Good afternoon, colleagues. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. Honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to advise this House that the government has listened to the feedback we have received to date from Members about Junior Kindergarten.

In an effort to respond to what Members have told us, while at the same time not wanting to disrupt parents and schools that are in the midst of delivering Junior Kindergarten, we have made the following decision.

Without changing the current funding approach to Junior Kindergarten, it will be completely voluntary for any of the 23 communities now offering Junior Kindergarten to continue with the program this year. If they choose, they will also be able to offer it in the next school year. Any of the 23 communities could stop offering the program now if they so choose.

The government will undertake a thorough review of the implementation of Junior Kindergarten in the 23 communities. The government will also reach out to all other education authorities, Aboriginal Head Start, licenced daycare and day home operators, parents and the general public to hear their views about whether Junior Kindergarten should be offered in the future and, if so, how.

The review will be undertaken over the next eight months and its findings will be summarized and provided to the 18th Legislative Assembly as part of

transition.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories will not offer Junior Kindergarten in any of the regional centres or Yellowknife until this review has been completed and presented to the 18th Legislative Assembly for their decision. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.

Mr. Speaker, wild fur from the NWT, branded and sold under our Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur label, is world-renowned for its high quality and obtains top prices at auction. Our trappers are experts in proper fur handling and preparation and have earned a reputation as some of the best in their trade.

I would like to congratulate the recipients of this year’s Trappers Awards. These awards include four categories: highest sales, most pelts, and the senior and junior trappers of the year. I would like to recognize the talents of the trappers who received the awards for the highest number of pelts in each region: Mr. Sheldon Boucher in the South Slave, Mr. Jimmy Pierre Mantla in the North Slave, Mr. Mark Kochon in the Sahtu, Mr. Alfred Nande in the Deh Cho, and Mr. Jim Elias in the Beaufort-Delta. I am also happy to share that this year we have also introduced a Return to Roots Award, which is presented to someone who is re-entering the trapping industry. The award recipient has not yet been notified and we look forward to making this presentation at a later date.

This year we also saw the premiere of the reality television series “Fur Harvesters NWT,” which follows Hay River resident trapper Mr. Andrew Stanley. This series showcases Mr. Stanley’s immense skill and increases awareness and understanding of our traditional economy.

Mr. Speaker, this government recognizes the importance of the traditional economy in contributing to a strong, thriving economy that provides opportunities and jobs for our people. We continue to support this sector by providing support to local trappers through programs and services like the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program, the Hide Procurement Program and the Take a Kid Trapping and Harvesting programs.

The Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program offers NWT trappers one-window access to the international fur auction market and ITI works

closely with the Fur Harvesters Auction to promote NWT fur.

Over the past year we have seen volatility in some of our major markets around the world, including Russia and the Ukraine. Market instability demonstrates why the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program and marketing service is vital to this sector and that it works as intended by absorbing losses when necessary.

This program consists of three elements to best support trappers.

The guaranteed advance ensures trappers have sufficient funds to continue trapping while fur is awaiting sale at auction. ITI provides trappers with advances based on anticipated market performance. If the furs sell for less than the advance at auction, the program absorbs the cost.

The prime fur bonus is an additional payment that trappers receive if their furs sell for more than the advance. It provides an incentive to deliver high quality, well-handled pelts.

Annual grubstakes are provided to defray start-up costs at the beginning of each trapping season. The amount provided to each trapper is determined by the previous year’s pelt numbers. This year over $100,000 in grubstakes was delivered to eligible trappers in the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, with each passing year the Hide Procurement Program continues to evolve to better support our hardworking trappers. In May the program was expanded to include muskox hides and qiviut. More recently, we have increased the price paid for seal skins from $55 to $70 per skin.

The increased price paid for seal skins is in response to the recommendation in the Economic Opportunities Strategy to expand procurement to support growth in the arts and crafts sector. While the European Union has a ban on seal skins, here in the NWT we cannot keep up with the demand for seal pelts from our talented arts and crafts community.

In order to pass skills and knowledge on to the next generation, we are working to introduce youth to the traditional practices of hunting, trapping, fishing and outdoor survival. The Take a Kid Trapping and Harvesting programs, offered in partnership with the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, were developed out of concern that the average age of a trapper/harvester was 60. Today we are proud to say that just over 1,700 students took part in these programs in the 2013-14 fiscal year.

Mr. Speaker, our people have a long, proud history of self-reliance and self-sufficiency. The sustainable harvest of renewable resources for domestic consumption and use is a leading economic activity

in the NWT. ITI continues to support and promote excellence in our traditional economy to strengthen and diversify our economy, a priority of this Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Before we go on, I would congratulate all trappers, too, but the one I really want to congratulate is Jim Elias, top trapper from last year and for all the great fur from across this territory. Not only that, he’s my relative from back home in Tuk.

The honourable Minister of Public Works and Services, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we head into this year’s heating season, I would like to take this opportunity to update Members on the energy conservation work that the Department of Public Works and Services has been doing.

As Members know, with our northern environment, energy conservation and management are important elements in controlling costs and supporting effective and efficient program delivery in all communities of the Northwest Territories. Our government’s investments in energy efficiency and alternative energy solutions are reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, lowering our operating costs and are helping us meet our greenhouse gas emission reduction goals. Public Works and Services helps the GNWT achieve its energy efficiency goals by leading the adoption of energy conservation and renewable energy technologies.

Earlier this year we published our 2013-2014 Energy Conservation Projects Annual Report and I would like to share some of the highlights from that report.

Last year, Mr. Speaker, the GNWT reduced its consumption of fossil fuels by over 2.8 million litres, with 33 percent of the total energy being used in public buildings managed by the department coming from renewable energy sources. We have done this primarily through early adoption and continued support of biomass technology.

In keeping with commitments to bring biomass systems to our communities and further support the sustainability of this emerging industry, I am happy to report that three new wood pellet boiler systems are now up and running in Norman Wells, including at the Mackenzie Mountain School, the air terminal building and the Department of Transportation’s combined services building. With these systems, the GNWT is ready for this year’s heating season and is supporting the adoption of wood pellet technology in the Sahtu region.

