Mr. Speaker, I spoke before about the success that we've had with the couple of programs that are operating in the NWT and also the success of the program that's operating in Australia, and we support the idea of bringing Indigenous Guardianship Programs to more communities across the NWT. Again, if it's a question of funding then we will work with our federal counterparts because we can see some benefit to the rest of the country if we have these particular type of programs across the country. So I will make that commitment that we will work with our federal counterparts and through our own government if there is potential room for investments in these type of initiatives, we will be happy to have a look at it.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a follow-up to my Member's statement. I have a few questions for the Minister of Education. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my Member's statement, parents feel the need to -- you know, the decision should be theirs to put their child in any language program that they'd like them to learn. I'd like to ask the Minister how has the department directed education councils and school boards on access to language classes? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the concern from the Member. I know in communities like Inuvik and Aklavik where we have two different Aboriginal groups such as Gwich'in and Inuvialuit, putting your child in a language class is very important. It helps preserve culture languages as I spoke earlier in my Minister's statement; however, at Moose Kerr School I know that the staff work really hard to maintain, protect and revitalize both Inuvialuit and Gwich'in languages. With the Moose Kerr School, about 10 years ago they went by the healthcare card, what was on the healthcare card, then your student went into either Inuvialuit or Gwich'in. They changed it up a few years ago where the parents decide, and then I just found out that recently this year, 2016-2017 academic year, they went back to the healthcare card system. That's to make sure there's a good balance of students going to both the Inuvialuit and the Gwich'in classes. So right now they're using the health card system to choose how the student takes his class. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I'd also like to ask the Minister what options are available to parents and children who would like to enroll in a different language class?

It was actually up to the parents choosing up until this fiscal year, but moving forward I'd ask the Member if we have families that are concerned in Aklavik to go and speak to the teacher. If it's not resolved with the teacher, to speak with the principal and the last resort is bring it to the superintendent, but we will speak with the Beaufort Delta Education Council about this as it is a concern and we do have two communities, Aklavik and Inuvik, that can run into that issue in years to come.

Mr. Speaker, my constituents have gone to the school and to the local DEA, and they were told that this is a BDEC policy. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister, how will the department work to address parents' concerns, as I've outlined here today?

Yes, the department will follow-up with the Beaufort Delta Education Council, as this has been a concern and it's not the first time that we've had a family from the Member's community that brought this concern forward. Obviously, we want to revitalize our languages in Inuvialuit and Gwich'in, and keep it thriving in especially our smaller communities. So it is a concern and we'll have somebody from the department work with the Beaufort Delta Education Council to look at that policy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister, can the Minister ensure that this is straightened out by the mid-term of the school year? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As the Member said, the family member has already spoken with the teacher, so we will speak with the superintendent and try to get this addressed as soon as we can.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No mineral deposits have been discovered in the anomaly area, but, as the Member knows, Darnley Bay Resources has reported diamond-bearing kimberlite pipes there on the Parry Peninsula just northwest of there. Unfortunately, as the Member stated in his statement today, the drilling at Darnley Bay has not been able to determine what the anomaly actually represents and it's, you know, supposedly a very significant one. Mineral resources, what is contained there, will not be known until we are able to drill the area. But to get back to his question, ITI's Northwest Territories Geological Survey Division has Mineral Industry Assets Reports for the Darnley Bay area dating back to 1972.

Another area of interest is that the Geological Survey of Canada and NWT Geological Survey have recently conducted research in the area through a federal government Geo-Mapping and Energy Minerals Program, which is a seven-year $100 million program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the clarification. Mr. Speaker, my second question to the Minister is how is the department engaged in monitoring mineral resource development projects and staying up-to-date on activities of junior mining companies?

The Mineral Resource Division and the NWT Geological Survey both follow mineral development projects in the Northwest Territories and speak often with junior mining companies throughout the NWT. These divisions also monitor press releases by junior mining companies and compile a report. This report, though, is actually put out by the Mineral Exploration Overview and it's produced by the NWT Geological Survey. In addition, companies and prospectors regularly contact the staff at the Mining Recorder's Office, so we're in contact with junior mining companies in that manner.

Also, as early as this month, we're going to have the Yellowknife Geoscience Forum of the Northwest Territories, which I invite everyone to participate in in the House, it's on for three days from November 15th, and companies will regularly inform us on some of their updates and exploration programs.

I see the importance of the GNWT working with Aboriginal governments has moved toward mineral explorations and road building. Mr. Speaker, my third question for the Minister is what project readiness activities is the department undertaking during the current downturn in the economy so the Northwest Territories has a better capacity to take on new projects when commodity prices rise?

We have the Mineral Development Strategy, which provides the GNWT with clear direction on a large number of programs and activities that benefit the NWT economy, and when commodity prices rebound we will be looking towards that. Within ITI, both the Mineral Incentive Program and the Exploration Incentive Program provides various forms of support to help these companies participate in the Northwest Territories and be active.

It's also critical that we encourage companies to continue their exploration efforts in the territory and provide them with the information they need. ITI is well-equipped in that through our client services and our community relations unit, and we'd also like to highlight the work conducted by the Mineral Resources Division to encourage NWT regions to develop their own mineral strategies for their regions. It's been encouraging to see that the regions are going to be moving forward in developing some of their own mineral resource strategies, and we look forward to that.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the response. Mr. Speaker, my final question is Darnley Bay is also the site of a proposed marine protected area. How would developing minerals' interests and their sensitive ecosystems be balanced in a way that satisfies traditional land users, but also modern society's demand for mineral resources? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As the Member knows, the Government of the Northwest Territories is very supportive of the marine conservation area along the east and north coast of the Parry Peninsula, and we continue to work on that. This marine protected area, once established, will have numerous regulations in place that are expected to provide the balance that the Member speaks of here today in the House. It's encouraging to know that the conservation goals of these regulations have been developing using traditional local knowledge, so that's very important.

The regulations also consider the economic needs of the region and, in particular, the residents of Paulatuk. Moving forward, if the balance between conservation and development is not being achieved, the management plan in the marine area is adaptive and can be modified to better meet the needs of traditional land users.