My second question is: what are the current pupil/teacher ratios at the Chief Sunrise and Deh Gah Schools?

I don't have that detailed information in front of me right now, but I can commit that I'll get that information and I will share it with the Member.

This is my final question: how is the department ensuring that boards, education councils and education authorities are being kept up-to-date with all the recent changes so that these organizations can keep parents up-to-date?

As soon as the Budget Address was completed last week, our staff made phone calls to all the superintendents and was working out a plan moving forward. Of course, with the new funding that was announced, we're going to want to meet and talk with all the school boards and have them present information to parents as well. We, as a department, are going to be sending out letters to all parents as well who have junior kindergarten students, as well as information packages.

Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today my questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. The Minister has yet to brief the Members of the Standing Committee on Social Development on the MOU reached with the teachers. These are important changes, and the Minister is not making allies by ignoring it. That said, let us get into the rationale for this decision. What is the policy basis for cutting instructional hours? Thank you.

Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Currently, NWT has the highest student-teacher instructional hours in all of Canada. Our teachers, on average, are working about 52 hours a week. Research has suggested that increasing teachers' professional learning and strengthening a teacher's instructional practice is one of the most powerful and effective ways to ensure quality teaching and significantly improve student achievement. I believe there isn't a policy that we have to address. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I note that is not a policy basis. That is some research that he is quoting from there. That said, what other options were considered to reduce teacher workloads, such as using more teachers' assistants or increasing administration staff rather than cutting instructional hours?

As I've said in the House on many occasions, we do give $152 million to all the education boards. How they choose to budget line items within those dollars that we give them is up to the education board.

The Minister has an unblemished record of not answering the questions, so I will plow on. Where will resources for the increased professional development come from?

With the announcement, the NWT Teachers' Association, all the school boards, and our staff are working out a way to support our teachers in the schools, and this is going to be on a school-by-school basis, how they make those decisions.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Finally for this round, at what point will the GNWT be prepared to make investments in education instead of making cuts on the backs of children through JK, instructional hours, and other initiatives? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have made those investments, fully funding junior kindergarten moving forward, so it's not on the backs of children. We work with the school boards to ensure that they get the support they need for student best outcomes, best student success for Northern residents, right from our smallest communities to here in Yellowknife. Those decisions are also made by the school board, how they take that funding that we give them and allocate it in the school system.

Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I spoke about some of the issues with accessing mental health services in Hay River, so I have some questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. We can't seem to keep counsellors in Hay River. They come. They're good. People like them, and then they go. We have issues with referrals. They're not being done in time. The policy doesn't seem to be followed all the time.

I do not want to malign any members of the public service. I am always careful about that, but if this is an issue with management, what is being done to rectify that issue? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Health and Social Services

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member for raising the question. The Member has shared this information with me, and his current concerns, previously. I have taken those concerns to the public administrator, who has indicated to me that they are certainly looking into the issue, and working to address any challenges within that area. I do recognize, and I think the Member as well, recruitment is difficult with some of these professions, and we continue to get out as best we can to fill those positions. With respect to structure, management, I have raised those concerns with the public administrator. He's indicated that they are working on it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is good to hear that they're being worked on. I'll be following up with this. As I mentioned earlier as well, to see a psychiatrist when you get a referral, you have to come up to Yellowknife. Basically, you fly up. You wait your four or five or six hours. You go to the psychiatrist, and you go back to the airport, or maybe your appointment is in the morning. Either way, you are in there for an hour, hour and a half. It is an emotional session. A lot of people come out of there upset. They are crying. They need some time to calm down. What happens is, they leave the psychiatrist's office and there is no one there to help them calm down. There's no quiet place for them to go. They are just sent out into the world. If you live in Yellowknife, you can go home. We do not have that if we are coming from out of town. What's the plan to fix this problem, Mr. Speaker?

Over the years, we have had a lot of issues brought to me, and this is the first time this particular issue has been brought to me, so I really thank the Member for bringing it to me, and we will certainly take a look at it.

I would like to say that one of the major factors driving integration of the Health and Social Services system was to recognize that we all need to be players in moving forward and finding resolutions and solutions for our residents based on a client-focused system. This is the type of thing that I think we are going to be able to address in a single system, far easier than we were able to address in a multi-system that we had before. I really thank the Member for bringing it up, and I am certainly going to follow up with the department.

I like all the commitments to follow up. As soon as I hear any information, I will be sharing what I can share with the public so that they know what is going on as well, because this is an issue that a lot of people are dealing with.

My final question is, we have the Mental Health Strategic Framework, the Mental Health Action Plan. There are lots of action plans. There are lots of strategic frameworks in the government. I want to know: how is this going to affect people on the ground in Hay River? How are these action plans and frameworks going to affect people in Hay River accessing mental health services?

The department did extensive consultations in the lead-up to the creation of the framework that the Member has mentioned, and we did a validation exercise that took place with key stakeholders, including people who are actually living with mental health issues or mental health illness. From there, as the Member indicated, we are going to be coming forward with a number of action plans. Those action plans will provide direction on how we're going to move forward to do the exact things that the Member is talking about. I do not want to presuppose what is going to be in that document. I do not want to presuppose those recommendations, but I am committed to working with committee to bring those forward to put in place a solid action plan that will meet the needs of all residents of the Northwest Territories, Hay River included.

Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.