Good afternoon, colleagues. Today I’d like to honour the memory of a woman who achieved some remarkable goals, while grounding her traditions through her family. She left them with lessons of strength, culture, tradition, work ethic and “to thine own self be true.”

Nagooyoak Mabel Pokiak Lumsden was born on Banks Island, the westernmost point of the Arctic Archipelago. In her early years, she spent time between her family’s summer camp in Tuktoyaktuk and their winter camp in Sachs Harbour. When she was five, she was taken to the residential school in Aklavik.

She remained there until she went to Sir John Franklin, where she not only graduated, she went on to do something unheard of at that time. She left the Northwest Territories to attend the Winnipeg School of Nursing, where she graduated in 1964.

This remarkable woman had a favourite saying: “Imagine that.” Imagine that an Inuvialuit woman of her time went to university not once, but four times, completing four different courses of study in medicine. Imagine that this woman understood how important it was to share her traditional knowledge of hunting, trapping, dance and sewing with her family and younger generations. And imagine that this same woman could bridge two worlds and impress upon her family and friends the importance of culture and language while carving a life in mainstream medicine.

When we are privileged to have a snapshot of the life of a woman like Nagooyoak Mabel Pokiak Lumsden, we must honour her. Against all odds, she became the first Inuit nurse in Canada and had a strong and lasting effect on all she met.

Ms. Pokiak Lumsden was a role model for so many and her lessons live on through her family and everyone she touched.

Her achievements reflect a determined life lived on her own terms, understanding the value of education, never forgetting the importance of her family and culture, and sharing her experiences and

stories with as many people as she could. She was a true Northerner with a resilient character, determination and the drive to prove that circumstance does not always dictate direction.

Ms. Pokiak Lumsden passed away on August 6, 2012. We offer our deepest condolences to her family and friends.

Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, since the implementation of the New Deal for NWT Community Governments in 2007, community governments have been in control of their own infrastructure priorities. MACA has worked closely with the Northwest Territories Association of Communities and the local government administrators of the NWT to develop an accountability framework that emphasizes and reinforces the goals of the New Deal initiative and supports the Legislative Assembly’s goal of a strong North built on partnerships.

The framework is based on the five core areas of community government responsibility supported by MACA: good governance, financial management, sound administration, planning, and safe communities. It sets expectations for the monitoring, engagement and support the GNWT will provide to community governments as they go about meeting their responsibilities and it will help us to work in partnership to build sustainable, vibrant and safe communities.

The framework includes key indicators that measure the success and/or capacity of a community government. It provides information about why each indicator has been identified as important, a listing of potential outcomes that would be the result of successful community government performance in that area, and information about how MACA can engage with community governments to support their success.

The framework was identified in the department’s 2010-2015 strategic plan as an important tool for creating standard rules of engagement between MACA and community governments. We consulted with community governments, who were a key resource in fine-tuning the framework to ensure it works for both MACA and community government stakeholders.

The new framework will help the department target areas for training and focus strategic planning to better support community governments to achieve success in their operations. Reports will be an important part of MACA’s business planning and will allow for evidence-based decisions regarding community government’s funding and capacity building needs. They will also be useful for community governments in communicating with residents to ensure transparency in their operations.

MACA began implementing the accountability framework in the 2012-2013 fiscal year. A draft was circulated to communities at the NWT Association of Communities annual general meeting and will be formally circulated to community governments in 2013. The funding agreements provided to communities in June 2012 included reporting requirements that enable MACA to gather information to support the implementation of the accountability framework.

Implementation of the framework is also being supported through ongoing communications intended to ensure that the dialogue between community governments and the department is open and clear. The department will also be updating the community toolkit, available on the MACA website, to include tools and checklists designed to support communities as implementation of the framework progresses.

This framework will guide our future work in developing sustainable, vibrant, safe communities across this territory. I look forward to presenting it to community government representatives at MACA’s Good Governance Conference later this month. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister for Justice, Mr. Abernethy.

Mr. Speaker, sustainable, vibrant and safe communities is one of the goals of this Assembly. To help achieve this goal, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made it a priority for all NWT communities to have a community policing plan in place. Last year was the first year all 33 communities had dedicated

plans in place based on their own needs, resources and priorities.

These formal plans and the reporting structure were put into place several years ago. The difference the plans are making is evident. We now have communities participating in a full consultation to outline their priorities upfront. The second part of the plan requires police to provide a written report to the community leadership of their monthly results. This interaction fosters a situation where police are building trust within the community through accountability. The result is trust and respect from all people involved. This trust makes community police relationships stronger.

I want to give you an example of how community-specific priorities have worked. Every NWT community built the need to reduce drug and alcohol activity into their policing plans.

In Hay River the RCMP seized over five and a half pounds of marijuana. In addition, thousands of dollars in cash and many ounces of cocaine and crack cocaine have been taken out of the drug network. Charges were laid against 11 different individuals. We know these drugs were being transported across our border, as the majority of people charged did not live in our territory.

These results come by having people in the community working with their RCMP members. Something as simple as telling the police when an underage drinking party is underway can make a significant change in the amount of illegal drugs available in a community.

Last October a search at a home in Behchoko revealed a large quantity of drugs, over $7,000 in cash, and illegal liquor that was destined for smaller communities. This seizure is a step in the right direction to ensure public safety and reduce the negative effects of intoxication and addictions.

Check-stops by Tulita RCMP resulted in several seizures of liquor that would have been brought into the community, with total seizures for December amounting to a street value of over $10,000. Winter road check-stops will be continuing to keep the community safe.

For two weeks in December, Mr. Speaker, the Fort Good Hope detachment conducted several check-stops on the winter road that serves several communities. Over 80 bottles of liquor, valued over $7,000, were seized. The RCMP reported the community had a peaceful time with no calls to the RCMP for assistance for domestic violence, break and enters or other incidents, many of which we know are fueled by alcohol. We know continuing collaborative work between the RCMP and communities ensures the interception of illegal alcohol.

