Mahsi, Madam Chair. I totally agree with the Member when he’s referring to the importance of having schools. They are the linkage to the communities. It’s also the centre of the overall GNWT goals and objectives.

The language is of importance, as well, where we have an Aboriginal Languages Strategy that’s before us and has been initiated by this group through consultation with over 200 experts around the Northwest Territories. We are moving forward with that. I do try to speak my language as well. I encourage other Members if they can speak their language, to pursue that even further in the House.

Another area that the Member has touched on is the importance of training. Whether it be the trades, having local journeymen in the community who can train those individuals, whether there be apprentices working under them or working in collaboration with industries at the community or local level. We need to have a working collaboration with the college, as well, because we do have those ticketholders, along with other departments such as PWS and local community

organizations such as the Housing Corporation and so forth.

What’s been brought forward is there have been a lot of opportunities that the Member has referred to. I’m definitely looking forward as Education, Culture and Employment Minister on how we can make those changes, working side by side with the college as we move into the 2012 new year and reflecting on the priorities and planning of this 17th Assembly government. Decentralizing was a key topic that we discussed.

I just wanted to follow up with a question to the Minister. For one, I think the community of Enterprise... I’ve raised this in the House with other departments, but I think this is more a designation for Education, Culture and Employment. The leadership of Enterprise have expressed that they want to see if they can establish a school in Enterprise. I think they’ve also indicated that they want to see if there’s a way to meet the governments half way. More likely my presumption is that there’s been some plans set in place in the previous Assembly and that the community is quite willing to discuss what it is that is possible in terms of perhaps establishing, maybe in addition to their hamlet office, more classrooms so that students could be housed locally, educated locally. There are concerns of putting all their children on the bus and then bussing them to Hay River on a daily basis. Has the Minister perhaps established communications or meetings with the leadership there to ensure that they work in partnership with the local leaders?

I’d like to thank the Member for raising that issue. He has raised that issue with us. We want to move forward on this. We did send out a letter back in the summer to Enterprise, to identify the process of establishing a school, the requirements that need to be met.

I’m glad to hear that the Member is referring to wanting to meet the government half way. Anything we can do to assist, my department will be there to assist the community of Enterprise to move this further along. It could be part of the capital projects as we move forward where the community does not have a school at this point.

Bussing those students, there are some concerns and safety factors that have been discussed with our department. We want to move forward on this and it could be attached to the hamlet office, as the Member has referred to. Those are the discussions and options that we need to have with the community. We sent a letter on the specific requirements on the process, so we’re looking forward to having that dialogue with the community again.

I have another. In terms of languages and culture, I know there have been efforts to try and ensure that the languages survive. I think over

the course of the past few years there have been efforts to try and significantly note the status of Aboriginal languages in Canada. You can only do so much. There are of course local initiatives but what’s more important, too, is just ensuring that parents and families do in fact try to teach their children to ensure that the language is kept. At what point would the Minister maybe designate languages going into extinction or going into decline? Just to ensure that it’s given priority.

First and foremost, I’d like to commend Fort Providence’s language immersion which has been very successful to date. I think that needs applause, a pat on the back, for sure.

We want to create more of those language immersion programs into the schools. We need the language speakers, as well, to become teachers. Every opportunity with the federal Ministers over the last four years I’ve raised that issue about the importance of our languages. We are losing our languages, especially in the Far North. The Gwich’in are losing their language rapidly. As for some of the languages such as Tlicho are still a bit strong, but we are losing our language to the little ones.

Language has always been at the forefront of our discussions with the federal Minister responsible for Official Languages, Minister Moore. We’ll continue to push that forward.

I would like to see language immersion in all schools as much as possible with the resources, with the teachers that we may have. We want to produce more Aboriginal language speakers as teachers to come out of the post-secondary schools and come back to our communities. This is one of the priorities of my department as we move forward.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. There are no further speakers on my list. Are we agreed that general comments are concluded?

Are we okay with moving on to detail?

We will bypass page 8-2 as it is the summary. If we could move to page 8-4, Education, Culture and Employment, activity summary, advanced education, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $1.401 million.

Page 8-7, Education, Culture and Employment, activity summary, education and culture, infrastructure

investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $12.344 million. Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just one quick question here. I see the Kaw Tay Whee School in Detah is up for some much needed work, renovation. There has been a concern about mould in that community. I’m wondering if that problem has been taken care of or is this the work that’s meant to take care of that problem.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Daniels.

Just to confirm that, obviously there are some health concerns and so on there. Can the Minister confirm that that work will finish up fairly quickly and take care of that problem?

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Madam Chair. My understanding is that through Public Works and Services and in consultation with ECE, this is an issue that they want to expedite as best as they could to remedy the situation within the school.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Page 8-7, Education, Culture and Employment, activity summary, education and culture, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $12.344 million.

Page 8-2, Education, Culture and Employment, department summary, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $13.745 million.

Is committee agreed that we have concluded consideration of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment?