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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Education is about going to school, learning… [Translation] …we learn from the school. We sit around the table and listen and learn. Also, we work in the bush, as well, to educate ourselves in our culture and…[Translation ends]

[English not provided]

…our extended families and the knowledge is passed on through... [Translation] We learn from our culture. We learn from our legends and this is how our culture is passed on. This is how we learn as Dene people. [Translation ends]

…sometimes it is a detriment to the society of the NWT. Sometimes we are reminded of the reality that we are just fresh out of the residential school experience, and to go forth in education you have to be removed from your family and from your community. There’s still a persistent view that once you do that you become a different person. So parents, at the best of times, have a hard time letting their children go to an institution of changing a person that they love and care for into another person that’s educated and will go forth into the future.

The current reality is that in the NWT a First Nations community on average has a Grade 9

education. We have low levels of attendance. Our high school graduation rates are very low. At the same time, our students in the small communities don’t fare as well as students in the larger centres and…. [Translation] …for our young people we have to make sure that they grow up to be good people, and if they are well educated they will have a good future. Having them represent us in the future as good people would be beneficial for us. [Translation ends]

That’s what we think. But today the view from the elders is also that, you know, one elder in particular, or some elders that I’ve come across coined this phrase that I take to my heart and, roughly translated, it says, “You go into the future holding a pen, and that’s how you’ll gain a foot into society.”

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

---Unanimous consent granted

[Translation] Our elders say we will go into the future holding a pen. This is how the old people are saying we will benefit from the education [Translation ends]

…and together at work to agree that as a goal we need to act upon this and make it a priority to ensure that we improve the lives of our people, all of our people in the NWT. One goal that we should all aspire to work towards is our high school graduation rates. Let’s agree that by 2016 we will graduate with at least 2,000 students by that time. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise too today, along with my colleagues, to discuss Education Week. Obviously, with Education Week we think of our teachers. We had the opportunity to talk to the NWT Teachers’ Association. We are very thankful for those teachers that work in the Northwest Territories. We all know, in our personal lives, teachers that helped us out to get to where we are today.

These teachers are working hard, in the evenings and on some of their own time. We talked recently about some of the sporting events and how some communities do really well in certain sports because of the commitment from some of those teachers.

Recently, over the last year, we’ve had an attack on the teachers and the education, and we see that was the way junior kindergarten was implemented. There was lots of pressure financially on those

teachers and the DEAs to find the money to implement junior kindergarten the way it was rolled out. That’s why we sat here and debated the junior kindergarten so strongly. The fact that they have so many financial pressures now, to add junior kindergarten to that system was not fair. It needed to be implemented in a different process. It needed some funding.

Junior kindergarten is a good idea. We support the concept of junior kindergarten, but not the way it was rolled out. It needs to be implemented by the communities for the communities.

We know there’s a review currently underway of junior kindergarten, and I will have questions for the Minister later on how that review is coming and where the DEAs and those teachers can ask questions on how to implement junior kindergarten for their community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Oh, the list could go on. I try to focus on the positive, and these are good projects and they tide us over from year to year and season to season and they provide good infrastructure. But the problem is that if Hay River is truly the hub of the North, we cannot afford the erosion of those things that make Hay River what it is. Those things are the lake, the river, the rail, the road.

Right now, to get a bunch of train cars from High Level to Hay River, because of a lack of investment in the infrastructure for the rail, you can go 10 kilometres an hour. It takes two days to get from High Level to Hay River.

I know it’s not our government’s responsibility to put capital money into the rail bed, but as a government we certainly have an opportunity to talk to companies like CN Rail to talk about what are we going to do about that.

We cannot afford the erosion of those things that are foundational to what Hay River was built on and those things that are the underpinning of the economy that we will generate if those are there. The problem is the erosion of those things.

I join my colleague from Hay River North today to talk about dredging again. Whether it’s for Canadian Coast Guard, Canadian Coast Guard has the west coast, the east coast and the Great Lakes and Hay River. That’s an inland harbour in Hay River and that’s been a mainstay of our economy, having that inland harbour. When visitors come to Hay River, they see those big ships sitting down there and they go, oh, my gosh, I never dreamt there was an inland harbour in Hay River like this. It is there; it’s exciting; it’s wonderful; but it’s soon not even going to be able to take a fishing boat, a recreational boat, or a Canadian Coast Guard vessel out of the harbour in Hay River because we haven’t done the dredging. Again, the government says, hey, not our issue, not our problem.

So, yes, thank you for the good things you do. Thank you for the government jobs. Thank you for the government infrastructure. But we need some help with the underpinning foundational things in Hay River that make it what it is, and that is the transportation hub of the North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased to recognize the Austin family: Dad, Andrew Austin; mom, Kim Austin; sister, Maggie Austin; and brothers, Lachlan Austin and Malcolm Austin. As you know, Saturday night was the 9th Memorial Cup Challenge between the RCMP and the Yellowknife firefighters, and I’m pleased to announce that over $40,000 was raised, and the Austin family is going to Disneyland tomorrow.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to introduce, to you and through you, as we just heard from the Premier, the Austin family, but I don’t believe I’ve ever in the history of the Legislature introduced a superhero to our

Legislature. I’d like to introduce The Incredible Malcolm.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are joined here today with some individuals that graduated the Dechinta program, Dechinta alumni, as well as staff, and I’d just like to take the opportunity to recognize all those who have gone through the program: Ms. Cheryl Mandeville, Savannah Lantz, Justina Black, Rebecca Grooms, Charlotte Overvold, Trisha Smith, Mandee McDonald, and some of the staff as well, and Jimmy Billard and Erin Freeland-Ballantyne.

Just to note that of the 100 percent completion, 49 percent of those individuals pursue further education post-secondary, 57 of them are employed and 90 percent of these also are in the NWT labour force. Good job on the work that they do.

I’d also, at this time, like to welcome the Austin family and want to recognize the great support that this community has done over the weekend, as I attended the hockey game as well.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to take a second too. I’ll start with recognizing the Austin family. I understand they’re off to Disneyland tomorrow and I wish you safe travels.

I also want to recognize a constituent, one of the chief organizers of the Memorial Cup Challenge this past weekend, Chris Johnson with the Northern Safety Association. Welcome, Chris.

I know MLA Dolynny was also organizing the event on Saturday and I want to thank him for that as well.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Beaulieu.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I have a constituent in the audience. I would like to recognize Cheryl Mandeville.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also want to recognize the Dechinta students here and also to the special family here, the Austin family. I want to say thank you to all the people who made this event happen for the family on behalf of the Sahtu. Congratulations.

I also want to recognize two of the elders from the Deline leadership, the elders Andrew John Kenny and Leon Modeste.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess Minister Beaulieu and I will share recognition of constituent Cheryl Mandeville who actually lives in Yellowknife Centre but is from Fort Res, so we’ll share the constituent.

As my colleagues Mr. Dolynny, Mr. Ramsay, Mr. Moses and Mr. McLeod, I too wish to recognize Malcolm Austin. The Austin family has been going through a terrible challenge and I think they deserve to be recognized for their strength and I admire very much how they’ve come together for this fight. I also recognize how much this community has come together to help support them. I was at the community fundraiser with Mr. Dolynny at Sir John some time ago and the community is truly behind you 100 percent and we all wish you very well on your trip to Disneyland. Enjoy every moment of it. Thank you very much.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] I would like to also recognize students from Dechinta. We’ve been working with them for many years now and they have been working with us in Education. We’ve been working very well and moving forward with education.

Also, I would also like to recognize the Austin family in the audience. I realize that they are in a situation, but we are going to support them, also with prayers for them.

Also, Dave Roebuck, NWT executive director. I would also like to thank him for being in the audience. Thank you.