From these community leaders’ reports I spoke of earlier, Mr. Speaker, there is a section on Notable

Occurrences for the Month. In the Colville Lake report for December, it was noted that the community advised RCMP a person wanted on a Canada-wide warrant was in Colville Lake for the holidays. This individual was subsequently arrested and returned to jail.

The department is working with the RCMP and prosecutors to strengthen prosecution of Liquor Act offences through continued training of officers. We are continuing our educational and awareness efforts through the Not Us! program. I would be remiss not to mention the support we provide to community justice committees and victims services workers to allow them to continue their critical work in each community and with the RCMP members.

Mr. Speaker, as well as communities becoming involved with the RCMP, the commanding officer instructs members coming into a community for the first time on the necessity of engaging with residents through a local orientation program. This will assist members in understanding the cultural differences in their new home. A key component includes members meeting with both elders and youth in social situations. Although we can teach cross-cultural awareness in classrooms, nothing is as effective as firsthand experience.

I know all Members here will support their communities in their efforts to make a difference. Encourage people to speak up and work with the police to ensure priorities and the laws of our land are upheld. The results show it works. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know we can all agree that there are a number of benefits to having locally trained professionals work in our region that come from our communities. Students, schools and communities benefit from an increase in cultural sensitivity and gain knowledge of Aboriginal history, language, and connection to the culture. In the Sahtu we have some success getting residents into the Teacher Education Program and our efforts continue.

In 2009 the Sahtu Education Council brought forward a well thought out proposal to prepare students academically for entrance in the teaching profession. This access program, which can be delivered in the Sahtu, would be available to students and residents who are interested in furthering their education in this field, creating the

much needed resources in our region and, more importantly, role models.

I urge the Department of Education to invest in this model of training that will benefit our region and cut our costs to the education system. This initiative would involve the divisional education council, and ECE and Aurora College taking partnership in lowering the cost as well. That is one of our priorities: partnership. This model can be near a similar program that was held in the Tlicho region which, I might add, has been very successful.

From the proposal, I quote, “The Sahtu youth of this and future generations deserve to be in a learning environment where people of their culture are interacting with them in a professional, learning community.” These words are from the people of the Sahtu region. It is my hope that the Minister and the Government of the Northwest Territories hears them and facilitates making the proposal a reality for the residents of the Sahtu region. We are looking at doing that in the Sahtu region where we can have young students who are graduating from high school to want to become teachers. That’s something that we’ve been saying as leaders in this House, is to have our own people as lawyers, judges, teachers, doctors, and this is one proposal that will help them break that gap in ensuring our people have someone to look up to. We’re not going to be here all our lives, and we need young people to fill those roles and start having role models in our communities.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since this week is Education Week I would like to speak about the education system. Obviously, one of the most vital things that I think is part of the education system is our educators. We have some 800 educators in the Northwest Territories, and I think we need to take our time this week to recognize them and the hard efforts they put into our communities.

Yesterday we had the opportunity to meet with the NWT Teachers’ Association. They were able to provide us with information. It makes you think when you see the listing, in all 33 communities there’s at least one teacher. Even the small communities like Kakisa and Jean Marie River. They’re a vital part of our infrastructure in the Northwest Territories.

In preparation for making a statement on education, I was thinking, what do I want to say? I obviously wanted to talk about teachers. Personally, when we think of our lives growing up, we always have

teachers like Irma Miron for kindergarten, Jack Cooper for Grade 5, and then Mr. Gerry Goudreau for high school. He was a high school educator who gave me advice on where to go for university and stuff. Those are some of the people who influenced me in my life. I’d like to take the opportunity to thank the educators who are there right now working long, hard hours, grading papers and all this other stuff during their off hours.

In the process of this I was thinking, how do I thank them? Talking to the Teachers’ Association, they have a program that has been running for 16 years. I knew nothing of it until yesterday. I’m not sure why I didn’t know that, but it’s Thank You for Making a Difference. It’s a public awareness of the positive contributions NWT educators make to the lives of students. Every year they have students who put in notes about their teachers and the positive roles that they give them, then there’s a draw for some people to come in from outside of the communities to come to Yellowknife and they get to meet with each other.

Again, the whole concept is for me to thank the educators out there who are doing the hard work in the education system. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As mentioned, this is Education Week and I’d like to acknowledge the 800-plus teachers across the NWT working to make a difference in the lives of the students in their schools. I especially want to acknowledge the over 200 teachers and teacher aides working in our 14 Yellowknife-area schools.

Research has proven many times over that the single most important factor in a child’s success in school is a teacher who cares, but there are challenging barriers that are outside an individual teacher’s control, barriers that hinder and impede students’ learning.

In a recent NWT Teachers’ Association survey, two issues are identified by Yellowknife educators as the most challenging. The first one is that of class size and class composition. As a result of our Inclusive Schooling Policy and the wide array of special needs served by schools, the number of students in NWT classrooms has reached crises proportions.

Special needs in today’s schools include gifted students, students with many different physical disabilities, as well as the behaviourly challenged. As teachers work to address individual student needs, their job has become more daunting. Seventy percent of NWT teachers are impacted by increased student behaviour challenges, as well as

an increased number of students with special needs. In addition, 64 percent of our teachers state that they have inadequate classroom support and that the availability of trained or qualified classroom assistants is not keeping pace with need.

Hand in hand with the first issue comes an ever-increasing workload for teachers, a load that is not conducive to optimal learning conditions for students. The demands converge on teachers from a variety of sources: curriculum and program implementation; reporting requirements and administrative paperwork; breakfast programs; school-based program activities, extra-curricular options, and events; fund-raising; coordinating and organizing on-the-land programs; local, regional and territorial committee participation; in-service requirements; as well as an increasing commitment to community engagement and community efforts with the home and families. It’s a long list, Mr. Speaker. While teachers’ main goal is the success of their students, the ever-increasing demands on their time and energy cannot be sustained if we want an optimal learning environment for students.