New biomass projects are in the design and construction phases for Hay River, Yellowknife,

Norman Wells, Fort Resolution and Fort Providence. In addition, the biomass systems approved for the Chief Albert Wright School in Tulita and the Chief T’Selehye School in Fort Good Hope are moving to the design phase while feasibility studies to identify other potential biomass projects are also underway at the ?ehtseo Ayha School in Deline and the Deh Cho region education building in Fort Simpson.

It’s not enough to switch to biomass, Mr. Speaker. We also need to conserve energy. To that end, we are doing envelope upgrades and energy-efficient lighting projects in schools in Ulukhaktok, Hay River and Sachs Harbour. We also just completed energy retrofits to the Chief Jimmy Bruneau School, the Milton Building and the Mackenzie Mountain School and have pilot projects for LED lighting at the GNWT warehouse in Yellowknife and LED runway lights in Lutselk’e.

I am pleased to advise Members that 40 percent of the utility savings generated in 2013-14 were a result of energy conservation and building retrofit activities completed by Public Works and Services under the GNWT’s Capital Asset Retrofit Fund program over the past five years. Permanent savings generated through these energy conservation initiatives will continue to be used to fund the Capital Asset Retrofit Fund program and future investments in energy reduction projects.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud of our government’s continued commitment to pursue energy efficiency and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Since 2007, energy conservation projects delivered by Public Works and Services have reduced the government’s need for the equivalent of 12.85 million litres of heating oil in total. This equates to a reduction of more than 35,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. Conservation efforts have allowed us to re-profile $1.48 million in utility funding and we are projecting to reach $1.72 million by the end of 2014-15.

I look forward to building on this success by finding more opportunities to expand the use of renewable energy, such as biomass for space heating of public infrastructure, wherever feasible. Not only are we saving the government money but we are supporting the development of a viable market for alternative energy in our territory that could help to lower energy costs for the private sector and homeowners. We are also helping reduce the NWT’s dependence on expensive diesel and reducing associated greenhouse gas emissions. Our focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy makes the GNWT a more effective and efficient government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Item 3, Members’ statements. Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With all the challenges that we face, it’s a sincere pleasure when I have the opportunity to stand in this House and celebrate outstanding success and achievement.

Today I want to give recognition to the South Slave Divisional Education Council for taking top honours in the Education category at the National Public Sector Leadership Awards given out earlier this year for achievement in 2013.

These awards celebrate innovation and excellence in the public sector, and this achievement marks the first time a school board and an organization from the NWT has won an IPAC leadership award.

The South Slave Divisional Education Council took home this top honours award for its groundbreaking Leadership for Literacy Initiative which has increased academic results for students and resulted in leading-edge Aboriginal language instruction. This award was accepted in Toronto by SSDEC superintendent Curtis Brown and assistant superintendent Brent Kaulback on behalf of the staff, DEAs and council members of our region.

There is an overview of the Leadership for Literacy video available online, and I encourage my colleagues and the public to go online and see the work that’s being done in this area by the SSDEC. This is a very inspirational video – I watched it again today – and it concludes with commendations from the Governor General of Canada to our education council in the South Slave.

In addition to this recognition of excellent leadership at the SSDEC, I would also like to acknowledge Brent Kaulback, assistant superintendent for the SSDEC. He has been honoured by the Canadian Association of School System Administrators as both the NWT and Canadian Superintendent of the Year. This prestigious award, known as the EXL National Award, was accepted by Mr. Kaulback in Calgary this past July.

Brent Kaulback is an amazing individual who has designated 40 years to education. Most of these years have been in the North and most of his work has been in Aboriginal education initiatives on promoting resources for Aboriginal students to learn in their own languages.

Over the course of the past seven years, Mr. Kaulback has helped and organized the publication of over 250 Aboriginal language books, including dictionaries, children’s books, graphic novels and stories of legends as passed down by community elders.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Mr. Kaulback was a keynote speaker at an educational conference in South Africa last year and is presently working on an iPad app, called “Bush Cree,” that acts as a First Nations storybook.

I want to ask Members of this House today to join me in congratulating Curtis Brown and Brent Kaulback for their achievements and thank them for their dedication to our students. When people of this calibre put their heart and soul into their work, it is our children that are the winners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today we heard from the Premier that a more thorough and rational approach for Junior Kindergarten is to be undertaken. I, like many in this room, welcome this more sobering and rational approach and question why did it take so long to realize.

That said, Mr. Speaker, I have spoken many times that this Junior Kindergarten approach had an ill-conceived funding model, and yet today, while listening very attentively, this very important issue was clearly pointed out as “no change in funding” approach. Mr. Speaker, I need to know why.

To remind the department as to this important question, we need to go back to the tug-of-war, or some of us called it the “poaching methodology,” used to take some hard-earned surpluses from mostly larger municipal school boards and authorities in order to fund the rollout of Junior Kindergarten.

We have heard from the department, they felt by reconfiguring the pupil-teacher ratio, they were well-justified to exercise their statutory authority under law to reclaim these surpluses. All along, this has been well-demonstrated. This PTR fiasco is going to mean an increase in class sizes and more job losses and increased pressure on special needs students for those boards and authorities affected. But most importantly, these documented shortfalls are going to forcefully trigger a higher mill rate for the larger taxed-based communities, and I can tell you this is not welcome at all.

So again, how does the department expect larger community taxpayers to have their taxable mill rates and their school board surpluses used elsewhere in the territory? This is the crux of the issue still left unresolved and is still a linchpin of concern.

This JK initiative, although brilliant in concept, has created unneeded strain with school boards, DEAs, DECs, licenced daycares, day homes, Aboriginal Head Start, teachers and parents. Today’s announcement does take some stress away and is welcoming. However, without a clear mandate for a new funding model, this momentary pause in program rollout is perceived as nothing more than a deferral tactic for the 18th Assembly to deal with,

and this does not sit right with me.

Since this recent JK message came from the Premier earlier today, I will be addressing this shortfall with him. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to talk about a very exciting new office that’s opening in Hay River. Arctic Energy Alliance has announced the opening of a new South Slave regional office in Hay River.

