Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To continue on with the report of the Standing Committee on Social Programs in the area of the volume of income support cases in Yellowknife.
The majority of MLAs' time working on constituency issues is spent in helping people access programs like Income Support. Members have heard of delays in accessing income support in Yellowknife because of the workload in the Yellowknife income support office.
In discussions with the Minister, it became apparent that it was not a matter of an increased number of persons applying for income support, but rather a matter of the complexity of the cases of the persons applying for income support.
The more complex the case, the more time an income support worker must spend in dealing with the file. This makes sense to Members, given Yellowknife's tendency
to be a magnet community for NWT residents with health or social problems.
The Yellowknife income support office is presently conducting a review of its operations, and the standing committee would appreciate being made aware of its findings and recommendations prior to consideration of the business plans in September of 2005.
Aurora College Lease At The Northern United Place In Yellowknife
With the lease set to expire in August of 2007, there is a need to determine the adequacy of the Northern United Place as the home of Aurora College in Yellowknife. The department is presently reviewing its options and will have a report on Aurora College operations in Yellowknife ready in the spring of 2005.
Members of the committee would appreciate being briefed on this report when it is available.
The committee also believes that it is time to examine the role of Aurora College in northern society and hopes that the strategic planning exercise that is underway will take this into consideration.
Committee members look forward to further discussions on future directions of the Aurora College.
Teacher Education Program (TEP) Hiring
Members of the committee have heard complaints from constituents who have graduated from the TEP program or from the University of Saskatchewan and have been unable to secure meaningful employment as teachers upon their return to the Northwest Territories.
Committee members are aware that some education authorities refuse to consider hiring any graduates from the TEP program, and that other school boards have hired southern students straight out of university over graduates of the TEP program and the University of Saskatchewan.
This raises questions of whether there is a bias against graduates of our TEP program and whether the program is adequate.
Members understand that education authorities and boards have some measure of autonomy in deciding which teachers they should hire, but strongly believe that this "autonomy" must be tempered by adherence to their funding partner's policies and procedures.
The Standing Committee on Social Programs would welcome further information from graduates of the Teacher Education Program on their successes and failures in getting a teaching position.
The committee will also be following up with the department and the district and local education authorities, including the Yellowknife boards, to try to determine whether there are any systemic barriers to hiring the graduates of the Teacher Education Program to teach and to hopefully find some sort of resolution.
We strongly encourage all education authorities in the NWT to hire graduates of the TEP program to ensure that northerners are teaching northerners and to reduce teacher turnover.
Metis And The University College Entrance Program (UCEP)
Members of the standing committee remain concerned that Metis are not eligible for funding under this program. It is understood by the committee that this is a federal program administered by the GNWT on their behalf and that it is the federal government that determines the eligibility requirements.
The committee agrees that returning the program to the federal government is not a viable option, as it is doubtful that the program would continue without the GNWT's participation. At least in its present form, some treaty beneficiaries have access and can benefit from the program. It should be noted that the present funding is insufficient to meet the demand from qualified applicants.
Metis rights have been recognized in the Northwest Territories, and the federal government has also acknowledged their rights. What the federal government seems reluctant to do is acknowledge that Metis people should be eligible for the same or similar programs as treaty Indians.
The Premier and all government Ministers are encouraged to raise this issue with all of their federal counterparts to ensure that Metis aboriginal rights are enhanced rather than ignored.
Student Financial Assistance Remission Rates
The Standing Committee on Social Programs noted that the department has shown a steady increase in the amount of money booked for student loans that are forgiven.
This is a good news story as it means more northerners are returning or choosing to stay in the North once they have completed their post-secondary studies.
The committee will be watching to see if the department's projections bear out.
Full-Time Kindergarten In The Northwest Territories
There is more and more evidence that children enrolled in quality early childhood education programs do better in their future schooling. Those education authorities that have decided to fund full-time kindergarten out of their existing appropriation, have shown marked improvement in their students' academic performance in future years.
The committee supports this approach and believes it would be a strategic investment on the part of this government to fund educational authorities to deliver full-time kindergarten.
The Minister also supports this approach and is directing work on developing programming standards for a full-time kindergarten program.
Members look forward to reviewing the new goals and expectations that would be attached to a full-time kindergarten program and hope to see it included in the 2006-2007 Business Plan.
Western Arctic Leadership Program (WALP)
Members were pleased to note that WALP survived the cost-cutting exercise. The majority of committee
members believe the program provides a valuable outlet for promising students to reach beyond the opportunities available to them through grade extensions in our smaller communities.
It is important to note that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment is not responsible for the delivery or operation of the Western Arctic Leadership Program. In fact, it is run by an independent society, based in Fort Smith, and operates a supervised residence for students attending PW Kaeser School. There are several other departments and private industry partners that provide funding or services in kind to ensure the continued viability of the program.
The committee will continue to advocate for the Western Arctic Leadership Program's core funding from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to remain the same but notes it has little influence on the decisions made by other departments or industry partners.
Day Care In The Northwest Territories
Every community in the Northwest Territories has issues with the quality, quantity or availability of day care. In smaller communities, there is need for day care programs that will allow parents to take advantage of resource development employment opportunities. Single parents cannot contemplate taking a job if there is no quality day care available they can trust.
Mr. Chairman, the fly-in/fly-out nature of some employment and shift work has created a need for 24-hour day care in some of our larger centres. The level of pay that can be offered to childcare workers and early childhood educational specialists often pales when compared to the money that is being paid in other sectors of our economy. Consequently, the retention of quality staff is an issue affecting the viability of many day care centres across the NWT.
Members understand that there is an internal review of our day care programming in the Northwest Territories presently underway. This is important given the developments on the federal front, and Members look forward to being kept apprised of the results of the review.
There has been much made in recent weeks of the increased federal funding that will be available for day cares in 2005-06. When $5 billion over five years is spread out over an entire country, the likelihood the Northwest Territories will receive enough funding to meet our immediate day care needs is unlikely if it is based on any per-capita formula.
The Minister is strongly encouraged to work with his northern counterparts and the Minister from Prince Edward Island to ensure there is base funding on top of any per-capita formula. This is the only way any federal funding will make a difference in any of the smaller Canadian jurisdictions.
Mr. Chairman, I have two short items remaining in the committee's report.
Labour Standards Board And Enforcement
As part of the 15th Assembly's vision for the future, the issue of a stand-alone Department of Labour was examined.
At this time, the committee agrees with the government's assessment there is insufficient authority and activity to justify the formation of a stand-alone department.
However, the Members did support the transfer of the Labour Standards Board and enforcement functions from the Department of Justice to the Department of Education, Culture and Employment as a good interim step. It is important to note that no other Canadian jurisdiction had placed responsibility for labour in the Department of Justice. Moving departments does remove any perceived conflict in which the Department of Justice could find itself.
Infrastructure Replacement
The committee made note of this government's aggressive plan to replace or renovate aging infrastructure within the NWT. The department has targeted those schools that have outlived their usefulness. There is little choice but to make these crucial investments in replacing these aging schools now.
Over the next three years, this department alone will spend some $80 million on capital investment for schools in Tulita, Inuvik, Fort Good Hope, Gameti, Yellowknife and Ndilo. This level of investment is exceeded only by the Department of Transportation's plan to invest $140 million.
Mr. Chairman, that ends the committee report on the Department of ECE.