Secondly, the NWT’s policy of inclusive schooling must be backed up with adequate student support if we are to meet students’ needs and help each child reach his or her full potential. Teachers cannot do it alone. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I, too, rise in recognition of Education Week and I’ll gear my Member’s statement towards that.

The Education Minister has recently mentioned his plan to review and renew our education system. I support this review and, I believe, it should be extensive. The practice of social passing should be one aspect of the review. It has long been a concern in the communities that I represent. The department has always denied that social passing is our policy, but it is a practice that some schools use.

Students are passed to the next grade, even though they are not ready academically. They move along in their age group, and quite often many of the rest are not ready to advance, either.

Poor attendance is part of the problem, as the Minister knows. He has spoken of it often, especially with respect to the Aboriginal Student Achievement Strategy. Some students miss so many days of school that it adds up to two years lost by the time they get to the end of high school. It is a rare genius who can skip two years of school and still graduate knowing all they were supposed

to learn. It is no wonder that many students finish school without truly being qualified.

I hope the Minister’s review will get to the bottom of it, Mr. Speaker. Why do students miss so much school and what can we do about it? Every school should have an attendance strategy.

I cannot begin to list the damages done by promoting substandard students through our schools, students who fail when they go to secondary school or fail when they get to college or university. I know that a good education is the product of partnerships with parents, teachers, students and everyone in the community. I hope the Minister’s review will produce concrete ways to strengthen these partnerships.

The traditional way of learning in most of my communities is to watch and hear how something is done, then keep practicing until you get it right. We have high standards and we’d like to see it throughout the whole Northwest Territories. Mahsi cho.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Eight regions, 33 communities, 49 schools, 800 educators, 8,350 students over 1.3 million square kilometres. This is, of course, the framework of our education landscape, and it is pretty impressive I must say.

Today we celebrate and give our heartfelt thanks to the profession that is the pillar of our education system, and I am referring to our teachers and our teachers’ aides out there. To be a bit different this year, I thought it would be fun to spell the word teacher using a few of the over 2,700 thank you excerpts from students from across the North who were gathered for this year’s Thank You for Making a Difference campaign sponsored by the Northwest Territories Teachers’ Association.

T is for thank you for always being friendly to me. E is for everything they do. A is for always fun to play with. C is for cares that I am safe. H is for helps me keep going. E is for eternally grateful. R is for respects who I am.

No matter how you spell it, we are very thankful for the over 800 educators in our schools who contribute so strongly to our healthy communities. On behalf of the Members here today, we salute you, the educators, the teachers, the teachers’ aides, and thank you as we strive to work together in the next couple of years in using new innovative learning approaches for our students and our

families across the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That will be a tough act to follow there. I, too, would like to stand before the House and recognize and appreciate all the work that’s been going on in the education area, specifically to the Department of Education on their new renewal strategy. We have some new staff in there that’s doing some really good work and I think we’ll see some good improvements in the rest of this Assembly as we move forward in the education system and deal with some of our challenges.

Specifically, I would like to thank all the hardworking staff at the Beaufort-Delta Education Authority as well as all the board members who make critical decisions into the education on how our dollars are being spent. I would also like to thank the District Education Authority for all of their support and hard work for families in the community of Inuvik, the Aboriginal student group that does a lot of work with the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative. They do a lot of work. It is all volunteer-based. They brought a lot of good recommendations forward and are trying to put those into action. We also have a youth council in Inuvik at the school that does a lot of really great work, and the Beaver Volunteer Program, these volunteers come from all over the world. In fact, some of them actually make the effort to stay behind and are very big volunteers in the community, not just at the school.

I’d like to obviously recognize the teachers and the educators who spend a lot of time with our students who help build them, help build their character, give them life skills so that they can succeed in the future. Specifically, we have four educators in the school system in Inuvik that two of them I know were there when I started kindergarten. I would like to recognize those educators, and teachers and role models who contributed to me being here today. They are Mr. Shane Brewster, who is a coach and role model in the community and the region; Ms. Bella Kay, who preserves all the traditions, cultures and language; Mr. Heath Israel, who was a really big supporter of mine in junior high and helped me get that extra level of education; and also Mr. Ross McCallum, who also has served a long time in the community. These four are prime examples of strong educators, role models and coaches who have committed their whole time to the community of Inuvik and the

people, the families and the students. I would like to thank them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is Education Week and we all need to recognize the value of an education. Many people need to recognize the value of staying in school and attending classes every day that they can. Parents need to set an example by showing respect for teachers and getting as much education as they can themselves. For many people, education is an opportunity to rise above alcohol and drug abuse. Education is critical to both health and employment status.

We recently learned that the Northwest Territories are not meeting their northern employment quotas. Low levels of education are preventing unemployed residents from taking advantage of job openings. That is a sad reality, especially for the people in small communities who really need those jobs.

We must also recognize that for some of us, getting an education isn’t very easy at all. The days of abuse and loss of culture in residential schools are, thankfully, over. I for one am glad to see the tragic history of residential schools recognized in the NWT curriculum. Students in Fort Providence and the K’atlodeeche Reserve have benefited enormously from teachers who speak their language, like well-known elder Margaret Thom and also Dorothy Buckley of the K’atlodeeche Reserve. But First Nations and Metis students are still challenged to get a western education while maintaining their own language and culture.

Later today I will have questions for the Minister on the subject. Thank you. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In keeping with our theme day today on education, I’d like to talk about inclusive schooling a little bit. Our policy in the Department of Education is to provide inclusive schooling so that children all be taught in the same classroom regardless of any special needs they may have. They attend school and are taught in the same classroom.