Arctic Energy Alliance is a non-profit society mandated to reduce costs and environmental impacts of energy and utility services in the Northwest Territories, a very big subject that’s been going on through this session.

It’s very exciting that the Arctic Energy Alliance has announced the new person at this office will be Tom Gross, a long-time Hay River resident. This office will be serving the South Slave; the community of Hay River, obviously; Enterprise; Fort Providence; Fort Res; Fort Smith; K’atlodeeche and Kakisa. This is very exciting news for the South Slave area.

We need to look at the cost of energy, like we’ve talked about amongst ourselves here in this session. We’re going to have an Energy Charrette. It’s very timely with the announcement of this office opening up.

We’re looking forward to the new office there and we’re obviously looking forward to the efficiencies and looking at the cost of living in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. We hear a lot in the House about the need for better accountability mechanisms. With that in mind, I’d like to offer some observations on how the government is measuring up against its own priorities.

At the outset of the 17th Assembly, the government

identified the goal of having healthy, educated people free from poverty. It subsequently developed strategic initiatives in four broad areas: to alleviate poverty, to enhance early childhood development, to renew the education system, and to better address mental health issues.

Regrettably, actual spending on these initiatives is staying on the ground. All combined, the government has allocated about $6.5 million to the current fiscal year. I did the math and it amounts to about $150 for NWT residents. That’s equivalent to the cost of a child’s winter coat or a basket of groceries, or even half of the basket of groceries, depending upon where you live.

Far too many NWT residents are not healthy, well-educated or free from poverty, and yet looking at actual spending to improve people’s well-being, there’s not much meat on these bones. In stark contrast, let’s consider spending on a different 17th Assembly priority: making strategic infrastructure investments. If spending is a measure of success, then this area of the government is winning. One infrastructure project alone, the Inuvik-Tuk highway, will see the government spend about $110 million in the current fiscal year. Again, I did the math and it works out to $2,600 per NWT resident.

So a single highway, which won’t even be regularly used by most NWT residents, is gobbling up 17 times more than the combined new spending on poverty, young children, education and mental health.

On the matter of translating priorities into meaningful action, this government’s approach is not one to emulate. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to talk today about a very important subject, and that subject is jobs. Jobs are critical no matter where you live. They help your family, they help you and they make sure that the economy runs. Economic opportunities are absolutely critical throughout our Northwest Territories because they do bring those jobs so we can have Northerners working. A Northerner working is certainly a much happier one than one living on the system.

With true employment rates as low as they truly are, we cannot wait for the federal government to step in or some other person such as a false deity making uneducated promises that they really don’t understand. We must step down from these platitudes when it comes to economic investment. We must find a way to have a real impact. In a lot of ways, I actually really believe in the Economic

Opportunities Strategy because I truly think that that might be the right path. A lot of work has gone into developing that. Now it’s about the proper implementation.

This is work that can only be done by the territorial government, and I’m confident with the path led forward by the Economic Opportunities Strategy, this is one critical way that we can go that should deliver results. But knowing the right path often isn’t enough. It’s about real investment into the economy, supporting industries in a meaningful way, and meaningful industries that provide economic growth that drives new jobs. It’s also about a willingness to look into the regions and asking them what they want rather than this government or even the federal government telling them this is the way it’s going to be. Would the fishing industry work in Tulita? Probably not the same way it works in Hay River. That’s not to say they couldn’t have a fishing industry, it’s just it’s not a straight line application.

It’s easy to make slogans and statements by saying we need jobs everywhere, but the truth is it’s actually tough to do. I think that the reason we meet these challenges is not because they’re easy. We do them because they’re hard and they have to be done.

I look forward to talking more about the Economic Opportunities Strategy about how we get into the regions, because when I talk to Northerners in Yellowknife, Fort Simpson, Norman Wells and even Inuvik, they truly have the keys to what will make their region work. Again, we have to get the Economic Opportunities Strategy working from a territorial level into the region. Quite often I hear from businesses that it’s not just about money. Sometimes it’s about policy, and most of the time it’s about governments staying out of their way so they can get the job done.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yellowknife has a great legacy of mining. The city is here because of mining, particularly gold mines. With the two mines in our city limits now closed, we’ve been gifted with one huge liability at the Giant Mine site, and after the mine’s abandonment by Royal Oak Mines, the federal government took over responsibility for cleanup and remediation of that site. Their proposed remediation plan didn’t really address the problem. Not surprising, when the planners were thousands of miles away and the threat not in their backyard. But it is in our backyard and today I want to thank a Frame Lake constituent, Mr. Kevin O’Reilly, for his tireless

efforts to ensure the remediation of the Giant Mine site, including the thousands of tons of arsenic stored underground there. His work is going to be a reflection of what the communities of Yellowknife, Ndilo and Detah and their residents want and need.

Mr. O’Reilly has been in Yellowknife since 1985. His passion and commitment to the principles of accountability, transparency and sustainability are well known and respected. Perhaps the greatest of his commitments has been to the Giant Mine Remediation Project and the environmental assessment of that project by the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Review Board. He’s been at it, one or the other, since 1988.

During the development of the remediation plan for Giant, Kevin was an active participant in workshops and meetings. Along with the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, he successfully encouraged the City of Yellowknife to make a mandatory referral of the Giant Mine Remediation Plan for an environmental assessment. During the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board, MVEIRB, assessment hearings, Kevin was ever present, making submissions, asking hard questions of the proponents, supporting other respondents. His work on behalf of Yellowknife and our environment cannot be understated.

The review board made 26 recommendations for changes to the proposed remediation plan, recommendations which addressed many of the area’s residents’ concerns, and those concerns had been expressed at the hearings. With the decision last December by the AANDC Minister, Minister Bernard Valcourt, Kevin’s work paid off. Seventeen of the 26 mandatory measures in the MVEIRB report were accepted outright, with suggestions for minor changes in wording to the remaining nine.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

AANDC has agreed, as well, to change the project time frame from perpetuity to 100 years and to investigate and report on long-term funding options. The acceptance of the AANDC Minister for the recommendations in the MVEIRB report confirm the public wishes and they signified a major change from the proposed remediation plan for Giant. That acceptance was due in no small part to the work of Kevin O’Reilly.

