Thank you, Mr. Cleveland. Mr. Krutko.
Debates of June 28th, 2000
This is page numbers 241 - 294 of the Hansard for the 14th Assembly, 3rd 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 chairman.
Topics
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 288
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 288
David Krutko Mackenzie Delta
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My question is in regard to the aboriginal language funding. A lot of these language groups have a lot of communities they are associated with, rather than just having some money to administer. Especially if you look at the Inuvialuit, they have six communities they have to serve for that program. The same with the Gwich'in, where they have four communities which they missed their program.
So I am just wondering, has that been taken into consideration in the calculation of how the dollars are allocated? It should not just be based on the assumption that it is per capita, but also the realization that the cost to serve the communities by the language groups has to be factored into the cost of administering and delivering this program. You are delivering it not just at a regional centre, but you have to serve your communities.
I would like to ask the Minister, has that been factored in with regard to how the money has been allocated? Could you give us an actual breakdown of how much of the $5,591,000 has been distributed by the different cultural groups?
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 288
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 288
Jake Ootes Yellowknife Centre
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The allocation of the funding, and we are dealing there with the funding for the language communities, which is different than the breakdown that the Member had requested, but the allocation for the funding for the aboriginal language communities is done by a base amount plus an amount for population. Thank you.
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 288
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 288
David Krutko Mackenzie Delta
I was just wondering if the Minister had some more information to add to that, because I believe he was looking at something else.
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 288
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 288
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 288
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 288
Devitt
Mr. Chairman, the $5,600,000 is the funding allocated to schools. It is allocated under the school financing formula. It is for language specialists, classroom assistants, which are allocated based on the number of aboriginal students in each jurisdiction or school.
As well, there is funding for the teaching and learning centres and for cultural programs and for interpreter-translator services. It does take into account the cost differences. Thank you.
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 288
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 288
David Krutko Mackenzie Delta
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. What happens in the case of, say, the community of Aklavik or Inuvik, where you have two distinct cultural groups, like the Inuvialuit and the Gwich'in, who make up almost 50 percent of the aboriginal population?
Are there two separate lumps of funding for the two groups, to ensure they are able to carry out the different criteria you mentioned?
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 288
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 288
Jake Ootes Yellowknife Centre
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The allocation is by jurisdiction and not by language groups, Mr. Chairman.
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 288
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 288
David Krutko Mackenzie Delta
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The concern I have is that, in the case of Aklavik, I know for a fact that the groups did not really get the amount that was allocated for their language programs, and the money was used by the education council, in which they used that money for other things than what it was specifically earmarked for.
So what kind of controls are in place to ensure this money is actually spent on the teaching of the language programs in our classrooms, and being used to pay for an extra teacher or counselor within the school, rather than having an actual person teaching the language in the school?
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 288
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 288
Cleveland
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The funding that is transferred to the divisional education council is then allocated to the communities, and the council does have the ability to make changes and adjustments in their allocation.
One of the reasons we have instituted the accountability framework I mentioned before was to ensure that DECs, in working with their communities, are reflecting the overall priorities as it relates to, for example in this case, aboriginal language delivery.
So that is one of the general reasons behind why we have put the accountability framework in place, although we do leave some flexibility for the DECs working with their communities to make adjustments. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 288
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 288
David Krutko Mackenzie Delta
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Another area of concern was the actual wages that a lot of these people were paid. They have gone out, have been trained to be in the logistic areas where they are able to speak the languages and teach the languages where they are certified.
Yet, they are not paid the same as teacher's assistants in the classrooms. In some cases, they are paid less than caretakers in the schools. A lot of them are frustrated that they do just as much work as teachers or teachers' assistants, yet they get paid much less.
Why is it that they are not certified under the same criteria as teachers or teachers' assistants?
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 289
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 289
Jake Ootes Yellowknife Centre
Thank you. I will get Mr. Cleveland to address this question. Thank you.
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 289
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 289
Cleveland
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I believe this issue came to our attention late last fall and around the Christmas period. There are a couple of points that are important. One is that we certainly encourage education councils and DECs to use a consistent manner and a consistent approach to treatment of staff.
Secondly, and this seems a bit contradictory, but it is the case, both divisional education councils and education authorities can hire people directly, and sometimes that does cause a bit of a difference in benefits.
This matter was brought to the attention of the DEC and the DEA and we have asked that it be resolved. I am sorry that I am not aware of the most recent events, but it is an issue we are tracking because of the concerns.
Committee Motion 10-14(2): To Defer Advanced Education And Careers In Ece 2000-2001 Main Estimates (carried)
Item 20: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 289