Thank you, Madam Chair. Where I’ll start today is maybe on the topic of bullying. It seems like a timely subject to bring up today and, of course, now that we have the Minister and the officials before us.
I would say, I, too, would like to give compliments to the Minister, and certainly the staff that brought forward the initiative of the corsages. It was kind of a neat little touch and that went well for us to help support the youth, so I want to thank the Minister and the department for that. I think that was a nice thing. And, you know, those little things go a long way, you know, oddly enough, and it’s the little things that count.
The reason I’m bringing up bullying is because the issue of bullying legislation, and certainly, in some form, regulations, is how that will roll out one day. We look forward to hearing those details. I’d like to hear some details on where that initiative is going. One of the critical components, as we all know, is that this has to be done not in isolation but in partnership with our teaching organizations and our teachers, because they will be a fundamental component to the success of this type of program. I mean, we can make all the laws in the world we want but, I mean, they’re useless if they’re not enforced or are not supported. That said, it has to
be done in a manner that works with them, not against them.
I don’t see the teachers, in my view, if I may say humbly, as the enforcement, like the police of bullying. What we need to do is help give them tools that we can help support these types of initiatives. That may not be everything that needs to be said today on that topic, but it’s about tools and helping them and supporting them. We saw the outcry today. I mean, the Minister had his eyes wide open, the same as everyone else that is, in the manner of seeing how many young people were here today. It was very touching, deeply touching.
I can even tell you as a parent, as well as I know many people here in our Assembly here today are parents, and you hear your kids come home and talk about bullying and also you hear the voice of hopelessness when they talk about it. I can say even for myself, I heard my own son, the youngest one, say the other day how he didn’t want to go to school because of bullies. It’s not about my kid. It’s about everybody’s kid. I mean, how many parents like to hear that story?
School is supposed to be an exciting place to go. Maybe not on test day or, in my case, test result day or report card day as well. That said, school is supposed to be a wonderful time and it’s supposed to be embraced with great memories as we look back and say that was a happy, safe time, and that I want all students to look back and say those are memories that when times are tough they always look back, and I want those to be the memories that they remember and make them smile.
Another area I’d like to touch base on, again, briefly. It’s funny how 10 minutes goes by so fast. To no surprise, the Minister will hear me bring this topic up, which is Aurora College. Aurora College, I realize, is a capital project, but the planning starts with the seeds within the department and its initiatives. The ground breaking begins with the first pen hitting a piece of paper as a plan that develops an initiative that finds partners. I continue to raise this subject, and I wish we’d get to talk about how we get there. I know we don’t have the capital budget before us. That’s no illusion to me. I know we don’t have the, whether it’s 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 million, dollars to just say here’s the new campus, but it all begins with the first piece of paper. I mean, it starts with the initiative of drawing up a plan, bringing the discussion to the table, creating a roundtable. I mean, the Minister could do this if he really wanted to. It would be very groundbreaking to start this type of process off.
The fact that Aurora College needs an independent campus in Yellowknife can no longer be ignored. I believe we’re punishing the students in some form or fashion, maybe not formally when we think of the word punishment of the old strict ruler against the hand form, but more so in the sense of we’re
denying them educational opportunities here. We’re denying all Northerners educational opportunities by the constrictive sense of the building it’s in. It’s a good building. The building was built for a great purpose. It still serves a fantastic purpose of helping people.
But by the same token, the obligations of a government to think beyond its present circumstances is critical, and it needs to look beyond today and say where can we bring education in five years. They should be asking themselves why do we not have more southern students coming north to get educated. We have great programs we can offer. Why don’t we have student housing that has an excellent mix? And we could be doing all these things. Maybe not today, maybe it’s a five- or 10-year plan, but those plans have to start with the first pen to paper.
My colleagues, people like Mr. Dolynny, spoke well on film, and I won’t speak any further other than to say the industry tells me they are looking for grants and resources. Grants are more useful than tax breaks. Tax breaks only help if you make money. So it’s critical in that view.
As I mentioned, the other thing I would like to talk about is community employment initiatives created by the department. What I think is small community initiatives, employment initiatives are key to keep people healthy. We need people working, but they also have to be tied to education. I’m well aware that the federal government has recently allocated I think $8.6 million to education programs for adult eds who did not graduate. Yet here I continue some days joyfully, but on the other hand sometimes painfully.
I rail against the Minister of ITI about not living up to what I feel are true expectations or fulfilling the socio-economic agreements. I’m going to say he’s also correct: it is an adult education problem too. I didn’t even look up when I said he was correct. So I do give him credit for the fact that he is right, that it’s a component of the issue.
But we’re not here to talk about socio-economic agreements. Education is a critical component. I think enough has been said about inclusive education. I share the concerns that have been raised.
One thing that was mentioned, but I think was also overlooked, was there was discussion by you, I believe, Madam Chair, about the Languages Commissioner and the boards or the two boards that come together. It was my understanding that at one time it was suggested that the Languages Commissioner’s role be phased out. There was a package delivered to my office sometime late last year, sometime in November or into December, where it seems as if the Languages Commissioner is taking on the role of what the department should actually do. Although it’s done with good
stewardship and good intent, I feel the direction of it is…The Languages Commissioner is not doing what the commissioner’s job is directed to do by legislation. So although it’s recognized as important work to be done, I feel the role isn’t being properly fulfilled. That said, maybe the Languages Commissioner’s role either needs to be expanded, or needs to be examined at the very least.
To continue on language, the issue was spoken very well by other colleagues, but one of the things that I continue to see as an obvious problem – and I have yet to hear how the department is going to challenge this – is how is the department building partnerships with regional languages and regional governments. We put such importance upon language, we should be building fundamental partnerships with these Aboriginal groups who have Aboriginal governments. What better way to rebuild a language than building a partnership with these folks? It is in their very best interest to ensure the languages continue, and I certainly support that.
The GNWT cannot go it alone. We can’t be the only people trying to worry about these things. Yet we hear very little about the partnership other than us giving them the money. To support that, I support mechanisms that strive to keep these things alive because they are fundamental to culture. I recognize that as very significant.
I think I mentioned inclusive school, but if I didn’t, it’s important, and that hasn’t changed.
One of the things and another area I was kind of looking to hear more about was skill and training development. I think Mr. Dolynny mentioned trades. But when you speak to industry, they actually talk about wanting more skills and trades development done in the North to draw down on those critical skills. Ironically, I say more in the sense of surprise, because you are going against the old stereotypes where they are saying they’d rather have the women in trades because women do a better job. They are more reliable than the men, and I think it’s a demonstration that stereotypes need to be put away. It’s the women that show up to work, the women who do the work, and I think that’s great. That’s a great thing.
What I would like to see is more trade development. I come from a family that’s a blue collar background, and we were always taught about how important trades are. Here it is 25 years later from when I was finishing high school, and trades were almost an embarrassing thing to get into. Here it is 25 years later, and they are one of the most critical components where we’re lacking skills in that area.
The last thing I would like to say, and I know my time has come to the end here, but obesity rates in children continue to significantly rise. There are more reports in the news that continues to demonstrate this as fact. What I’ll leave as my last thought on this particular issue is that there needs
to be more programming to get kids active. The sad thing of today is the old Huckleberry Finn lifestyle of getting out and having adventures is long gone. It’s replaced by fast skidoos or Internet. It’s a real shame. Our kids have lost the joy of playing or lost the joy of activity or sports, and it’s a real challenge getting them out there. I wouldn’t mind hearing some thoughts on how we are going to get kids active and fight those obesity rates.
Madam Chair, my time is over, but I will have more questions and comments on specific pages. Thank you.