One Yellowknifer has commented, “Kevin really deserves widespread and heartfelt recognition for achieving the deal on Giant. It wouldn’t have happened without his initiative and tireless work.” I cannot do anything but agree, and I ask Members to join me in recognizing this huge contribution of Frame Lake resident Kevin O’Reilly. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to talk today about our attendance rates in our schools across the Northwest Territories. Recently, the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment tabled and brought out this new Education Renewal and Innovation Framework document, called “Direction for Change.” Actually, when we look through some of the statistics, one of the reasons we’re taking a new direction in our education system is because of low attendance.

In 2011-12 the NWT average for student attendance was 84 percent and it was even lower in the smaller communities at 80 percent. That’s, on average, missing one day of school per week, and when you get to about Grade 10, a student might miss about two years of school. So that’s a lot of education that our students aren’t getting and we’re not having quality students graduate when they get through this school system.

We can have the best programs, we can have the best teachers running the best programs in the nation, in the territory in some of the communities, but if we don’t get those students in their seats, what good is it?

In the community of Inuvik, I know at the East Three Elementary School – I’m not sure what they do at any other schools across the Northwest Territories – students who get perfect attendance for the month get their names put into a draw where they end up winning a prize. It could be a lunch; it could be a video game or something. So there’s an incentive there for the students to make sure that they have perfect attendance for the whole month.

Most recently, we found out that Canadian North has incentives for schools as well. If a student has perfect attendance for the year, I believe, they get their names put into a draw where they get money, and that money can go into a school program or into a community program that that student chooses.

I want to ask the Minister today, what are we doing for our students in the Northwest Territories to get them into the seats, into the schools, and what incentives do we have planned in this new document “Direction for Change”? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Longstanding questions about the Intergovernmental Council on Land and Resource Management provided for under devolution remain

unanswered. There remains an apparent and disturbing lack of responsibility regarding the mandate of the House and the mandate of the Intergovernmental Council, given that the council is supposed to respect the autonomy and authority of each government over its own lands.

On February 14th I asked the Premier how Regular

Members would have input into the terms of reference for this administrated structure. The Premier replied, “Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don’t think setting up an Intergovernmental Council is going to change any constitution or any construct. Members here represent all the people in the Northwest Territories and, as I said, the legislation that would set up the Intergovernmental Council. I would welcome input from Members as to providing input in terms of our participation with the Intergovernmental Council.”

When asked to take the lead in ensuring the council’s proceedings would be public and transparent, the Premier said he would be pleased to do so. Seven months later, and just before the inaugural meeting a few weeks ago to set the terms of reference for the council, I again raised the matter. I asked for MLA input into the draft terms of reference before they were finalized and observer status at council meetings. Days later, when a draft was to be available, the Premier informed me that the terms of reference had already been finalized and were available to anyone who wanted them.

Opportunity for input? Zip. Terms of reference provided to date? Zip. MLA observer status? No way. So much for consensus government. So much for the people’s representatives participating in governance and setting priorities.

I asked the Minister recently what the department’s legislative priorities were, and incredibly, I was informed that this depended on the Intergovernmental Council. The Members of this House have an obligation to the people who elected them and a duty to set the priorities of this House.

To what degree has the Premier arbitrarily undermined our responsibilities and authorities through the apparent powers of the Intergovernmental Council? I am very concerned that the mandate of Regular MLAs is becoming superfluous to some degree in the decisions regarding legislation and other MLA roles could be usurped by the Intergovernmental Council.

Transparency is one of the cornerstones of consensus government. What other decisions, properly belonging to the House, are the Premier and Intergovernmental Council making without the participation of MLAs? If the Premier has his way…

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Transparency is one of the cornerstones of consensus government. What other decisions, properly belonging to the House, are the Premier and Intergovernmental Council making without the participation of MLAs? If the Premier has his way, and without even observer status for elected representatives of the people, we may never know. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier this month educators around the world celebrated Teachers’ Day on October 4th . That’s the most

honourable job ever held in any position by our people.

Today I rise in the House to discuss the status of education in the Northwest Territories. As our Assembly of First Nations National Chief Sean Atleo said, “Education is detrimental to social and economic health and creates key links to our other priorities, governing capacities and sustainable economic development.” Two large areas, Mr. Speaker. One I think we’re doing very well within the Sahtu; the second we’re still grappling with. But if the feasibility study for a technical institute in the Sahtu comes to fruition – because today we’re still sending them to the Aurora College campus – we will become masters of our own destiny, tackling sustainable economic development in our region, for the NWT and for Canada.

For the NWT to succeed in building the workforce and benefit from resource development, we must create an environment for learning, an environment for builders, an environment with a “yes, we can” attitude.

Our youth want to enter the workforce. They want to learn a trade and find a career path that wouldn’t take them away from their families and communities. Our First Nations and Aboriginal youth need to be motivated, to be inspired so they can dream and imagine possibilities that are endless. The world doesn’t end at Grade 12 nor does it end with a welding certificate or a bachelor’s degree or a science degree.

We have five great schools in the Sahtu: Chief Albert Wright School, Chief T’Selehye School, Colville Lake School, ?ehtseo School and the Mackenzie Mountain School, all powerful names for our students to be reminded of who we are and where we come from. For example, two of our junior volleyball teams captured first place last weekend at the Junior Spike It. I’m sure we’ll see more athletes from the Sahtu in town this weekend for the Senior Spike It Volleyball Tournament.

While we heard about the challenges of our educators in the small communities, let us also celebrate our successes across the Northwest Territories and tell them, yes, you can succeed and that we are 100 percent behind them.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my Member’s statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, colleagues. Education is important because, for example, in Deline the first-ever community self-government is a reality. It means it is now our responsibility to succeed. Yes, we can succeed, providing the changes to education in this government do happen and it happens with our people’s consent. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My statement today is about Fort Liard, which sorely needs a full-time school counsellor. The community currently receives only monthly drop-in service from a regional school counsellor. With a population exceeding 500 people, Fort Liard is large enough to warrant an RCMP detachment, nursing and basic health infrastructure, a social service office, a fire hall and schools from K-12, yet today it has no full-time school counsellor.

