This is page numbers 3763 – 3804 of the Hansard for the 17th Assembly, 5th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was land.

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you. Last summer the Government of the Northwest Territories hired over 300, I believe, summer students. We have had programs in the past and I believe they were partially funded through programs through the federal government, but I could get that level of detail for the Member. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Daryl Dolynny

Daryl Dolynny Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today many have spoken about creating some real solutions here on making the NWT a more attractive place to stay, and especially for our own future, and that future is our own students. Our NWT students are clearly not returning to the North, as we’ve heard, for a variety of reasons and I think it’s an important thing to bring forward here.

There are many questions as to why and where we should start to look at this issue. So for today we will start and I’d like to start with the Student Financial Assistance Program. My questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

We have seen small increases and minor changes over the years for our post-secondary students to access the basic grant or what is referred to as a non-repayable benefit of our SFA program.

Can the Minister indicate if his department recognizes our current shortfall of competitiveness and is willing to consider a full review of the SFA program? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. We recognize that there are challenges

within our Northwest Territories, along with other jurisdictions, as well, but as the Member indicated in his Member’s statement, we have one of the best SFA programs throughout the country. We improve our programming every now and then, changing our existing policies and enhancing through the review. We just conducted a review of SFA and part of the recommendations brought to our attention was some of the challenges that we’re faced with. So those are the discussions that we need to have as we move forward.

As indicated earlier, I believe it was yesterday, that within our income support at that time, but SFA reviews are always undertaken and if we need to further re-evaluate our situation, we need to do that. I’m working closely with the Department of Health, other departments and re-profiling all the data that’s available on the students so we can have that compiled information and attract those students back to the Northwest Territories. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Daryl Dolynny

Daryl Dolynny Range Lake

Can the Minister indicate how his department and the Department of HR work together to try to find new ways of enhancing our student financial program, especially within the recruitment framework of the Department of HR? Thank you.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

We recently had a meeting with a newly established committee in the employment development area and that’s my portfolio as well. So I have to work closely with HR where once we identify these students – obviously we can’t mention names because of confidentiality – we can, based on the area of the studies and the year that they’re in, working closely with the Human Resources department, what kind of jobs are available for a fourth year student or if they’re completing their diploma programming, if we can slide those individuals – there was a discussion here about direct appointments, enhancing the direct appointments. Those are the discussions that we are currently having with all of the departments that are here today. Mahsi.

Daryl Dolynny

Daryl Dolynny Range Lake

Thank you. I appreciate the Minister’s comments on that. The basic grant or the non-repayable benefit of the SFA has a wide range of thresholds. In some cases this threshold creates a disparity between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students who qualify for SFA funding.

Is this Minister committed in seeing that the disparity of thresholds are minimized for a more fair and transparent process? Thank you.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Part of the process of why it was established as different and diverse programming that we have, the threshold in various regions in communities is to attract those individuals into small, isolated communities. Most students that are graduating are university, post-secondary, college. So we can attract those

individuals to the remote communities where they are very challenged because of a lack of job opportunities.

There are a variety of ways of dealing with the remissible loan in other venues that we have, but that’s the very reason why we want to attract those individuals into the small, isolated communities.

Again, there needs to be a review of that through these departments that we’ve been talking about just recently, but that’s the discussions that we’re going to be having. Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Daryl Dolynny

Daryl Dolynny Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister offering his comments and thoughts on that. Earlier today the Minister indicated, and just now, that they are working on a review within a framework of a number other departments.

Can the Minister indicate to the House here when Members on this side of the House might be able to see the findings of this review. Thank you.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Like I said, we had one particular meeting with the newly established committee and it’s very preliminary at this point. My department is compiling all of the information on those particular students, over 1,400 students that are out in the post-secondary and their fields of interest and the year they’re in and compiling that with the HR. They have their own data. It is quite a large amount that we need to work with. So, once all that information is compiled between the departments, we will be presenting to the standing committee in due time. Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Robert Bouchard

Robert Bouchard Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions will be for the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment. I’d like to continue on with students, but I guess I’m a little annoyed with his statements today in the House about the junior kindergarten being funded by the pupil-teacher ratio. I guess my first question is where this 16 to 1 pupil-teacher ratio came from, because that’s not what I’m hearing in the community. The community wants more teachers, more assistants. Where does this number come from?

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. This ratio 16 to 1 has always been there. It’s part of our legislation. We’ve been working with that with

the school boards throughout the years. At the same time, we’ve been providing an additional $11 million so it can be based at 13 to 1 on the average throughout the Northwest Territories. It is through the legislation that was passed through this House, so that’s what we continuously work with throughout the years.

Robert Bouchard

Robert Bouchard Hay River North

It’s not that I don’t support junior kindergarten, it’s the fact that how many times can this government use pupil-teacher ratios as an excuse to download more things to the DEAs.

When will there be additional funds added to the DEAs so that they can implement these programs that they keep downloading to them?

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

As I stated in this House earlier, through our engagement with the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative, early childhood development, the discussions that we’ve had, engagement with the general public, and education renewal and innovation, we’ve been hearing from the general public, the parents, the grandparents, the educators that we have to think innovatively within our department. We have to think strategically how we can deliver the most effective programming in the community schools. That’s one area that we felt the PTRs, which under legislation are 16 to 1, so we figured we can access that through the work with the education authorities. This is an area that we are currently accessing to provide the quality junior kindergarten programming into our school system. It will benefit those 10 communities that do not have licenced child care programming. Those are just some of the areas that we’ve been told by parents to pursue it, and we are pursuing it.

Robert Bouchard

Robert Bouchard Hay River North

Again, I am not against junior kindergarten. I am just wondering that this money and the fact that we have these hardworking teachers and people in our public education system that are trying to do the work but they keep getting downloaded that more and more things have to be done with less money, but they’re strung out already.

When are we actually going to increase the budgets and figure out the formulas to these DEAs?

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Through the education renewal innovation we are going to look at the overall formula funding for our educational partners as well. We’ve been discussing this at the early stages back in 2007 until today, how we fund the school boards, how we fund the school programming, and based on the needs of the communities. This is an area that we’ve been told that we need to seriously look at formula funding to our school system. Currently it’s based on enrolment, and now we’ve been told why couldn’t it be based on base plus and go from there. Those are some of the areas we are contemplating with our education partners. Once we develop an action

plan over the summer on education renewal, those are some of the highlights that will be addressed through the business planning process.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Robert Bouchard

Robert Bouchard Hay River North

Yes, I guess, Mr. Speaker, it’s hard to get some of the questions answered, I guess. I just don’t understand how pupil-teacher ratios can keep being the excuse for more programs being added to these schools and district educations without any additional money. I’m just wondering when the department will actually get some more money into that area.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

We have to deal with the overall GNWT funding that’s been allocated to the school boards. With that, obviously, there is a surplus of over $8 million. Somehow we need to think outside the box and strategically how to best invest into our educational system. It is GNWT funding overall, and as we go through the business planning process, this means that as we go through, we’ve identified several areas of interest investment such as we did with the wage top-up. Over $511 million that we’re going to move forward with the new money once the budget’s approved here. Every year we go through this, and I, as the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, will continue to push what’s best for the children of the Northwest Territories.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Michael Nadli

Michael Nadli Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I kind of broke rank with my colleagues, but I wanted to ask the question to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs in terms of explaining the role of the Government of the Northwest Territories in working on the Dehcho Land Use Plan. The reason why I ask that is I think this government has a public interest to ensure that things are progressing at the same time milestones are achieved but, at the same time, explain to the public in terms of the involvement of the GNWT.