I have spoken to this issue in the House before and that is a very noble goal, but if the funding and adequate funding is not available to fund inclusive schooling, the results can be quite dire. The way in which inclusive schooling is funded is through a

formula and I believe that that is wrong. I believe that students coming into the school system, either starting off or moving into our school system from another jurisdiction, need to be assessed if they have special needs. If they have special needs then the funding should follow the student through their school career and this will avoid the hit and miss approach we take now.

I hate to see teachers under stress and, unfortunately, what I am hearing from teachers is, when they have one or more special needs students in their classroom and do not have the adequate support from inclusive school funding, the result is unhappy, not only for the special needs student but for the other students in the classroom, as well, and puts an extra strain and stress on the teachers, and it discourages me greatly when I hear of these situations occurring. What it will take from our government is a change in the policy.

The inclusive schooling budget, sadly, was also recently cut, which, if anything, there should be more money going into inclusive schooling and it should be targeted, it should not be done on a formula basis.

There is more funding for inclusive schooling going into some schools that don’t need it and less than what is needed in other schools. So it’s not a good way we are doing it right now, and I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment later today in question period on what we are going to do to address this, because I think this is an urgent issue.

I’ve talked to teachers who say that they are under such pressure to meet the varied needs within their classroom that they’re reconsidering a career in teaching. That is not a good thing to hear. Teaching is not an easy career. I admire teachers greatly. I know it is something that I could not do day in and day out. It’s a calling, it’s not a profession, and we need to support our teachers in every way we can. Lack of funding for inclusive schooling is not acceptable. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During this Education Week the buzz on the street is about the possible move towards educational reform. I’d like to inform the discussion based on the experience of Finnish educator Dr. Pasi Sahlberg.

When the Finns began retooling their education system 30 years ago, they didn’t set out to be the best, but today it’s one of the most successful public education systems in the world. They just set

out to make schools the best possible place for children.

Finnish education is based on three principles: all education is paid by the state, from preschool to primary through to university; every school is a “basic school,” similar and unified in programming through to Grade 10 so that everyone has the same equity of access. Laudably, the Finns insist that teachers be superbly trained, with everyone required to have a Master’s degree. The teachers’ education is rigorous. They also qualify as educational researchers. Although salaries are only average, teaching is a coveted job and highly respected.

Students don’t start school until age seven. Before that, publicly funded child care and early childhood programming emphasizes play and activity. Finnish schools are standardized test-free zones, with their first tests administered as they leave school. Dr. Sahlberg notes: students achieve better when they’re not fueled by fear of failure.

Student and teacher performance evaluations are done by sample testing and teacher assessments of pupils. Their government invests 30 times more in teachers’ professional development than it spends on testing its students.

Homework is minimal in early years to maximize play time, gradually increasing to high school. The emphasis is on development of thinking skills and personal strengths.

Putting student well-being and happiness first creates a dramatic reduction in drop-out rates and world-class increase in success rates. Education helps students identify and develop their personal strengths. The philosophy is not to equip students to get a job, to produce credentialed workers, but to prepare people to meet the challenges of life, including employment.

Finland set out three decades ago to create a school system aimed at equity and built one of the most successful systems in the world. Will this government consider these clear lessons in any reform of our NWT school system?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Many schools, including those in Yellowknife, are shortchanged when it comes to support in funding for inclusive schooling. This is the practice of including all students with special needs in regular classes and providing the extra support they certainly need and deserve.

Yellowknife schools are attracting special needs students from far and wide. Why? Because it’s a clear demonstration of the good quality schools we have here. As well, sometimes the families need to come to Yellowknife for the other services, which include health care, respite and counselling.

Insufficient support for inclusive schooling is a real fallout for all students and teachers. Similar to Mrs. Groenewegen’s statement, classrooms are disrupted and certainly learning is slowed down. No one is benefitting from this funding shortage because the workload for those teachers increases. It’s not the students’ fault, it’s the department’s fault for not supporting our teachers and our schools.

Poor support for inclusive schooling is probably a factor of overall student achievement. My thought is we all agreed that was one of our biggest priorities. There are several problems with funding for inclusive schooling. One is the funding formula and, as Mrs. Groenewegen highlighted, it’s important that maybe we start attaching it to the student, not just throwing gobs of money to a school board and asking them to allocate, which doesn’t spread fairly. There have been cuts to inclusive schooling and I think that’s a real shame. It should be a black spot on our mark as a government going forward.

It’s not too late. This government could wake up and get attention to this issue that needs special attention. As it turns out, the situation can be saved, but I think it’s unfair to schools like here in Yellowknife and other regions that are attracting these students that need higher staff ratios for them to participate fairly. We’re not talking about subtle differences here. We’re talking about sometimes it’s as high as 20 percent higher in student ratios, which is unfair to the school board that must try to cope and deal with these situations.

The system needs funding for inclusive schools to change. I can’t repeat this enough. I, like other Members such as Mrs. Groenewegen, believe that inclusive schooling funding for students needs that extra oomph and it can only be done by attaching it to the student, as she said and I continue to repeat.

An exclusive education policy is absolutely meaningless if this Minister and this government doesn’t step up to the plate and finally put the responsible resources behind them. If we want to support our educators and our board, this is when this government must finally heed the call of these teachers, these school boards, these trustees. By giving them the responsibility and respect that they deserve, fund them properly.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. I’d like to thank my teachers, I guess, back home who had an influence in my life. Ms. Janie Jones back home in Tuk, still teaching there for the last 30 years. Ms. Anne-Marie Cameron, my Grade 5 teacher. She really did a lot of work with me that year, for the best. I’d like to thank my old principal, Mr. James

Anderson, and my old high school teacher, Mr. Grant Gowans. Thank you, colleagues.

Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to welcome Weledeh resident Madeline Holloway, daughter of Chris and Claire, and also her aunt Amanda Mallon, all residents of Weledeh.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize two Pages: Jaida Edjericon and Walker Adjun, both from St. Patrick High School, here with us paging for the Legislative Assembly. I’d like to welcome them and recognize all the good, hard work that Pages put in to provide for the House. Also to the visitors that we have in the gallery, happy Education Week.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a couple of local Yellowknife educators who are with us in the gallery. Bernie Giacobbo, who is the assistant superintendent for Yellowknife Education District No. 1, Gayla Meredith, who is president of the NWT Teachers’ Association. Another educator who is now working in a different field, my constituency assistant, Amanda Mallon, and her niece Madeline Holloway. Welcome, all.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to acknowledge a constituent of mine, Bernie Giacobbo. As Ms. Bisaro pointed out, he is the YK1 assistant superintendent and he is doing a great job over there.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Shirley Firth, a long-time Olympic athlete and also a recipient of numerous awards, including the Aboriginal Achievement Award.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Colleagues, I’d like to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of my executive assistant and good friend, Shirley Firth-Larsson.

Shirley was among the first Aboriginal women to compete in various international cross-country ski competitions, including four World Ski Championships in 1972 to 1984. Shirley represented Canada in four consecutive Winter Olympics, a streak only equalled by speed-skating legend Gaetan Boucher.

Her career was an outstanding testimony to the dedication displayed by her in achieving a level of excellence very rarely attained by any athlete in the country. Shirley was a member of Canada’s National Cross-Country Ski Team for an unprecedented 17 consecutive years, competing at the top of the World Cup circuit.

Shirley competed in four World Ski Championships and four Olympics, won 42 Canadian National Championship medals: 29 Gold, 10 Silver and three Bronze.

Shirley was awarded with the Northwest Territories Commissioner’s Award, the Order of Canada, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award, the National Aboriginal Achievement Award and the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Award. She was inducted into the Canadian Museum Ski Hall of Fame and inducted in the Banff Sports Hall of Fame.

Shirley, it is an honour to work with you. Please join me in welcoming my executive assistant, Ms. Shirley Firth-Larsson, into the House today.

---Applause

Thank you, colleagues. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Recently, there was a reduction in the funding allocation for inclusive schooling. I would like to ask the Minister what his department plans to do to ensure adequate funding with a proper targeting and resourcing of assistance for children with special needs in our classroom.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Part of the plan, as we move forward, is to re-evaluate our interest in schooling, the funding that’s been distributed to all school boards. Part of the planning is to develop a comprehensive engagement plan. We’d like to hear from the stakeholders and professions, educators, the people that are involved, the resources. Based on the outcome of the report, the recommendation, we’ll more than likely come back here to standing committee to make a presentation. If we’re going to make some changes, then, of course, there’s also a cost factor. I will be tabling that document in the House and sharing that with the standing committee.

Not only are there inadequate resources for inclusive schooling, but the way that the inclusive schooling funding is distributed, I believe, is premised on a wrong approach. I would like to ask the Minister if he’s aware of how other jurisdictions fund inclusive schooling if they have inclusive schooling policies, and do we have examples where the inclusive schooling funding follows a student and is not provided through a formula.

We’ve done some of the research throughout the other jurisdictions. It varies. There is different programming in other jurisdictions. Some sponsor students through various grades one on one, individual assessments. They do a student assessment. In the Northwest Territories we use a different approach. The whole comprehensive, I want to listen to the people. Especially the educators, the parents are involved, how we can upgrade or enhance our existing programming. Those are some of the fundamental changes we can foresee. We are doing a lot of research with other jurisdictions. We have contacts with other educators throughout Canada. Even my colleagues across the country here in Canada. We want to have the best practices, follow that lead. That is the information we will be sharing with the standing committee.

When the Minister says that he wants to hear from educators, we have a rather strange policy that doesn’t apply to anyone else in the public service but to educators. We seem to have some kind of a commitment that’s made to not speak to the challenges and issues that they face, outside of maybe speaking to their superiors within the school system. It is not often that you formally ever hear of a teacher complain about anything, because there is some other rule, which I’ve never really been able to understand or get to the bottom of, that they are not to discuss this. How would the Minister, I want him to hear from educators. I want him to not just hear from administration, not just the heads of schools, I want him to hear from front-line educators on this issue of inclusive schooling. How does the Minister propose to achieve that?

I agree with the Member that we need to hear from those individuals that are front-line teachers, because they are the ones who are exposed to the special needs children in our school system. I’m sure they have ideas and suggestions that we can work with. My department will be reaching out to those individual teachers that are front-line workers, not only administrators. I agree; we need to reach out to beyond administrators, similar to what we have done in the past with various initiatives that we have undertaken re-evaluating programs.

Since I’ve taken on the role as Minister of ECE five years ago, we’ve been undertaking various initiatives, re-evaluating and reaching out to the grassroots people. I think those are the individuals who are heavily impacted and we want to listen to them. That’s the area we are pursuing.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Although I disagree with the premise on which inclusive schooling funding dollars are distributed, we’ve had a cut, a loss of $1 million in the inclusive schooling budgeting.

Can the Minister tell me if there is any way the Department of Education, from within, could find the $1 million to reinstate that until such time as this survey, study, consultation process that he’s talking about has taken place? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we have to go through the process. We’re re-evaluating a program, inclusive schooling. Based on that, there’s going to be a business planning process. In the meantime, we’re continuing to work with what we have in our budget, but rest assured that these are some of the changes that we’ll probably foresee within inclusive schooling, based on what we’ve heard from the general public, the professionals and the educators, and then we’ll come back to the standing committee to update them on the status. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I spoke about social passing that’s happening in our schools. As I travel in my constituency, many parents raise concern about that. I know that there is a practice out there and I’d like to ask the Minister of Education, why is our education system allowing social passing. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Peer passing is part of the school system within our education system, where individuals are passed through grades to be with their peers. There has been a lot of research done in this area. We’ve done a lot of consultation and engagement with the various stakeholders not only in the Northwest Territories but outside. We have individual experts in that field who gave us presentations that said that there are stats out there and that peer passing is one of those fundamental ways of dealing with children, whereas frustration kicks in and so forth.