Fort Liard has more than its share of social problems. We can get a glimpse from the Frontier Foundation, an Aboriginal non-profit organization whose mission it is to support socially disadvantaged communities. They recently were in Fort Liard, and during a brainstorming session with Fort Liard teenagers, the Frontier Foundation volunteers recorded a staggering litany of social problems. The list included stealing, drinking, smoking, drugs, bullying, drug dealing, bootlegging, break and entering, drinking and driving, violence, violent crime and parents abusing kids.

You may counter by saying these are subjective descriptions, but plenty of cold hard facts can make these descriptions plausible. Consider these numbers. The violent crime rate in Fort Liard is double the territorial rate. The hamlet’s employment rate is 10 percent lower than the territorial rate. Average family income in Fort Liard is approximately 65 percent of the territorial average. Forty-seven percent of Liard’s households are core need, a figure well above the NWT rate. This means that nearly half of the hamlet’s households meet a low-income threshold and occupy a dwelling that fails in the areas of sustainability, adequacy and affordability, and there is indeed a lot of overcrowding there.

Last, but not least, territory-wide graduation rates hover about 50 percent, far below the national rate, but graduation rates in small communities are closer to 40 percent. Now we add to this GNWT Early Development Instrument report in 2014 that shows 50 percent of our children in the small communities are significantly behind in their development and this probably has been this way for many years.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

To be sure, Fort Liard youth are up against an awful lot. How can we expect them to thrive without consistent, dedicated support from a school counsellor? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Tomorrow is the deadline to apply for the $3,000 IRS personal credit, as mentioned by my colleague Mr. Nadli. For background, IRS refers to the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement.

Under the agreement, the common experience payment was the primary form of compensation. The common experience payment process ended two years ago. Now $40 million remains in the pot of money. So in January 2014, the federal government announced an extension, offering the one-time personal credit for anyone who already qualified for a common experience payment. Throughout Canada there are 80,000 eligible individuals and as of today only 10,000 have applied.

According to Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus, there is also a lot of confusion and mistrust because the application process is so stringent. There’s also confusion about how these personal credits can be used. The credits can be used for a range of educational activities; for example, programs at university, college or trade schools. The money can also be approved and put toward any activity that promotes knowledge of our history, languages, artistic activities, or that build skills in the areas of hunting, trapping and fishing. Credits can also be transferred to family members.

The process hasn’t been clearly explained. It has too many hoops and hurdles. Unless the deadline is extended, many eligible former students in the Northwest Territories will not receive their $3,000 credit to which they are entitled.

Along with Chief Erasmus, I am calling on this government to request that the federal government extend the October 31st deadline.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. Item 5, returns to oral questions. Item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have the surprise and pleasure of recognizing the chief from Deline, Leonard Kenny, and also the chief self-government builder, Danny Gaudet, to the Assembly. I also recognize, I think I see Chief Eddie Sangris from Detah. He’s not my constituent, but it’s also my recognition to him. I’m not too sure of the third fellow in between Leonard and Danny, so I’d like to also recognize an unknown name at this time.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] We have Bobby Weyallon in the gallery. I would like to recognize him in the House.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would just like to quickly recognize the two Pages from Fort Smith, Mackenzie Villeneuve and Pyper Rehm, and Ms. Rehm’s mother, Gladys Rehm, who are here for the week, and I thank the Legislature for the opportunity to have them here.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Bouchard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Danny Gaudet and Leonard Kenny, as well, from Deline.

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a constituent here today who we rarely get to see in this House because of his busy schedule, but he is here today. Mr. Edward Sangris, chief of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize two members of Yellowknife Education District No. 1, if they are still up there behind me, Mr. Al Cook and Ms. Heather Clarke. There were here earlier. Welcome to the Assembly. I’d also like to recognize two Pages who are here today from

Range Lake North School, but they live in the riding of Frame Lake, Brian Johnston and Elijah Lange.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too want to recognize some visitors in the gallery today. From YK1, I know we have Al Shortt. I think Ms. Bisaro referred to him as Al Cook, but it’s Al Shortt. Heather Clarke, as well, welcome. I also want to recognize Chief Leonard Kenny from Deline, Danny Gaudet from Deline, also Ed Sangris, chief of the Yellowknives Dene, and also David Wasylciw who is with us today as well. Welcome to all the visitors in the gallery today.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. I’d like to welcome everybody here in the public gallery. Thank you for taking an interest in our proceedings here today. Item 7, acknowledgements. Item 8, oral questions. The Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all I would like to thank the Premier, the Minister of Education and the Cabinet very much for their appropriate response today through the Premier’s statement in the matter of Junior Kindergarten. Mr. Speaker, putting this rollout on pause for now until we are certain that we have checked out all the possibilities is welcomed and appreciated very much.

On the topic of going forward and doing the assessment and a thorough investigation of how we’re going to roll this out eventually, I’d like to ask, what are the chances that we could put this under a different title than Junior Kindergarten? Junior Kindergarten speaks to basically adding a grade to a public school system, and really I think what we are trying to do is build on community infrastructure where that’s appropriate. In other cases, where there may already be developed early childhood development opportunities in that community, perhaps it might be the role of this government to enhance those. So I’m just wondering: is there any flexibility for putting this under some other guise than just Junior Kindergarten, which speaks to an additional grade. Thank you.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Those are discussions that we had just a while ago about the title, Junior Kindergarten, versus potential other names. We are going through a comprehensive review, as the Premier

indicated. We do have some time to discuss those matters. Right now we are currently delivering into 23 communities. The title, obviously, is Junior Kindergarten, so those are just some of the discussions that we need to have as a department and with the communities as well. Mahsi.

I will take comfort in the words the Minister used, “a comprehensive review.” Because I think if we are comprehensive, we have to look at the existing infrastructure, facilities, programing in the communities and decide what is best on a community-by-community basis.

