Page 9-18, education and culture, program delivery. Page 9-19, education and culture, grants and contributions. Mr. Braden.
Debates of March 13th, 2002
This is page numbers 597 - 648 of the Hansard for the 14th Assembly, 5th 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 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 639
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 639
Bill Braden Great Slave
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On page 9-18, I am wondering if the Minister could give an explanation of a couple of lines there. Under the program heading, there is a line indicating aboriginal languages for about $5.7 million. A little bit further down it reads culture, heritage and languages, about $2.3 million. Could the Minister explain the duplication? Why do we have two lines, both of them containing languages? What is the difference there? Thank you.
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 639
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Thank you. Mr. Ootes.
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 639
Jake Ootes Yellowknife Centre
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The $5.7 million is for schools. That is the presentation of language services in the schools for language instructors, specialists and so forth. The culture, heritage and language I believe is the program that funds the language communities and the French language funding as well. Thank you.
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 639
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Thank you. Mr. Braden.
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 639
Bill Braden Great Slave
Thank you. I appreciate the explanation. Could I get a bit of further breakdown on the line, culture, heritage and languages, $2,340,000? What is the breakdown there of the amounts going to the culture and heritage side of things, which is identified as a separate program and to languages? How much money is going into each side? Thank you.
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 639
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Thank you. Mr. Ootes.
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 639
Jake Ootes Yellowknife Centre
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will provide the contributions to the various areas: NWT Arts Council, $140,000. Those are grants made to individuals and small organizations for arts and culture. Then we have the registered heritage centre's core funding, operations contributions, $186,000. There is $58,000 to the Norman Wells Heritage Centre and $128,000 to the Fort Smith Museum. Cultural organizations, contributions, $259,000, and that is to the Dene Cultural Institute, Gwich'in Social Cultural Institute and so forth, the Inuvialuit Cultural Centre, the Metis Cultural Centre and the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre. Support for northern performers, for instance folk festivals and that, we provide an amount there. That is a total of $36,000 Mr. Chairman. Cultural project contributions $66,000, which is divided between the three regions of Fort Smith, Inuvik and North Slave. Then the Francophone Community Cultural Development programs, $145,000.
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 639
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Thank you. Mr. Braden.
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 639
Bill Braden Great Slave
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Doing some quick adding, I get about $800,000, roughly for culture and heritage and the balance, we are looking at about $1.5 million in language services. Is that about the separation, Mr. Chairman?
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 639
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Thank you. Mr. Ootes.
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 639
Jake Ootes Yellowknife Centre
Yes, Mr. Chairman, that includes language acquisition and maintenance of contributions.
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 639
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Thank you. Mr. Braden.
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 639
Bill Braden Great Slave
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On that same line, Mr. Chairman, we look at this current fiscal year, we are looking at about $1.4 million in the proposed budget. We are jumping to $2.3 million. I am wondering if the Minister could provide an explanation of where is that approximately $900,000 in new allocations going? Thank you.
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 639
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Thank you. Mr. Ootes.
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 639
Jake Ootes Yellowknife Centre
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That is an investment in language acquisition revitalization. It is part of the Language Strategy $919,000 in total, Mr. Chairman.
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 639
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Thank you. Mr. Braden.
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 639
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 639
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Thank you. Page 9-19, education and culture. Mr. Nitah.
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 639
Steven Nitah Tu Nedhe
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, as Chair of the Special Committee on the Review of the Official Languages Act I have been fortunate enough, along with my colleagues, to have travelled to different communities to talk to different people about languages. Language is extremely important and very high on the radar screen of the people of the Northwest Territories.
I do have some good news, Mr. Chairman. I have been in the schools where I have witnessed students able to read and write in their languages. Language seems to be coming back up and it is still a problematic area. We are still losing languages at 1 percent a year. I would like to ask the Minister if he would consider targeted funding.
Mr. Chairman, this is without taking away the existing funds that are going to the schools and/or the regions, language communities. The Gwich'in and the Inuvialuit language, for example, are very close to extinction. I think they need more help financially. Would the Minister consider targeted funding in areas where there is a danger? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 640
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Thank you. Mr. Ootes.
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 640
Jake Ootes Yellowknife Centre
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, we fund the language communities in the Northwest Territories directly with substantial funding so they can look at how to strategize, the most effective way to handle the payment and usage of that funding. What is, of course, in consideration by us is the Special Committee on Languages. We want to ensure that once the language report is issued by that committee, we can take into consideration how to approach language development from here.
We are proposing $919,000, Mr. Chairman, to address certain specific areas but I think it is important for us to ensure that we take into consideration that extensive work is being done by the special committee. I think we would count on the special committee coming forward with some recommendations that would play well into the whole program because they are developing the expertise in this area. Thank you.
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 640
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Thank you. Mr. Nitah.
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 640
Steven Nitah Tu Nedhe
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That is fine. Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask the Minister about the $81,756,000 that is budgeted for the schools. How are our schools funded, Mr. Chairman? Are they block-funded? Is it formula based? What is the formula based on? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Committee Motion 16-14(5): Recommendation To Track Student Debt Load (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 640
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Thank you. Mr. Ootes.