This is page numbers 4023 - 4060 of the Hansard for the 16th Assembly, 4th 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 school.

Topics

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment questions on my Member’s statement on absenteeism. This is not an opinion. I’m seeking from the data that the Minister has access to, if the Minister agrees that there is a direct correlation between absenteeism and graduation rates.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, throughout this session and in the previous session, as well, we did share the highlights of the graduation among the aboriginal groups or even the northern students. It has been very successful to date. Yes, we are currently dealing with a challenge on enrolment and absenteeism in the schools, but we are developing a plan of action to deal with those matters. I did highlight some of the key areas we’ve initiated with providing worthwhile investment into the school boards so they can deal with those enrolment and absenteeism challenges before us. There has been some progress being made since September until today, Mr. Speaker. So we are making progress in this area. Mahsi.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Mr. Speaker, again, from the information that the Minister does have in the department, does the Minister agree that the more education a person has, the greater the potential a person has for employment and higher income?

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mr. Speaker, most definitely I agree that the more an individual has education in their back pocket, high school graduation and on to post-secondary and even to higher education. Of course, we want them to come back to the Northwest Territories and work for whether it be our government or aboriginal governments or municipalities. So we continue to invest into our SFA Program, our Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative area. So we continue to invest in those areas. Early childhood that we talked about earlier, we continue to invest in those important factors. Mahsi.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Mr. Speaker, aside from the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative and more money being put into SFA, is there anything specific, anything strategic that’s happening with the district education authorities and the department to address the issue of absenteeism? Thank you.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mr. Speaker, there are different education councils and also education authorities initiating their own practices to deal with the absenteeism. We just came from the South Slave school district where they had certain pilot projects that have been very successful and they are almost meeting the Canadian standards on the grade level. So I’d like to see in the next year or two the final results, hoping that we’re beyond the Canadian standards. Yes, Mr. Speaker, there are successful programs underway within each of the five regions. Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Your final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was on the literacy tour in the South Slave with the Minister. I think that all indications are that if the students were attending school better than 90 percent of the time, we would probably be higher than functional grade level, actually. Would the Minister look at re-profiling some money to address the absenteeism issue with the district education authorities, from the department to the district education authorities? Thank you.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mr. Speaker, I do believe this will be part of the discussion that the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative will certainly take into consideration, because they are dealing with the absenteeism, the enrolment issue, the functional grade level and the also the high school graduates we’re upgrading. Those are the discussions that are before them and they will certainly take those into consideration. If not, we can certainly discuss it as we go forward. Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today in my Member’s statement, Mr. Speaker, was the operation of fire departments in the local communities that I represent in Nunakput. Mr. Speaker, considering the volunteer firefighters are risking their lives for the service and protection of the communities, will the government develop a comprehensive checklist, whether it be proper valves functioning, breathing apparatus, heated truck facilities, proper safety training, a listed checklist to each community? Will the Minister commit to that, Mr. Speaker?

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Robert McLeod.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have an assistant fire marshal in the Inuvik region that would be more

than willing to go and visit the communities and work with them to do an inventory of the type of equipment they have and some of the training that they need. He’d be willing to do that and that would help the community identify some of their priorities. Thank you.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

In the community of Tuk -- I’ve been a firefighter there for over 20 years, Mr. Speaker -- we have no breathing apparatuses. We have six units that were there from the 1980s. The bunker gear is outdated, Mr. Speaker. We were at a fire about a month and a half ago. I’m asking the Minister if he could commit to find the funding and the financing to address these issues in all of Nunakput. Thank you.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Mr. Speaker, the allocation of money, we give all our money to the communities now and the communities will then do their capital plan and do their priority list. We’re having more and more communities now identifying some firefighting equipment, and their fire halls, they’re identifying those as part of their capital plans. So the Member’s communities up in Nunakput, I’m sure, once they work with the assistant fire marshal and realize what their priorities are and what equipment they need, I’m sure that they’ll take it upon themselves to identify those and start putting some money towards purchasing those. Thank you.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Mr. Speaker, during the transfer of the New Deal, it’s difficult for the smaller communities to catch up on these. There’s too little capital dollars given to the communities. Mr. Speaker, all we’re asking for in the communities that I represent is that the fire marshal goes up there and does a proper check, a checklist in regard to the safety of the firefighters and not only that, for the safety of the people. Can the Minister commit to me that a fire marshal will go to every community and check the facilities that are in the communities? Thank you.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Mr. Speaker, I have had some discussions with the assistant fire marshal and he’s aware of some of the community demands. He’s more than willing to meet with the communities, identifying some of their equipment, their priorities, what needs to be improved. They’re also planning on having regional workshops, where they bring the firefighters in from the communities and have a regional workshop in Inuvik. I think that’s a great idea instead of sending them a long way. I think we’d be able to accommodate more people by having it in the region. These are initiatives that he’s got on the go and I think they’re very good initiatives that would benefit the communities in the Beaufort-Delta. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Your final supplementary, Mr. Jacobson.

Jackie Jacobson

Jackie Jacobson Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That’s all good news to hear from the Minister. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister if we could do a joint letter to that fire marshal from myself and from him to get him into the communities to get this issue sorted out before a fire does occur. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Mr. Speaker, I will communicate to the assistant fire marshal in the Inuvik region the member’s desire to have him go into his communities. I’m sure that he will be well aware, after our discussion today, that he is needed in Nunakput. But I will communicate to him the Member’s desire and we’ll make sure that he gets up and works with the communities in identifying their firefighting equipment. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today in my Member’s statement I was trying to talk about the issue of solving some our housing problems. We’ve got one arm of the government trying to attract people; we’ve got another arm of the government of housing that likes to talk about how they work to increase the adequate supply and sustainability and, certainly, the affordability of housing, but we just don’t seem to have a conductor organizing this whole thing. Then comes along this committee called the strategic investment for cost of living. I think they could be the real focus of this and certainly the solution to this issue.

Mr. Speaker, speaking to the Construction Association, I think they are really onto something, a solution to some of the housing problem and certainly attracting people to the North and giving them the opportunity to an adequate supply of housing. I would like to ask Minister Lee, who is chair of that committee what is that Cost of Living committee doing to address the land costs to help provide adequate housing that is affordable here in the North? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister who is in charge of the committee on Reducing the Cost of Living, Ms. Lee.