We’re doing what we can with additional support to the parents and to the students as well. Those are just some of the areas where we are currently working with. Mahsi.

I know that this might have been a passing fad 10 or 15 years ago when they introduced it, but it’s not working.

I’d like to ask the Minister, does he have any statistics or can he show any productive results that show that peer passing is working in our system. I know that the parents who approach me say it’s not. Thank you.

I certainly will share the stats and information that we’ve received from the experts over the years. They are telling us that peer passing is the best way to approach these students. Not only that, research that we’ve done, stats address those areas as well.

The peer passing, when we talk to parents or parents talk to us, there are some mixed messages. Some are in favour; some are not in favour. Based on that, we’ve done some additional research throughout Canada and even throughout the States. I will be sharing that information with the Members. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

I know that we have a huge opportunity to review social passing or peer passing strategy. How extensive will the review of the education system be when the department undertakes the additional review? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we’re currently doing an educational review. It is complex. When we talk about the overall review of the NWT education system, that means we have to amend the Education Act. There’s going to be engagement with the general public, as well, and then also the MLAs to provide their input where the changes should be occurring.

With inclusive schooling, there’s a comprehensive study that’s going to be happening, engagement, and also education renewal. That’s going to be slated for this fall. I’m hoping to complete it by this fall so I can present it to the standing committee and before this House as well.

It does cover all areas. There are six pillars within education renewal and I can certainly share that detailed information with the Members as well. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Just in terms of the review, I know that there are some successes from the Aboriginal Student Achievement Strategy, and if the Minister will review that, as well, and take some of the best practices. I know my colleague Mr. Bromley brought up an excellent program out of Finland. I just want

to know how extensive this review will be. Will it be just internal? Will it be looking at other jurisdictions in Canada? Will it be looking at other jurisdictions throughout the world? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it will be extended out to other jurisdictions as well. We’re doing research in this area from our counterparts across the country, and not only that but with ASA what we’ve heard from the general public, and through addictions there’s the forum that’s happening. There are all these different forums that are currently occurring in the Northwest Territories. We’re hearing the same common thing. Based on the six pillars I addressed earlier, system accountability; professional capacity, that deals with the teachers and educators; assessment practices, so based on the various assessments within the school system; small community schools and most isolated communities as well; and early childhood development research. Those are the key factors I will be taking into consideration within the renewal. I’m really looking forward to the outcome from the stakeholders’ input. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also would like to focus my questions to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Last year CanNor announced $6.8 million in support of adult literacy and basic education programs by Aurora College, with $2.5 million earmarked for this fiscal year. Promised programs included hiring of adult learning basic education instructors, trades access program funding, community basic education learning opportunities and a focus on short courses towards essential skills.

Can the Education Minister give a summary of programs delivered this year and whether all the federal funds will be productively expended as budgeted? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, any funding that we get is very much appreciated. CanNor funding has been allocated to the Northwest Territories through the Aurora College campus. We are going to utilize all of it to the best of our ability. Any funding that we receive, we need to exhaust all avenues.

We’ve been working closely with the college to identify what they’re planning to deliver, when it’s going to be delivered, how much it is going to cost, how ECE can get involved in that, how the community can get involved. It all takes partnership.

It’s not only the college that will be delivering, but with the assistance of ECE and the assistance of the community. The community has to come on board as well. They are the true partners. They have the facilities in the communities. They have the resources in the communities and the people.

I can say at this point that we’re going to be exhausting the funding that’s available to us through those venues, through the various partnerships. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks for the Minister’s comments there. I hope the Minister will report to committee on what was achieved with the $2.5 million expenditure this year.

Funding is aimed at upgrading people who lack basic skills to get them to the point where they can enter regular courses or get entry-level jobs. These are often people who didn’t complete school but could get back on the road with a little help.

Unfortunately, ALBE and upgrading students are not eligible for student financial assistance. SFA, as it’s called, recognizes that people going to college and university need room and board, but apparently ALBE students don’t have these needs. With all this programming being funded to get people back to school, why is student financial assistance not available to adult learning basic education students? Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, this is one of the recommendations brought to our attention during the SFA review. We are currently reviewing it, how we can best fit it into our programming. As you know, there have been several recommendations that were brought to our attention from the general public. We have initiated three or four of them already as a priority set by our government and also the general public, which is the most pressing need. It is before us and we are evaluating that.

You can rest assured that there are other fundings available, whether it be Labour Market Agreement. Individuals who do not qualify for EI can get trained. If those individuals want to upgrade, they go through various upgrade training programs and get ready for the workforce. There is also the ASETS program in the community. All of these different programs in the communities, as I stated, we need to work with them, the college, ourselves, ECE and also the communities. The more, the merrier; the bigger pot it is to train more manpower for the workforce. Those are areas we are continuing to work on with the communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Minister once again. We have indeed had several reviews that have recommended that this funding be extended to adult learning and basic education students. We’ve received $8.6 million new funding

to concentrate on upgrading and adult learning. Obviously, we want the intake of these students. It is also obvious that they need shelter and food as much as college and university students. The Minister recognizes these recommendations and mentions that there are many other programs.

Will the Minister act on the recommendations of the SFA and the ALBE program reviews, taking into consideration what else is available to make sure and bring forward a program for supporting ALBE students as these recommendations suggest? Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, as I stated, there are other programs that can support these ALBE students. We’ve done that in the past. Some students can qualify for three or four different programs. SFA may not qualify for that, but at the same time, the Labour Market Agreement and other agreements are out there that can qualify. Those individuals can qualify. We also work with the Mine Training Society that delivers, whether it be underground training or surface training and various training initiatives, HEO and so forth. Those individuals qualify for training funds through my department and other various departments, as well, even at the community level. I can share the list of potential sponsorship that may be available to those individuals that want to get trained. Mahsi.

Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. This government talks fiscal restraint in the first two years of the mandate, before program expansions in the third and fourth years. We will have $4 million more in our federal ALBE funds to coincide with our return to funding, apparently, in response to human needs.

Again, will the Minister advance his case to provide the essential complementary support to make sure there are no gaps in these various programs of support for ALBE students? Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, a short answer will be that we are going to address all of those gaps that may be available in between various funding. We need to identify those. Again, I will be sharing that information with the Members. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Justice. I want to commend him and the work that his community have been doing in terms of making all of these drug busts and bootlegging busts in the

communities; actually, more involved with the Not Us! campaign and empowering our residents to speak up in the communities and get justice where it needs to be. I commend the hard work that the department is doing with this program. Specifically to the Not Us! program, I believe it is probably in its third year now of running.

I just want to ask the Minister, with the success of this program, is the Minister going to be allocating any new dollars in the future for this program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Not Us! program is actually quite a successful program. We have it in 20 out of the 33 communities. It starts with a $10,000 start-up and a $5,000 ongoing fee or ongoing allowance to help maintain the program. Right now we have enough money in the budget to cover the communities and there is no plan to increase the allocation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I was going to ask how many communities are receiving funding and the Minister answered that. We have 13 other communities that can potentially have alcohol and drug-related problems. I want to know – and the Minister did state that he has enough funding to cover the communities that we have now – what about these 13 communities that continue to have these issues. How is he going to address those issues if he’s not committing any other funding?

Can the Minister let me know, and let the government know, and people in these other 13 communities, how is he going to address empowering the residents to speak up specifically for the Not Us! program in these 13 communities? Does he have a plan to address them? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, the program starts off with a $10,000 initial payout and then $5,000 in subsequent years. Because we haven’t had all 33 communities come on at one time, they have been coming at a staggered approach, the budget that we had is, actually, we are able to use that to cover the $10,000 where a few communities start in a year and then the rest are $5,000. So we actually have enough money to maintain them. Right now, as of January 13th , we have three more communities who

have indicated a desire to start a Not Us! campaign. That is Fort Simpson, Norman Wells and Tuktoyaktuk. Currently, they don’t have programs, but they’ve expressed an interest and we’re going to move forward with them to get them started up. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to seeing reports on how successful this program is. Is the

Minister going to be doing a report on this Not Us! program? If so, when will the standing committee see the report on the Not Us! program and the effectiveness of this program, as I am sure did help in a lot of the statements that the Minister said earlier? Will we be seeing a report? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the department is actually currently developing an evaluation framework to assess the success of the campaign and to inform future direction on the program. I don’t have a timeline for it, but I will commit to getting you some additional information during this sitting so that we can have an idea when that evaluation framework will be in place and when we can actually expect to see results. Of course, I am happy to share any results that we come forward with, with committee and with the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Being one of the volunteers that helped start up the Not Us! campaign in Inuvik and get the funding for it, I know how successful this program can be in empowering our residents, our students, our teachers, everybody that works with children and works in the community. Specifically, there is a very successful program called the Lights On Program that happens that we do in Inuvik but we don’t have the funding to keep it on or provide a safe environment for students in the school.

Would the Minister look at specific funding for the Lights On Program outside of the Not Us! funding? A lot of the committees are using the Not Us! funding for that specific program which is very successful as well. Can the Minister let me know if he would be looking at allocating specific funding for the Lights On Program? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I’m not familiar with that particular program, but I would love to sit down with the Member and have him educate me on the program. As far as funding goes, it’s hard to commit funding when I have no idea what the program is. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand we’re doing all we can to advance the educational goals in the NWT. Current core values of the education system work to ensure that we have educated and well-trained professionals in the Northwest Territories. Recently, advances have

been made in terms of trying to be inclusive in respecting First Nations’ culture and values and principles in the educational system.

My question to the Minister is: What is the department doing to promote the philosophy of strong like two people in addressing educational needs of the Northwest Territories residents? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. There are two parts to this within our educational system. First and foremost is the students-on-the-land program. I’ve given directive to the school boards to conduct on-the-land programs specifically. We provide money for that and it’s been very successful to date. So elders take students on the land, it’s all in their language and on the land, and in a classroom as well.

The other side of the coin is that educators themselves, through the access program, the TEP program, we’ve incorporated the cultural base, spirituality, as well, through the Behchoko Access TEP program and we’ve conducted one in the Beaufort-Delta, now on the Hay River Reserve and others are coming into the regions as well. So we are incorporating those important elements to this programming, whether it be for the students or whether it be for the teachers. Everybody should be fully aware of that. Mahsi.

Thank you. What plans does the department have for increasing the number of Aboriginal northern teachers, especially in the Deh Cho and South Slave regions? Mahsi.

Mahsi. Part of our goal is to produce as many language speakers becoming qualified teachers, whether it be in the Northwest Territories or from outside the Northwest Territories, because we have a lot of our people for the North attend southern post-secondary. We want them to come back. A lot of them do speak their language as well.

So those are some of the priorities that we have in Education, Culture and Employment, to produce those qualified people that can come back and teach the children in our school system the language. As you know, the various languages we’re losing, Gwich’in is a prime example. So we’re doing what we can to produce those teachers. That’s why we started this access program, the TIPP program into our communities, into our regions and we’re going to spread it out to all regions as best as we can. Mahsi.

Thank you, I’d like to thank the Minister for that. What plans does the department have for engaging parents, especially Aboriginal parents, in the education of our youth? Mahsi.

