Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my other question is: in terms of trying to understand the roles of this government and the federal government, in light of the recent transfer of responsibility of devolution from Ottawa to Yellowknife in terms of lands and public resources, where is the GNWT in terms of its responsibility regarding the Great Slave Lake and the fisheries stock that we have here? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The initiative to consider section 35 rights on the Great Slave Lake for fishing is a responsibility of the federal government. The territorial government looks to how we use that resource and how do we move it forward for economic opportunities for residents in the Northwest Territories, and that is what we have done, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My last question verges on the first question that I asked, and I don’t feel that the Minister answered my question, in whether the fishing strategy has a functional responsibility and whether, indeed, it addresses the very fundamental issue of the jurisdictions in the role of the First Nations. Would the Minister please answer that question? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe I answered this question. We took the opportunity when we were out doing consultation. The responsibility of section 35 is the federal government’s, as to do with the Great Slave Lake, to consult with Aboriginal governments and peoples. We went through the Great Slave Lake Advisory Committee, which has all the users around the lake, which includes, as I said, all the Aboriginal governments that use the lake. We used the opening for that advisory board to do our consultation.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was less than two weeks ago that I stood up here and asked the Minister of Education to commit to doing a foundational review of Aurora College, so who says government moves slowly? I would just like to flesh some of the details. I just have a couple of questions. My first is that he talks about a foundational review. Is that going to be something done internally by the college, something done by ECE, or are we having an external body come and look at this with some fresh eyes? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, because we are going to be doing this foundational review of the Aurora College, it will be done externally. We will get a third party to come in and do the review. The department, as well as the Aurora College, will get to have input in terms of the foundational review itself, but it will be done externally. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would just like to know: what is this review going to be looking at? Is this going to be looking at the way the programs are running, looking at if these are the programs we actually want and need, or is it also going to encompass the functioning of the administration when it comes to the campus itself, travel, and all those sorts of details?

I think the Member made a few good suggestions there. We are also looking at making the focus on our labour market needs, as well as the students’ needs, moving forward. I did commit, in my opening statement earlier today, that we will provide the terms of reference and get input from standing committee on the terms of reference. That terms of reference is going to help guide how the review will take place, and Members will have an opportunity to provide input into that terms of reference before we go out into the foundational review, itself.

This is my last question. I was wondering: what is the timeline on the development of that terms of reference? When can we expect that to be completed?

We are in the initial stages right now of developing that terms of reference. Once that terms of reference is done, we will bring it before Cabinet, and then, after Cabinet, we will take it before committee. I don't have an exact timeline when that will be, but as soon as we get it, we will get it out to committee for feedback so that we can start this review as soon as possible.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have struggled mightily to get some answers on instructional hours in this sitting, including oral questions and written questions, and I am now down to four that I need answers to, so I am going to try these with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. My first question is: why are reduced instructional hours being piloted all across the NWT in every school? Thank you.

Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We did go before standing committee in a public hearing last week. Not every school is taking up this pilot. I don't have the exact numbers on how many schools are going to be introducing this pilot, but it is optional, so we do have some schools that have decided to do the pilot, others that have not. We did give out information in January to all the schools, and we are working with superintendents and the principals to develop some of these plans moving forward. I can assure the Member that not all schools have jumped on to taking this pilot on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks to the Minister for his answer. Can he give us an indication, of the 49 schools, how many schools have opted out?

We have given every school in the Northwest Territories an opportunity to participate in this three-year pilot. The deadline actually isn't until the end of March. I do believe our department is still working with some schools to develop a plan, but the deadline isn't until the end of March. At that time, we can inform the Member of how many schools are actually participating in this pilot.

Thank you to the Minister. How will the department measure success for students and teachers of this pilot project?

During the session that we had with standing committee last week, there were a lot of really good ideas in terms of how do we evaluate, how do we measure, and how do we assess how this program is going on on a yearly basis, much like we do with all of our education renewal pilots that we have throughout the Northwest Territories right now. We will be using those indicators, attendance, graduation. We had some really a good feedback on individual education plans as well as student support plans, that Members were sharing. We will take all of that information and that feedback that we got from committee moving forward, in terms of measuring this program, evaluating it, and assessing it.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my final question is: is the department prepared to reverse this reduction in instructional hours if the pilot isn't successful, using those student and teacher outcomes? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, teachers play a very vital role, a very vital, critical, and a very important role, in our communities as well as in our schools. Outside parents, they are the ones that spend the most time with our youth and help them develop, help them to learn. The work done to date between the Education, Culture and Employment, the NWT Teachers' Association, as well as NWT Superintendents' Association brought this forward. We need to listen to the needs and the supports of our teachers. We have to listen to their concerns.

In the meeting last week, I did mention to committee that I have also been attending these local receiving officer meetings, that this is also a big concern, and they represent all teachers in their regions. We will continue to monitor and evaluate the program as a the pilot rolls out, but this is something that the teachers' association that speaks on behalf of the teachers as well as our superintendents have brought forward, and we want to address some of the workload issues and some of the wellness issues of our teachers and how important they are to the development of our children as well as our education.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.