The Minister just said he would hope for 80 percent. Well, actually, I hope we have 100 percent graduation rates. Unlike the Minister had just said, I hope that every child has the future and that they work through graduation. You can’t get a job with the military or the RCMP these days that people used to go through with grades 10, 11 and 12. You need a minimum of Grade 12.

The specific question to the Minister of Education is: What incentives are put in through the education program to encourage our youth to fulfil their obligation by getting through the education system and all the way to the end by graduating?

The Member is referring to 100 percent. Obviously, I agree with that, but it takes a whole community. It just takes the Department of Education to graduate these individuals. We have to gain support and a push from the parents, a push from the community

members, the leaders. We’ve had some challenges along the way. Yes, we’re at a 50 percent margin right now, but obviously our goal is to increase that through the Education Renewal and Innovation. I have just captured some of the key points that we will be delivering, working with our stakeholders. We can’t forget that the district education council and authority are our key partners, and also the parents and grandparents as well.

The Minister says it takes a community, but it also takes leadership at the Minister’s office. What is the Minister doing to engage the students to find out what types of incentives they need to be partners in their own future? Not just the parents, not just the district education authorities and not just everybody in the ivory tower at the buildings downtown.

What are the students being talked to and engaged about? What it would take for them to want to graduate? Is the Minister doing that outreach and what is the outreach determining?

There are so many initiatives that my department is working on. When we were at NWT Days in Ottawa we also met with university students from the Northwest Territories. Obviously we want them to come back to our Northwest Territories and work for us. It was a very productive meeting and we’re going to continue to do that. Every time we travel to other provincial jurisdictions, we want to meet with the students. We care for the students. We want them to come back. We support them. There is the Education Renewal and Innovation that’s happening that will capture three years of action plan. Also, the Skills for Success is another prime initiative that our students should be fully aware of, and we are promoting that, as well, into our school system. The Aboriginal Student Achievement was the start of our engagement with the youth and students. That was a few years back. Now we continue to push that forward. The whole Education Renewal and Innovation will certainly capture that.

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

Mr. Speaker, I’m not hearing anything from that last answer that specifically points to what they’re doing. The Minister said there are so many initiatives. Name clearly one initiative that is engaged with the students to find out what’s important to them to encourage them to proceed towards graduation.

This is such an important thing that our students get a graduation certificate, because their future counts on it. We can only go backwards so far and hope and dream and pray and plead with them that they graduate, but we must get them involved in this solution.

Name one clear thing that the department has done, the Minister has done to build engagement with the students so that we work towards 100 percent graduation.

The Education Renewal and Innovation has engaged students in a wide variety of ways. We want to hear their perspectives, their experience, what they’re faced with, whether it be in high school, whether it be in post-secondary, because from their feedback we want to make productive choices and make some changes with our Education Act and programming. We’ll continue to push that forward. This is not the only time. There will be plenty of opportunities to engage our students across the Northwest Territories, the 8,000 students. We want them to be successful. We are creating all these different initiatives along the way, and as part of the initiatives the ERI will be creating incentives for these students to return to the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Item 8, written questions. Item 9, returns to written questions. Item 10, replies to opening address. Mr. Yakeleya.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to return to item 5 on the orders of the day.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, colleagues. Once again, I’d like to recognize the Deline leadership, the negotiating team on these past couple days, a historical day for them. Welcome, and good to see you guys again.

Item 11, petitions. Item 12, reports of standing and special committees. Item 13, reports of committees on the review of bills. Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Social Programs has reviewed Bill 36, Health and Social Services Professions Act, and wishes to report that Bill 36 is now ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole as amended and reprinted.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. Item 14, tabling of documents. Mr. Yakeleya.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to table the Globe and Mail article, Aboriginal literacy pilot project dramatically improves test scores in Ontario.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to table a couple of news reports here. The first one is from Northern Journal, October 27, 2014, and it’s entitled “Cultural resurgence at core of the Dechinta studies – all women cohort attends fall semester out on the land.”

The second one is from the Globe and Mail, entitled “Learning from the land in the North,” and it’s referencing the work that Dechinta University has done as well.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. Item 15 notices of motion. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Thursday, February 26, 2015, I will move the following motion: I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that, notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on Thursday, February 26, 2015, it shall be adjourned until Monday, March 2, 2015;

And further, that any time prior to March 2, 2015, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may give notice and thereupon the House shall meet at the time stated in such notice and shall transact its business as it has been duly adjourned to that time. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Item 16, notices of motion for first reading of bills. Item 17, motions. Item 18, first reading of bills. Item 19, second reading of bills. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Sahtu, that Bill 46, Deline Final Self-Government Agreement Act, be read for the second time.

This bill approves, gives effect to and declares valid the Deline agreement, which is a self-government agreement among the Sahtu Dene and Metis of Deline, the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Government of Canada.

This bill also gives effect to the Deline Tax Treatment Agreement, which is an agreement in relation to the tax treatment of the Deline Got’ine Government.

This bill provides for the legal recognition of the Deline Agreement, the Deline Tax Treatment Agreement and laws made by the Deline Got’ine Government.

Finally, this bill also provides for consequential amendments to the Waters Act and for the repeal of instruments pertaining to the establishment of the Charter Community of Deline.

I also request a recorded vote on this historic day. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I stand proudly to second this bill and thank my colleagues from the other side to allow this to happen.

I do want to say, in keeping with the spirit of the Deline Got’ine people, that what they have done is historical. The visions of the people are coming to realization. We don’t know what’s going to happen and it’s because of the elders in their wisdom and the guidance of us young leaders that they tell us how to go about and how to live our life. Sometimes we don’t quite understand from our culture, but our elders have guided this team for over 18 years or longer to this place here. You are setting a government, a model, for all of the other communities to look at. Nobody said it was going to be easy, but you stuck together and you worked as one, one people, one vision, one voice. It is like you’re drumming. Sometimes our songs are not quite the same until you play for a long time together and then it comes to be one song, one drum beat, and that’s what the Deline people have done. They worked hard together. This is for their children now to take these tools and for this government to work.

In life you have to negotiate what you want and you stick strong to your beliefs, strong to your faith. It

takes all kinds of people, governments, our government, the federal government. There are people that are no longer with us who are in another world who we think about.

So I want to say to the Deline leadership, to the negotiators, to our negotiators, to the federal government negotiators and to the people of the Northwest Territories that anything worthwhile is not easy. Anything good like this is very, very difficult, very, very hard. Like an elder said, “Whoever said life was easy, come over and tell me that. I want to talk to that person who said life was easy.” Then they talk to that person.

So for the Deline government, you’ve done it, you’ve shown people, you’re the trailblazers, there’s hope for our people. You’ve given us hope. Twenty years ago we never thought this would be possible.

So I want to say again, thank you very much to the Members of the Assembly here for this historical day, going through this process. You have done it, you have set the trail for us, you have set the standards. God bless you. Work hard as you continue to make your government strong, make it strong for your young grandchildren, their children and all your people.

In closing, continue to listen to your elders and to your prophets. It will be a good life. So, mahsi cho. It is a good day today, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi cho.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. To the principle of the bill, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of Bill 46 and I’d like to extend my congratulations to the Deline Got’ine First Nations as they see one of the final steps in their self-government negotiations. I do want to say that when I visited there, they’re only building on their prophets and what they want for their people. I wish them every success as they exert their independence and yet they can still exist in this great Northwest Territories of ours. All they’re seeking is to better the lives of their people and control of their future.

Once again, I want to extend my congratulations and mahsi cho.