In the statement today it indicates that communities who have already begun the Junior Kindergarten program, and we hear that there’s everything from some communities where there’s one little person taking that, to communities like Mr. Blake’s, where there are 14 four-year-olds that have entered the school system. So in those communities where they may wish to dial back the rolling out of this program in one of those 23 communities, I could see it being difficult for the school board and the DEAs or DECs to say, hey, you know what, we really can’t do this, we don’t have the resources, it’s effecting our teaching complement, for whatever reason, and dialing that back. It may be problematic for them to communicate, like, you know, come and get your kids now, we’ve decided we’re not going to do this.

So I’d just like to ask the Minister, what kind of support could the department offer in the way of communication with those communities that may want to withdraw from this, to support them to work their way through that process? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, as I stated in this House, we do have a steering committee, a dedicated team that provides support to these 23 communities and we’ll continue to provide that through my department just based on the announcement today. Those are the communities that we need to focus on. Whether the option of continuing or not, as the Premier indicated, that’s a decision that we’ve made, and at the same time, those are some of the reviews that we’ll be undertaking, as well, throughout the next eight months that we have. So that’s what we’ll be focusing on. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

When the original Junior Kindergarten plan and program was ruled out, it caused, I guess, some instability and uncertainty, insecurity in the way of programs on private operators, NGOs. So, just to be clear, all of those folks, as a result of this announcement today, should not be looking for other jobs or moving on or making plans to dispose of their assets, that seriously, they can stop today and wait now until they have a chance to have input into what the program will look like going forward.

I just want that message to be very clear because I’m afraid about the fallout from the original plan.

When people aren’t certain of things, sometimes they make other plans. So I’d just like to reiterate and have the Minister confirm himself that these people that are listed here, the education authorities, Aboriginal Head Start, licenced day home operators, that these folks should hold on, that they will have an opportunity to be consulted before anything further happens. Thank you.

As I stated in this House, I did make a commitment to reach out to those operators and the stakeholders and that’s exactly what we’re doing through the Premier’s statement. The review, obviously, will go beyond the 23 communities and engage the education authorities, licenced daycare centres, day homes, Aboriginal Head Start programming and stakeholder groups. We also have to keep in mind there are parents we have to engage with, as well, and the general public over the coming months. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to again say thank you to the Minister and his department for putting this on pause until we can get it right.

Will the Minister keep us apprised? I will be very interested to see what the 23 communities do, and I’d like to ask the Minister if he’d keep us apprised of the feedback he gets from those communities. Thank you.

That is obviously part of our goals and objectives, to keep Members informed on our progress of our review of the 23 communities where JK is being delivered over the coming months. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today Members alluded to what I like to refer to as a small sliver of success for the stakeholders of Junior Kindergarten. The Executive Council, led by our Premier, has failed to address the most important aspect of the current rollout of Junior Kindergarten. Who is going to pay for this? Although a recent dispute on the actual financial impact of Junior Kindergarten rollout has been occurring publicly between both Yellowknife school boards and the department, the issue, Mr. Speaker, is not the mechanics of the calculation but the final agreed to amount. In the end, the three-year cumulative funding reduction of just under $2 million is hitting the mill rate taxpayers of Yellowknife. This is the real issue. Since this

announcement came today from the Premier, it is to him I will be addressing my questions.

We know the original rollout to the 23 communities for Junior Kindergarten was done with an ill-conceived funding model, with no new money from the GNWT budget and cleverly funded with surplus monies from school boards and authorities.

Can the Premier tell us why the funding component for today’s announcement was purposely referred to as a “no change approach”? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member knows, when the Program Review Office reviewed the education budgets, they determined the education system was over-funded by $17.5 million a year. The Yellowknife school boards had large, accumulated surpluses such as $2.5 million with YK1 and Yellowknife Catholic School Board had a $1.4 million surplus. So the funding model at this time that we put forward is it would not change for this year and next year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Can the Premier assure the House that there will be a moratorium and all changes to the pupil-teacher ratio affecting all schools, that all surpluses, monies from school boards, authorities and councils not be clawed back and that this year’s Yellowknife funding reduction of $649,000 be returned to the rightful school boards? Thank you.

The funding for the 23 Junior Kindergarten programs for communities will be absorbed by all education authorities through the re-profiling of existing funding, as I indicated in the letter to the standing committee. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I’m not quite sure what we just heard, but I assume that was a “no” response to my earlier question. To be clear, it appears the Premier is okay that both Yellowknife school boards be saddled with funding reductions every year while we delay the evaluation of Junior Kindergarten well into the 18th Assembly. Again, is this what the

Premier clearly supports? Thank you.

The Member wants to focus on Yellowknife, but all schools will see the re-profiling of existing funding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will make the last one easy for the Premier. With the end of this session, we know the GNWT is about to embark on next year’s main estimates for operational expenditures. The GNWT has a golden

opportunity to place new budgetary dollars towards existing rollout of Junior Kindergarten.

Can the Premier assure this House that new money will be set aside for Junior Kindergarten? Thank you.

We are talking about one-time impacts. I will focus on the two Yellowknife school boards. The two boards will have to pay in 2014-15 and 2015-16. These one-time amounts are for 2014-15: YK1, $372,000; YCS will be $277,000; and in 2015-16: YK1, $274,000; YCS will be $525,000; keeping in mind the surpluses that YK1 has of $2.5 million and Yellowknife Catholic School Board has $1.4 million. Assuming the review comes out very positive and assuming in the 18th Assembly the two school boards will decide to go forward, the ongoing impact, as we see it, would be $100,000 for YK1 and $436,000 to YCS. If you look at YK1 whose budget is $31 million a year, their ongoing reduction – and we’re only talking about year one and two – is about 0.3 percent of their total budget. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for Premier McLeod. We all acknowledge, here in the North, that we need to bolster the economy here to ensure we have a vibrant society. At the same time, there are also dire social needs at the community level. As I stated a few minutes ago, new spending to address the goal of healthy, educated people free from poverty is meager next to the spending on the Inuvik to Tuk highway.

