Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Moses.

Education

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Department of Education, Culture and Employment is responsible for employment and cultural programs, early childhood, primary, secondary, adult literacy and basic education (ALBE) and post-secondary education (PSE), and training in the Northwest Territories. The department shares responsibility for education with eight regional education councils and Aurora College, among other education and training delivery agents.

ECE has made uneven progress in its monitoring of early childhood education

Inspections of daycare facilities

Earlier in this report the standing committee registered its alarm at the Auditor General’s findings with respect to daycare facility inspections. The Auditor General considers ECE’s progress on these inspections to be unsatisfactory.

In the 2010 audit, the Auditor General reported that the Department of Education did not inspect all daycare facilities each year as required by law. The

department responded that this was due to a shortage of staff and committed to developing an electronic tracking and reporting function for inspections within its client management system (CMAS).

In the follow-up audit, the Auditor General found that ECE had started to develop the electronic system but had not yet been able to generate reports on the inspections. The Auditor General reviewed the two most recent inspections for each of the 121 daycare facilities in the NWT, and found that only 90 percent of the facilities had been inspected in 2010. The committee considers these results not just unsatisfactory but unacceptable.

The standing committee is extremely concerned that the Auditor General found “serious issues related to noncompliance with health and safety requirements” in some of the completed inspection reports with no record of follow up. Issues included locked fire exits, chemicals within reach of children, and uncovered electrical outlets. The Auditor General found that the department has no guidelines for following up on inspections when a facility is found to be violating requirements.

The deputy minister noted at the public hearing that the department has taken actions on the issues identified in the inspection reports and has started to develop guidelines to ensure daycare operators adhere to health and safety regulations. The committee considers this response slow at best.

Measuring the impact of early childhood education

Early childhood education is a particularly striking example of the GNWT’s overall problems with data collection. In 2010 the Auditor General reported that ECE was not collecting data on the educational component of daycare programming. The department had not developed a way for early childhood educators to share information with the K to 12 system on the progress of children entering school, nor had the department developed performance indicators to assess whether children who had attended daycare performed better than those who had not.

Further, ECE had not evaluated its 10-year-old Early Childhood Development Framework. After the 2010 audit the department committed to evaluate programming developed under the Early Childhood Development Framework for Action in the 2010-2011 fiscal year. The deadline for completing this evaluation was then pushed to early 2012. This evaluation has not yet been tabled.

In the follow-up audit, the Auditor General found that ECE had introduced the early childhood environment rating scale, used to determine if programming is improving, and completed 16 assessments using the scale. Thirteen daycare facilities had developed quality enhancement plans;

however, the department indicated that it is not yet in a position to revise its early childhood programming because it has not yet collected data on children’s cognitive development, language and communication skills, and emotional and social well-being.

While the Auditor General considers progress in measuring the impact of early childhood education to be adequate, the standing committee would like to see much, much more improvement in this area.

The 17th Legislative Assembly has placed great

emphasis on early childhood development. On May 30, 2012, the Assembly passed Motion 5-17(3) strongly recommending that the Ministers of Health and Education work together to bring forward proposals for a new and comprehensive early childhood development program to begin in the current fiscal year.

The Standing Committee on Government Operations endorses the recommendations of the Auditor General on the inspection of daycare facilities, and adds its own, with respect to measuring the impact of early childhood education. The committee is pleased that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment will now have the resources to implement these recommendations on the monitoring of early childhood education with greater speed.

Recommendation 7

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends:

1. that the Department of Education, Culture

and Employment address any outstanding issues of noncompliance identified in the current daycare facility inspection reports;

2. that the Department of Education, Culture

and Employment ensure that inspections of daycare facilities are carried out annually and that immediate action is taken for any identified deficiencies;

3. that the Department of Education, Culture

and Employment address the outstanding issues with regard to measuring the impact of early childhood education, including collection of data on the educational components of daycare programming, information sharing with the K to 12 system, development of performance indicators, and collection of data on children’s development and well-being, and that the department report on these measures annually in its business plan; and

4. that the Department of Education, Culture

and Employment carry out the renewal of the Early Childhood Development Framework in partnership with the

Department of Health and Social Services within the 2012-2013 fiscal year.

Monitoring of Education Councils

Twenty ministerial directives give Northwest Territories education councils detailed direction on the requirements of the Education Act.

In 2010, the Auditor General examined how well the Department of Education, Culture and Employment monitored councils’ compliance with the reporting requirements of the directive of an Aboriginal language and culture-based education (ALCBE). The Auditor General found poor information in reports and lack of follow-up by ECE.

The Auditor General recommended that the department:

• follow up on corrective actions taken by

education councils;

• develop a strategy and timetable for assessing

the effectiveness of education directives; and

• strengthen the reporting requirements for the

ALCBE directive.

