I ask the Minister if he is willing to look at this?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1247
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. The honourable Minister, Mr. Dent.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The current Education Act allows a fair bit of latitude for alternate governance structures in education. If a community petitions me for an alternate governance structure, it is something I can consider. There have been a number of communities which have petitioned to allow the inclusion of First Nations representatives on their district education authorities. In some of those situations, I have granted them permission for that to happen. There is a process in place to allow that to take place, if it is the wish of the community.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1247
The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Erasmus.