How does the Premier justify the gross discrepancy between spending on infrastructure and spending on our people’s well-being? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the last time I checked, this government spends about 70 percent of our budget on social programs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The basic needs of people in the communities are ensuring they have food and shelter. My colleague just expressed a need for school councillors. School boards’ budgets are being shifted towards communities. This week in the House, the supplementary appropriation requests are being considered. The government is asking for an additional $40 million for the Inuvik to Tuk highway and $20 million for offsetting energy costs.

Why is it so easy for the Premier to find money for these projects while other pressing issues are left completely unaddressed? Mahsi.

I believe the Member is referring to our capital budget. We spend $1.6 billion on programs, so we are spending a lot of money in all of those areas the Member identifies. Thank you.

My final question relates to the results of the Early Development Instrument, or EDI. I mentioned the EDI results because they’re a decisive measure of whether our people are healthy, educated and free from poverty. Mr. Speaker, on indicators of things like communication skills and physical well-being, our smallest communities are challenged. They are miles behind their peers in other parts of Canada.

How does the Premier balance his unbalanced focus on infrastructure when our children are so ill-prepared to face the world? What is the Premier doing to ensure people in small communities are healthy, educated and free from poverty? Mahsi.

As a government, we just rolled out a number of policies. We came out with an Anti-Poverty Strategy where we provided $500,000 to address this. We are spending money on housing. We’re going to spend $21 million on housing over the next three years, and we continue to provide support in all of the 33 communities in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

I’m going to use the opportunity of oral questions here to talk about the issue I raised in my Member’s statement, which is the regional economic plans and how will they be implemented throughout the Northwest Territories.

My question to the Minister of ITI is as such, as I’ve already stated. I want to know a little detail about these particular plans before we get into, sort of, the harder types of questions. I think we need to know how much money is being spent on each plan and which regions will be focused in on these plans in this budget cycle. Let’s start with that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t have the detail the Member is requesting on what is going into each region. I do have figures on what the government is spending on the Economic Opportunities Strategy this year. It is just about $2.5 million. Last year it was $1.5 million. But for the detail, I can get that to the Member. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, it’s my understanding that we were going to work on about three Economic Strategy plans and it was my understanding that they would be at least in the range of about $50,000 each. I’m doing that off memory, so it may not be the exact number for each plan, but I’m sure it’s a close number bracket.

That said, I’m trying to source out which particular regions this government is going to help focus in on and what type of discussion are we going to have to ensure that we focus in on those regions that need a lot of help and see if we can get their economies bustling so they can work in and get people employed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, each region in the Northwest Territories is going to get the required help and assistance. Of course, we do have that available. We do have regional offices around the Northwest Territories that are ready, willing and able to help communities and help regions develop plans. Our goal is to do just that. Thank you.

I can appreciate from the very first response from the Minister that he’s maybe not able to fully answer the question, so maybe I’ll take a slightly different tact.

Does the Minister agree that regional grassroots input is important so each region can identify what’s critical to them to help spark their individual economy?

The example I gave in my Member’s statement, I’m sure you’ll recall, Mr. Speaker, was I mentioned how maybe in Tulita the fishing industry isn’t quite the same as it is in Hay River, where we need to support Hay River slightly differently because they have a big fishing economy and they do a lot of work there. But on the local level, it’s slightly different in Tulita.

I guess the bottom line I’m getting at here is, how does the Minister envision that we’re going to get grassroots input to ensure that we target things but serve every economy slightly different throughout the Northwest Territories? We can’t expect one mould to work through, roll through and give us the exact same results. If they don’t connect with the regional people with the regional needs, then they’re a waste of time. So I want to hear how we plan to do that or how does the Minister envision that. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, that was the genesis of the whole Economic Opportunities Strategy, was to get that grassroots look, to build partnerships around the Northwest Territories. We have the Northern Aboriginal Business Association; we have the Chamber of Commerce; we’ve talked to communities; we’ve talked to the public. All of that work went into the development of the Economic Opportunities Strategy, and the

implementation plan you see today reflects all of that good work that we put in the early days of developing the strategy that the Member talks of.

That work was done. That’s why we believe strongly that the Economic Opportunities Strategy that we have and the implementation plan is going to benefit all regions across the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That’s exactly why I’m asking about the implementation plan, how we get this into the input of those regions into this plan so we actually get developing business, because business is the right people to help create the economy. That’s the detail I’ve been trying to get here today and I look forward to what the Minister is now going to say. Besides the plan, besides the implementation plan, let’s hear the details of how we’re going to get there and get people working. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, whether it’s agriculture... I know the Member is the chair of the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure. We’ve had a great deal of success in agriculture. We think we can do a lot more there. So, we’re poised to do some big things in agriculture.

On the tourism side, I just read a statement in the House earlier this week, talking about tourism numbers being up. The fact that we have put more marketing into our efforts in places like China is paying off, and we continue to see our numbers increase there. Also, the investment that we are making in the commercial fishing industry and the partnership that we’re going to build to see a new export-grade fish plant constructed and operated in Hay River are very important things.

Again, we need to continue to support the regions. Not all regions are created equal, obviously. There are opportunities that vary from region to region. But our goal is to diversify the economy, and we believe the plan we’ve put in place will allow us to do that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned earlier, we do have some attendance rate issues in our communities, especially the small communities. With this Education Renewal and Innovation Framework document, entitled “Direction for Change,” it doesn’t really speak too much on how we’re going to try to get our students into the seats and into the classrooms.

So I’d like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, what is his department doing to increase attendance in schools across the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. Minister of Education, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The whole Education Renewal and Innovation will obviously capture that. The attendance issue has been at the forefront of our discussion through the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative in which we’ve engaged with the general public over the years since 2010, and we had a forum on education renewal. The poor attendance, obviously, is a symptom of underlying issues where students are disengaged in our school system.

Examples of our ERI that I can share with the Member, one of the focuses is student well-being through safe and caring school practices and also providing nutritious foods in our school system and enhancing our community relations through elders in schools, residential school resources and staff training, and also providing personalized and quality education through focused inclusive learning supports, career orientation and distance learning. Those are some of the areas we are continuing to focus on. Mahsi.