Mahsi. That’s an excellent question. That’s the same theme, a common theme that we’ve heard through the elders’ gathering, part of the Early Childhood Development Framework and through the stakeholders, as well, also through the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative. How can we involve the parents, the grandparents? So now we’re developing plans towards that. Even through the Early Childhood Development Framework I work closely with Mr. Beaulieu, Health and Social Services, how can we engage those parents. So that’s a key factor in our discussions and the parents will be involved. In what capacity? Working probably with the teachers, working with the elders, working with the students and helping out, maybe tutoring, or any roles and responsibilities that are available. So we’re doing what we can as a department and we are working closely with the school boards to make that more of a priority for them as well. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I like the Minister’s response on some of the initiatives. Of course, the major initiatives are very progressive. My final question is: When will the department recognize that the NWT needs a university? Mahsi.

Mahsi. I kind of knew that was coming. This is an area that we’ve explored and we have extended our NUP lease agreement. Currently, we are discussing, between my department, PWS and also the Executive, how we can look at options at this level. We want to see a stand-alone campus. That’s part of our long-term goal, that is our objective and we need to work towards that. So the discussion is happening and we’re asking for our outside options, as well, how the private sector can play a key role. So those are discussions that we’re currently having. We can provide some of the updates to the Members as to where we’re at with our discussions. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment and my question is simple. Does he support inclusive education and can he explain it? How and why?

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I think there were three questions there. I can

answer one of them. I do believe that we need to support our students in our school system. Mahsi.

Thank you. Maybe the Minister can enlighten us on his master plan why he reduced inclusive education money and how that’s benefitted the school boards and the students.

Mahsi. During the last budget debate we went through some challenges and had to work closely with the standing committee to make some changes. It wasn’t just my decision. The early childhood development was the forefront of our discussion. So we had to allocate money from within and we had to find the funds.

But I must remind the House that there is a comprehensive review that has been undertaken for inclusive schooling. So I’m looking forward to the input from engagements and the stakeholders. If we’re going to make changes, I need to stand before the standing committee, make a presentation and then, more than likely, it will be in the House here as well. So there will be more debates on that particular topic. Mahsi.

: Thank you. If the Minister responsible for Education doesn’t want to be responsible for the inclusive education, maybe we should be asking him today who should be responsible for this and how has it improved the lives and education of students who need inclusive education money. Thank you.

Mahsi. Through our engagement and also visiting communities we’ve been hearing about inclusive schooling, how can we best address the special needs in our schools, how can we have a speech therapist and other professions in our schools, how can we provide support. So based on that, and we’re doing a comprehensive review, and that will address what the Member is alluding to. So I am looking forward to the outcome of the project itself, and it is comprehensive, it will take some time, but it will make some changes to our educational system. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.The Minister hasn’t explained how he’s improved education by reducing money rather than just saying there’s a review. It’s not normal to delete money just before a review. So maybe the Minister can explain his master plan as to how he plans to improve inclusive education by reducing their funds that are required. Thank you.

Mahsi. With any review, evaluation, comprehensive review, there are expected changes that will be coming. If there’s going to be an increase in cost, then that will be before standing committee. So I will be addressing

through standing committee when the time comes. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to thank MLA Groenewegen for bringing up the recent awareness of carbon monoxide detectors. In fact, this is now the third time that I rise before this House on the issue of carbon monoxide detector awareness, and now is the second time that I rise about the findings of the Yukon Oil-Fired Appliance Working Group as a result of that tragedy, and this is my second time regarding specific concerns of the Arctic Energy Alliance.

There was an oral exchange yesterday between the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs and MLA Groenewegen. I wish to dovetail on this topic. Admittedly, the Minister of MACA mentioned yesterday that all structures built from 2008 now have a CO detector due to national building codes. Can the Minister indicate which community regional office oversees the compliance, the review, the approval and the final inspection of installation of fuel-fired appliances, which would include pellet stoves especially in our non-commercial single-family dwellings and auxiliary buildings? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The fire marshal’s office would usually review the plan and they would all have to be code compliant as far as the actual inspection. If they are private dwellings built in communities, if they have a municipal enforcement officer, a building plans officer, I’m sure he would inspect them. In the case of the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, all of our units are inspected by our projects people. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Can the Minister clarify one more time? He used the word “if.” By what means and how does the Department of MACA monitor the safe installation inspection of oil-fired, wood and pellet stoves in our communities?

Through our fire marshal’s office under the review of the building plans. Thank you.

The fact remains that I’m not sure if the Minister is truly answering the question that I’m trying to get to. There’s a basic premise for my questions. Who governs, inspects and validates the compliance of our NWT fire prevention regulations in our non-commercial, single-family dwellings and auxiliary buildings? Could the Minister indicate

what his department is doing to make sure this sector of our market is complying to standards and are not just subject to request of adherence to specific guidelines? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We all know that the carbon monoxide issue is a big one the last little while and we are doing what we can to deal with it. The Housing Corporation, their part is to make sure all of our units, all 2,400 units have working CO detectors, and through the fire marshal’s office and the Fire Chief Association of the NWT, we’re creating a public awareness program to ensure that all our residents understand the importance of having carbon monoxide detectors. Again, through the fire marshal’s office, we would work with communities to make sure they are compliant with the new code. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do appreciate the Minister’s reply, but when can we expect to see the department and Minister review the findings and recommendations from this Yukon tragedy and formally come up with a plan, a policy or a framework to protect all buildings, including residential buildings in all residences of the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

We were working on a plan while this tragedy happened in the Yukon. Unfortunately, a tragedy like this brings the issue to the forefront, therefore, it gets a lot more publicity, but we didn’t wait until this report came out to do the work.

As I said, all 2,400 of our public housing units have working carbon monoxide detectors, so we’ve been proactive. We haven’t been reacting to the issues that happened in the Yukon and we will continue to be proactive on this issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.