I appreciate the Minister’s response. I think I really want to get rid some of the fuzziness around some of the changes that might be pending.

Would the Minister say we are maintaining our math standards towards more of the Discovery Learning or does he see us as maintaining more of a traditional charted course in math basics? Thank you.

There’s been a lot of recent discussion about Discovery Learning versus traditional learning, particularly relating to

mathematics. Alberta has again... We are referring to Alberta because we use their curriculum, as well, both nationally and internationally in mathematics education for well over a decade. So we are learning from Alberta, our neighbouring province. The math curriculum that we use in the NWT has been adopted by other provincial jurisdictions in Canada. As an example in Quebec, they have done very well as they embrace a new approach to student learning. They focus on attention to careful learning and the training of the teachers who teach mathematics. This is a…(inaudible)…approach as well. This investment in teacher training is one of the highlighted areas in our initiatives, so we are closely monitoring that as well as working with other provincial jurisdictions.

Again, I’m going to have to go back to Hansard and decipher that response. Again, I’m trying to get rid of the fuzziness around the changes that are pending, especially with this ERI Initiative.

Again, communication is paramount when we launch an initiative of this magnitude. Can the Minister elaborate on what kind of communication process and rollout expectation timeline will we see for this ERI Initiative and will math curriculum be affected in the near future? Thank you.

My department has been engaged with the superintendents and also assistant superintendents over the last week to explain that very concept and ask for substantive feedback from their school boards. As we said, Alberta is developing new assessment tools such as Student Learning Assessment for introduction at the Grade 3 level in September 2014. So those are some of the important key aspects that we are monitoring.

For the NWT, no matter how we decide to engage in the use of these tools, we will, on some level, compromise data for the coming years for Grade 3.

Grades 6, 9 and 12 assessment tools remain in place for the coming school year until Alberta changes their format. Then we have to adapt to those changes as well. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Testing is very important for parents or even students. That is the cornerstone of how we are doing well.

With almost zero testing indicators from what we can see during this ERI Initiative transition, and with little framework of a national grading strategy, can the Minister indicate by what process will the department be able to evaluate our math performance or our success of our NWT students? Thank you.

Part of the process that we are going through is, again, working closely with the school boards across the Northwest Territories and working closely with the provincial jurisdictions. I mentioned the Quebec model and also the Alberta model. We are going to be making changes through the Education Renewal Initiative pertaining to Alberta making changes. It’s coming. We know that substantial changes are coming. So through the mathematical curriculum, we will be making those changes as well. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I don’t have that detailed information, but we can certainly provide the breakdown of the use of the Childcare Subsidy Program over the last year or last few years, and whether it’s been maximized or the usage of that particular subsidy program. We can provide that. Mahsi.

Thanks to the Minister. I look forward to that information. I’d like to ask the Minister, in terms of daycare and the opportunities to provide daycare on campus and for our students, I’d like to know if the Minister is willing to review with the Aurora College Board and the Aurora College president the benefits of on-campus daycare. Will he commit to establishing a daycare if only at one campus in Fort Smith where we currently have our Early Childhood Education program?

Those are discussions that we will be having with the college. There are certain initiatives happening in the college, the review of the overall training initiatives, so there will be those discussions. Aurora College with its three main campuses, serving the 32 communities, are going through their growth and objectives long-term plans. So they will be meeting, I believe in June, and they’ll be discussing this particular subject, as well, to my understanding.

Inuvik and the other two campuses, as the Member alluded to, provide child care programs. Inuvik students have access through the Children First Daycare as well. So there are some facilities that are available within the communities, but I understand where the Member is coming from. We provide a subsidy program to the students and we’ll continue to do that. At the same time, I will be addressing this with the Aurora College Board of Governors. Mahsi.

Thanks to the Minister for that commitment. I look forward to hearing sooner rather than later, I hope, that the college is willing to look at developing on-campus daycares. Certainly, if there are not enough students with children on campus to fill a daycare, I’m sure that the rest of the community would fill it up.

If the Minister or if the college can’t establish an on-campus daycare, as I mentioned in my statement, there are a couple of daycares in Nunavut where the spaces are reserved for college students. So I’d like to know if the Minister would consider that.

Will the college, will ECE consider reserving spaces in community daycares for college students and their children? Thank you.

Mahsi. Those are the types of discussions that we need to have with the Board of Governors. As you know, they’re arm’s reach from us. We provide funding to them. It’s the board that makes the decisions on where the money should be expended and we work closely with them, I work closely with the board chair of the Board of Governors. Every opportunity to meet with them at the annual event through the meetings, but these are some of the areas that Members have alluded to. It is an initiative that’s been earmarked before. So I’m sure the Board of Governors will be discussing that and I will be reminding the board members as well. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Thanks, Mr. Speaker. Thanks again to the Minister. The concerns of the students were heard loud and clear when we met with Yellowknife students a number of weeks ago. The value of an on-campus daycare at a training venue is something which I want to make sure that the Minister has understood. So in Fort Smith, for

instance, if there was an on-campus daycare, I would imagine that the funding for the Childcare Funding Subsidy Program could be put into an on-campus daycare, and it probably wouldn’t cost all that much more to get that established. It would also provide a venue to train our professionals.

Does the Minister realize that we can have an on-campus daycare that services two purposes? Thank you.

Mahsi. I’d like to thank the Member, as well, for meeting with the students, because it is very important to listen to those students, to hear their ideas, concerns and suggestions. Those areas are being brought to our attention here today, so we will be following up with those ideas particularly to Iqaluit and also Yukon College. Some of the examples brought to our attention here today I will be addressing with the college as well. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Finance. On page 3 of the fiscal strategy of the budget address, the Minister says some of the areas of concern are hundreds of vacant jobs in the Northwest Territories. Then he goes on, and part of that paragraph that I want to focus on, but the Minister also stated that in there, is that they want to embark on an initiative to increase the population of the Northwest Territories in five years.

I want to ask the Minister, in the vacant jobs – there are hundreds of vacant jobs – how many vacant jobs are there in the Northwest Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In any given time there are about 800 vacancies. There are about 400 that we’re actively trying to fill. Those numbers are split between Yellowknife and outside of Yellowknife.

I know there’s probably a little more complexity on the answers, but 800 positions that the government has right now, there are 400 they’re actively trying to fill. So the other 400, what happens? There’s active and inactive. Is that correct and can the Minister also put a financial figure to those positions that are vacant?

Thank you. There are unfunded positions. There’s still a gap of about 7 percent on the benefits that the departments are funded with for positions that the departments are required to cover off. There is money that’s used for casuals to offset the

vacancies, contracts that are used to offset the vacancies. Some folks may be away on leave. So it’s a very complicated list. It’s not just empty or full. There are many issues to consider.

One of the things I would point out, as well, in the budget address, is we’re devoting $22.6 million, I believe it is, over three years to put housing in small communities with a specific focus to try to deal with the housing, to alleviate one of the barriers to filling those positions, which is often adequate housing. Thank you.