I understand the well-being of the students as well as the teachers is very important to the department.

One of the things in the document talks about well-being in terms of safety, nutrition and making sure that our students are fed before they go in the classrooms, and that’s another ongoing issue. That in itself can be an incentive for students to go to school first thing in the morning, is a breakfast program.

I’d like to ask the Minister if he has any funding for schools to look at creating breakfast programs in the schools. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, through our contribution to the district education councils and authorities, we provide funding as part of our contribution. It’s at their discretion whether it be spent on a food basket or early learning breakfast in our school system. We, as a department, are working very closely with the school boards to have those students ready to learn in our school system so they’re not coming to school hungry.

Some of the schools have been very creative, having a breakfast program in our school system, and we provide funding towards that as well. Not just my department but there is Health and Social Services and MACA. This is a coordinated approach. We will continue to provide that support to our school system. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I recently had a meeting with Canadian North and talked about some of their programs that they’re running in some of the northern communities specifically around attendance and around best marks. They have really good incentives to get the academic grades that they need but also just making it to school.

Is the Minister familiar with this program that Canadian North runs and is he willing to also partner up with such an organization to look at getting some type of incentive program for student attendance? Thank you.

Mahsi. Obviously, we welcome any organizations, any industries coming to our schools to provide incentives, whether it be focusing on attendance or on-the-land programs. There are all these different partnerships out there that come into our school system and do partner up and contribute towards our programming or students’ well-being. So, we’ll continue to push that forward, seeking out partners, and we’ll do our part as the Department of Education, working again, with the DECs and DEAs as well. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again focusing on attendance, has the Minister worked with the DEAs and the DECs to find a position within the schools for any students, because attendance rates are pretty serious here, 80 percent in the small communities. Is he working with the DEAs to look at creating a position for any students who are continually missing school on a regular basis to find a way to interact or make phone calls to the houses so that those students have that contact with the school and develop that relationship? Is he working with the DEAs to develop something like that? I know they do something similar in Inuvik and I just want to know if he’s working with other communities to implement a similar program. Thank you.

Mahsi. Those are just some of the options that we are currently working with. There are some best practices in other larger centres, as well, that can be carried out to the smaller communities. Whether it is positions in the communities, again, we contribute directly to the district education councils and they decide how many positions should be hired and what kind of positions should be hired. But yes, I will take that message to the DECs and work with them to identify these key areas. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There’s a saying in Quebec, a child without an education is like a bird without wings. I’m glad to report that the staff and students at the Colville Lake School now have running water and fully functioning bathrooms.

---Applause

Since October 10th . That’s 18 days ago. Can the

Minister of Education, Culture and Employment tell me that since the community has been asking for a brand new school in their community, can the Minister update the House as to where that issue is at with the community of Colville Lake? I had a meeting this morning with Chief Alvin Orlias and the SAO band manager, Joseph Kochon, and that’s the first question they asked, where is our brand new school that we’ve been asking for?

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Colville Lake’s school has been in the discussions for a number of years now, even through the local DEAs and at the regional level with DECs. We have to go through, obviously, the capital planning process where we have all these different areas of capital infrastructure coming forward. We, as a department, hope to get those key initiatives such as Colville Lake into the hopper. So based on that, we’re following through on what will be approved through this Assembly and moving forward. Part of that, obviously, is the Colville Lake School that we’ve been talking about for a number of years. Mahsi.

Thank you. I’ll meet with the chief later on and have more discussions on their wish for a new school.

My questions are going to be all on the education in the Sahtu. So, I’m finally getting to see our schools moving into the 21st century with the fully function of

running water and toilets. Yesterday I addressed the needs assessment and we’re showing there’s a great need for these programs in our region. Also, I understand there is a feasibility study underway in regards to a Sahtu tech, preparing our students for the labour force.

Based on the needs of a Sahtu technical institution, is that something that’s going to be reported by the end of this Assembly in regard to the outcome of this feasibility study, planning a Sahtu technical institution in the Sahtu?

Mahsi. Yes, we’ve just completed the Sahtu feasibility study, the needs assessment, I should say. Based on that, it will give us a tool to work with for analyzing training

institute requirements for the Sahtu region. There is a process that we still have to go through, as well, but this is just a preliminary discussion that we’ve been having. We involve the stakeholders and they provide us with a needs assessment of the community. Now the next step will be focusing in those areas where the information has been provided to us and how can we work with that. So we will be working closely with the region of Sahtu as well. Mahsi.

Thank you. My questions on the education of the Sahtu people, we have students going out of jurisdictions for long periods of time, out of our communities. We have a great need for seeing a Sahtu tech in our region. So my third question, I understand from the information I got from the department, impressive facts, that we have 30 students from our Sahtu communities attending the Thebacha Campus in Fort Smith. In total, we have 79 students attending some form of college programs in the Northwest Territories. In regard to our students at Aurora College in Fort Smith, yesterday I was shocked to hear that the students who are in that residence have no study desks, no lamps.

What is the Minister doing to ensure that our students who are coming down from the Sahtu to attend these college institutions have the basic supports for a good learning environment and these dorms are being fully equipped with the proper supports? Thank you.

Mahsi. Yes, we need to provide as much support to our students as we possibly can, especially students coming from the remote communities, and all communities as well.

This is an area that I need to address with the college because the college dorms are under their umbrella. So, that message will be relayed to the board chair and president, what’s the status on that and how can we assist those individuals, the students, if they’re struggling. I will get the status for the Member. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about the self-government realities of Deline.

Will the Minister be creating a K-12 trades program with the shop that they’re planning to build in Deline?

Mahsi. When we talk about those areas of academic studies, whether it be regional schools or even technical schools, obviously we have to work with the community of Deline. Even through their school boards as well. As you know, there has been self-government arrangements being discussed and

eventually these educational authorities will fall under them as well. So we’re very much looking forward to working with those parties as we move forward, discussing the future prosperity of educational facilities in the Sahtu region. Mahsi.

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