The Auditor General considers progress on the monitoring of education councils to be satisfactory, and the standing committee encourages the department to continue its progress in this area.

In the follow-up audit, the Auditor General found that ECE reviews and provides feedback on some reports received from education councils. More follow-up is still required. The department has also established a schedule for assessing the effectiveness of directives, and developed a new reporting template for the Aboriginal language and culture-based education directive that requires more detailed data from schools.

Monitoring of Adult Literacy and Basic Education Programming

In 2010, the Auditor General examined how the Department of Education, Culture and Employment monitors Aurora College’s compliance with the adult literacy and basic education (ALBE) directive and found that many of Aurora College’s reports had limited data on results achieved.

The Auditor General recommended that the department, in collaboration with Aurora College, should:

• establish key performance indicators and

targets for expected results for ALBE programs;

• review the reporting requirements of the ALBE

directive to ensure key information is being collected;

• monitor adherence to reporting requirements;

and

• take action to improve program results.

During the follow-up audit, the Auditor General found the evaluation of the ALBE program is underway for completion by December 2011. The ALBE review was completed in December 2011 and was reviewed by the Standing Committee on Social Programs.

Although the department has not yet fully implemented the recommendations of the 2010 audit, the Auditor General considers ECE’s progress on monitoring adult literacy and basic education programming to be satisfactory, and recommended that the department develop implementation plans for the recommendations where progress is incomplete.

The standing committee concurs with the recommendation, but remains concerned about the measurement of results for the ALBE program. During the public hearing the department minister of ECE indicated that one obstacle to better monitoring and reporting in this area is Aurora College’s obsolete student record system. The ALBE review also revealed that the program does not have adequate financial information available with which to make more effective and directed programming allocation decisions, in part because of the inconsistent and non-standardized reporting systems that currently exist.

Given the continuing low levels of adult literacy in the Northwest Territories, and the relationship of literacy to many social and economic indicators, it is critical that the government’s funds be spent on effective adult education programming, and that the government has efficient and reliable means to measure program effectiveness.

Recommendation 8

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends:

1. that the Department of Education, Culture

and Employment develop implementation plans for the Auditor General’s recommendations on adult literacy and basic education for which progress today is incomplete, with specific goals, targets, action items, timelines for achieving results and indicators for measuring progress; and

2. that the Department of Education, Culture

and Employment develop and implement a plan for the improvement of data collection and quality, for adult literacy and basic education, student achievement and financial information in the 2012-2013 fiscal year.

I will now pass the floor back to the chair of the committee, the Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli, to conclude the report. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. Mr. Nadli.

Conclusion

The standing committee again thanks the Auditor General of Canada and his staff for their work in monitoring the progress of government organizations, and implementing the recommendations of previous performance audits. The committee also respects and appreciates the work of the organizations in making improvements in the programs and services for Northwest Territories residents.

Throughout the Auditor General’s status report the committee heard, again and again, the cross-departmental themes of inadequate information to manage programs and make decisions, insufficient monitoring of third party program delivery, and the absence of detailed action plans to implement audit recommendations. The committee would add a fourth barrier: That of the constant struggle to provide consistent guidelines and training for those who perform the task of data collection and program monitoring.

The committee concludes that the underlying issue is a need for greater GNWT-wide coordination in responding to these barriers. If people from different departments and agencies are talking to each other, perhaps someday the government’s management information system will also do so.

Recommendation 9

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the government provide a comprehensive response to this report within 120 days.

That concludes the report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations on the Review of the Status Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly.

Therefore, I move, seconded by the Member for Frame Lake, that Committee Report 4-17(3) be received by the Assembly and moved into Committee of the Whole for further consideration. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question has been called. The motion is carried.

---Carried

Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 93(4) and move

Committee Report 4-17(3) into Committee of the Whole today. Mahsi.

---Unanimous consent granted

Committee Report 4-17(3) is moved into Committee of the Whole for consideration today of reports of standing and special committees. Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Hawkins.

Mr. Speaker, I am completely surprised, but I am happy to help.

Electronic Petition Pilot Project Guidelines

The following guidelines were established for the pilot project.

1. The Assembly would maintain the current

process of paper petitions.

2. Electronic petitions could be used on their own

or could be combined with the traditional paper petition.

3. The electronic petitions would resemble the

Assembly website as closely as possible.

4. The Assembly would approve the format of the

electronic petition before it was posted on-line.

5. An acceptable petition must contain a proper

and respectful request of the NWT government or Minister to take or refrain from taking some action in response to an alleged grievance.

6. Aside from the petition format identified above,

Assembly staff would not comment on, verify or amend any information in the body of the petition.

7. As with traditional petitions, electronic petitions

require that a Member present the petition to the House.

These guidelines created as much uniformity as possible between the rules and the procedures already established for written petitions and the use of electronic petitions.

