This is page numbers 1 - 18 of the Hansard for the 19th Assembly, 2nd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was work.

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Commissioner's Opening Address

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

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Lesa Semmler

Lesa Semmler Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for her answer. Can the Minister provide me or the Members with any information packages that we can keep in our offices for when clients do come to us? When we go to the websites, sometimes it is not as clear. If we have easy-to-read stuff, whatever issue that they are dealing with, we would be able to provide them with assistance.

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Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

I would absolutely ensure that we provide that to all of the Members of this House and to provide that, both in terms of the documentation that I know is out there, but also information on how to access it, and perhaps ensure that it gets to everyone's constituency assistants, as well. I thank the Member for that suggestion.

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Question 4-19(2):
Aurora College President

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Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Firstly, I do not think it is the role of this House to discuss personnel matters, but when the personnel is the president of a college, a role that is necessarily required to be arm's length and independent from political interference, I believe that is a different question.

My question is to the Minister of ECE. When will Aurora College or the university it is to become get a president who is arm's length from the department? Thank you.

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

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R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There was a foundational review of Aurora College in the last Assembly. There was a government response to that foundational review, to the recommendations of it. That foundational review stated that we should just get rid of the president altogether and have a bureaucratic head of the college. What we have chosen to do is keep the president and have the associate deputy minister position so that there is a bit more continuity.

Right now, we believe that this is essential to ensure that both the college and the transformation team are working towards the same goal. If we have two completely distinct bodies with separate authorities, we could run into some conflicts, and it could slow the entire process down. The plan is that, until we are at a position where we have a board of governors with revised responsibilities, where, perhaps, we have an academic senate, we are going to maintain the situation we have right now.

At a point in the future, when we are ready to have a completely arm's-length institution, we will proceed as such with the board of governors, with the senate, and then a president. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

I find the Minister's answers assuring that he understands the importance of academic freedom. Universities Canada's academic freedom in regards to leadership emphasizes that university presidents must ensure that funding does not interfere with autonomy in deciding what is studied and how.

It is clear, in its current state, that Aurora College is not meeting this definition of academic freedom. Can the Minister provide me with an answer to what is being ensured so that Aurora College's, and the soon-to-be-university's, academic freedom will be preserved into the future?

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R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

The Member is referring to the academic freedom that universities have. Of course, Aurora College is not yet a university. It doesn't participate in the type of research that necessitates that type of academic freedom, necessarily, but I can assure the Member that the foundational review recommended developing an arm's-length body. The government response agreed that we need to develop an arm's-length body, and I personally can assure the Member that I am not going to preside over the creation of something similar to what we had. I am not going to repeat the mistakes of the past. When we are done with this project, we are going to have a fully arm's-length university that is not subject to interference from the department.

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.

Question 5-19(2):
Language Teachers

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Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Masi, Mr. Speaker. The teachers recognized today all have a unique skill set: their language. Their skills cannot be imported from the South. Many of these teachers will be retiring in the near future, and unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer fluent speakers to take their spots.

Mr. Speaker, the first question is to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. How does the department plan to support schools in language programming as these teachers retire? Masi.

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

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R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the Member for bringing this to the House's attention and thank all of the teachers that the Member mentioned. If you look at the list, most of those names have over 20 years of experience; some have 30; some have 40. They are nearing retirement, and ECE and the education bodies are very concerned about the fact that there are not enough fluent speakers to replace these teachers. The department can't address this issue alone, and it is undertaking a concerted effort to begin working with Indigenous governments to address the issue.

In 2018, the NWT Indigenous Languages Framework and Action Plan was implemented, and as part of that, there are a number of initiatives that we are undertaking. It's really the blueprint for going forward. ECE is committed to developing Indigenous language capacity through partnerships with regional governments as well as the communities and post-secondary educations, and, since September 2018, ECE has provided two territory-wide teacher in-services to over 80 Indigenous language teachers, and the department is committed to continuing this training.

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Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mr. Speaker, what measures has the department taken to build capacity to develop fluent speakers who can become language teachers?

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R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department, in recent years especially, has really been doing quite a bit in this area. Since 2018-2019, ECE has partnered with the University of Alberta's Canadian Indigenous Languages and Literacy Development Institute to deliver Indigenous language programs to community members. Approximately 130 participants have been involved in the NWT-sponsored program. Since 2018, ECE has awarded 29 Indigenous language revitalization scholarships, each worth $5,000, to support NWT students registered in an accredited post-secondary program with a focus on language revitalization. ECE has also partnered with Aurora College and the University of Victoria to deliver the certificate in Indigenous language revitalization to employ individuals interested in Indigenous language revitalization. Fourteen students will complete the program by March 2020. In 2020, ECE hosted a workshop for nearly 20 Indigenous language instructors, training them on the Our Languages curriculum, pedagogy, and resources to use in the school system.

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Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mr. Speaker, it's great that the department has several plans in place. We definitely need to improve in those areas. My third question obviously is: what are the plans? What plans has the department or has it encouraged as careers that require Indigenous languages and to develop fluent speakers to fill those career positions, Mr. Speaker, as language teachers?

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R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Mr. Speaker, the plans are to continue what we've been doing. I just mentioned a number of different programs that the department is involved with. Also, ECE is currently facilitating partnerships between post-secondary institutions and regional Indigenous governments, with the focus on helping communities build Indigenous language capacity to develop programming that strengthens Indigenous languages and encourages development at the community level. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Monfwi.

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Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Masi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my final question is: currently, there are many of our young people who have some knowledge of the language, are either latent speakers; they understand but do not speak or need to develop their language skills even further. We know that an immersion program is the best way to learn a language. Do we currently have an immersion program for young adults or adults to learn a language so they can pursue these careers and fill these positions?

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R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

ECE is partnering with three regional Indigenous governments, and we are piloting a program called the NWT Indigenous Languages Mentor Apprenticeship Program, and there are approximately 60 participants in the program right now. Now, this program pairs a fluent Indigenous speaker with an Indigenous language learner through language immersion, and the goal is to have apprentices increase their fluency and confidence in speaking and understanding the languages, with the ultimate goal of becoming fluent enough that they can then become teachers. Lastly, ECE is partnering with post-secondary organizations in order to develop adult language immersion programs here in the Northwest Territories.

Once again, I want to thank the Member for bringing this to light because this is a concern across the territory, and, the Member's region, they have done well, and they have a strong language. That can't necessarily be said for the rest of the territory. We're losing speakers, and right now the department and the division that is tasked with this is passionately working to revitalize those languages. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Question 6-19(2): Community Wellness Plans
Commissioner's Opening Address

February 5th, 2020

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Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. What I'd like to know is: do we have an integrative group working on community wellness plans at this time? Thank you.

Question 6-19(2): Community Wellness Plans
Commissioner's Opening Address

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.

Question 6-19(2): Community Wellness Plans
Commissioner's Opening Address

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Diane Archie

Diane Archie Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. While there is no specific working group addressing community wellness as a system, there are a number of intergovernmental working groups that have wellness communities as an end goal. Within the Health and Social Services we have a number of intergovernmental committees that focus on early childhood development, supports for persons with disabilities, and the problematic substance use working group are just a few examples. Many of these groups have representatives from the community or individual with lived experience. The intergovernmental poverty reduction group is a good example of a group with direct connection to the community wellness.

Question 6-19(2): Community Wellness Plans
Commissioner's Opening Address

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Caitlin Cleveland

Caitlin Cleveland Kam Lake

Is there a plan in the near future to bring all of those components together to be able to create a wellness plan specific to each community in the Northwest Territories?