Conditions of Use

The following conditions governing the use of electronic petition websites were prominently displayed on the site:

1. A person may only join a petition once.

2. A petitioner must not use a false name.

3. A petition must be submitted in good faith.

4. A petition must not contain potentially libelous,

false or defamatory statements.

5. A petition must not contain matters protected by

a court order, subject to an appeal process or legal actions.

6. A petition must not contain material which is

commercially sensitive, confidential or which may cause personal distress or loss.

7. A petition must not contain names of individual

officials or public bodies.

8. A petition must not contain the names of

individuals or provide information which will easily identify an individual in relation to a criminal accusation.

Security and Privacy

The following security measures were implemented on the on-line petition site:

1. The petitioner must register on the site by

creating a user name and password.

2. The petitioner must supply an address, e-mail

address, town, postal code and country.

3. The petitioner’s name and community were the

only personal information available to the public when viewing an electronic petition.

4. E-mail confirmation was sent to the principal

petitioner to advise that the petition was posted and ready to accept signatures.

5. A limited number of entries for each Internet

address was permitted.

6. Electronic signatures were reviewed in order to

eliminate obvious faults, names and multiple entries.

7. For the purpose of presentation in the House,

the number of electronic signatures from the Northwest Territories must be clearly identified.

Statistics

The pilot project was implemented in October 2010 and ran until June 30, 2011. Year over year comparisons show that there is some modest demand for the on-line petition format in the Northwest Territories.

• In 2007-08, there were 10 paper petitions.

• In 2008-09, there were nine paper petitions.

• In 2009-10, there were nine paper petitions.

• In 2010-11, when the electronic petition project

was implemented, 10 petitions were submitted, of which half were electronic. Two of these were combined with the traditional paper format.

• In 2010-11, there were a total of 2,869

signatures gathered on petitions, just over one-third of which were electronic.

At this particular time I will be passing the report on to Mr. Bromley, MLA for Weledeh.

Mr. Speaker, thanks to my colleague for filling in as my voice gave out there.

Recommendations

In a jurisdiction so large and geographically remote, the standing committee believes there is value in providing residents with greater opportunities to interact with their government. The public appeared to appreciate and utilize the pilot site as one place to go to view or sign various petitions, offering greater accessibility and transparency to citizens of the Northwest Territories. No insurmountable concerns arose during the pilot project. The committee, therefore, considers that this Assembly should offer an ongoing electronic petition service and revise the rules of the Legislative Assembly accordingly.

Recommendation 1

The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that this Legislative Assembly approve the implementation of an ongoing electronic petition service to operate in conjunction with the traditional petitions, and that the electronic site be operational for the fall 2012 sitting of the Legislative Assembly.

Recommendation 2

The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that any necessary amendments to the rules of the Legislative Assembly to permit the use of electronic petitions be drafted and presented for the approval of the Legislative Assembly during the fall 2012 session.

That concludes the Report of the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures on the Introduction of Electronic Petitions in the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories.

Therefore I move, seconded by the Member for Great Slave, that Committee Report 5-17(3) be received by the Assembly and moved into Committee of the Whole for further consideration. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The motion is in order. To the motion.

---Carried

Mr. Bromley.

I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 93(4) and move Committee Report 5-17(3) into Committee of the Whole for today. Mahsi.

---Unanimous consent granted

Committee Report 5-17(3) is moved into Committee of the Whole for consideration for today.

Item 5, returns to oral questions. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am very pleased to recognize the following visitors to the gallery, the Coalition Against Family Violence members Lorraine Phaneuf and Annemieke Mulders; Samantha Dechief with the Status of Women Council; Jo Sobool, Salvation Army; Jean Basil, Native Women’s Association; Lydia Bardak, John Howard Society; Mira Hall, Centre for Northern Families; David Wasylciw, Men for Change, Northwest Territories; and Gail Cyr, our women’s advisor. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Premier McLeod. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I welcome all the visitors in the gallery and thank them for their patience. I wanted to recognize a constituent I had in the audience today, Ms. Mira Hall. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also would like to recognize the Status of Women folks here today, Lorraine Phaneuf, Annemieke Mulders; Jean Basil, Lydia Bardak and Gail Cyr, a resident of Weledeh.

Also, Mr. Speaker, I’d particularly like to recognize Majors Jo and Dale Sobool of the Salvation Army. Both of them will be leaving Yellowknife on Sunday to take their new posting with the Salvation Army in Penticton, BC. In addition to their ministerial responsibilities, the Sobools have, through the Salvation Army, managed the Bailey House, the men’s transition home, withdrawal management services, the soup kitchen and food bank, organized the Christmas food hamper drive and toy distribution, and made a superb contribution in their work with other NGOs and other community members and volunteers. Please join me in saluting them. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Dolynny.