This is page numbers 2163 - 2198 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 services.

Topics

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

First aid training is within the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, and I'm certainly interested in working with them to understand what it is they provide. At this point, it's not a Health and Social Services role, so I don't have the specifics the Member is looking for.

Steve Norn

Steve Norn Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

I'm starting to get a little better, clearer picture right now. Maybe when I have time, maybe I will have some more questions for our Minister of MACA, but maybe I'm hoping the Minister could probably help, maybe answer, and shed some more light on this. Is the Minister able to answer if first aid or first responder training is tracked in the NWT at all, in any way, shape, or form?

Julie Green

Julie Green Yellowknife Centre

This training is not provided within the Department of Health and Social Services or the health authorities, so I don't have the information the Member is asking for. He may be able to get that from MACA.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment who I know has plans to bring forward the Education Act, and as part of that, my question is: would he show support for students and allow them to vote in their school board elections at age 16? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This isn't something that's currently on the radar, but I'm not opposed to the idea. I think that it's not a bad idea, actually, allow having 16-year-olds vote for school board reps. That being said, there are implications in terms of administration. The DEA right now, they share their election with the municipalities, and so there are enumerations that are shared. You have to be a certain age to vote in a municipal election, and if now we're adding another cohort of people, there are those costs, as well. It's not like it's just something I can sign off and do. There're other acts involved, but that being said, I'm happy to have the discussion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Yes, I hoped to also ask questions of the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, so maybe if we change the enumeration there, then, they'll line up. I think the other option here would be to give the school boards the option of whether they want to lower it themselves and let them decide. As part of the Education Act, is the Minister willing to reach out to the DEAs and see if they have any input on lowering the voting age or any of the changes to how they run their elections?

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Yes, I can bring this up with the local school boards. I meet with the chairs of the DEAs and DECs on a regular basis, and we are soon to start engaging formally on the modernization of the Education Act. I will be engaging with them, and really, if anyone, any resident of the Northwest Territories thinks that this is a change that is worthwhile, then they can provide that input, as well. I'm not only asking the school boards; I'll ask anyone in the territory.

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

No further questions, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. I noted in my statement that YK1, YCS, CSFTNO and Aurora College share the same meagre bandwidth through a data feed provided by GNWT for all four institutions. Can the Minister confirm that he's aware of this problem, and what is he doing about it? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am aware that everyone in the territory has bandwidth issues. There are bandwidth issues here at the Legislative Assembly. There're bandwidth issues at my office in Hay River that's on the government Internet. There are bandwidth issues at my house. I know there's bandwidth issues, and yes, I'm aware that schools also have them. It's been brought to my attention. ECE works with the school boards and with the Department of Infrastructure as a facilitator because it's not ECE who operates the Internet, who invests in the infrastructure. That's a different department, but we do act as that intermediary, and we bring those concerns forward. I'd like to say the four schools in Yellowknife -- I'll leave it at that. There's some technical stuff I don't want to get into it because I don't want to get it wrong, so I'll perhaps leave it for my colleague at another date. Thank you.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

I want to thank the Minister. I know he's a fabulous facilitator, and I look forward to him working even harder on this issue. I mentioned dissatisfaction that has been expressed by teachers, the poor response times for Internet and technology issues that GNWT's supposed to help with. Will the Minister take this up with his colleague the Minister of Infrastructure and make sure that service calls affecting our educational needs receive the necessary attention?

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

Already done.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

I want to thank the Minister. I'm on a roll here. I better keep going. As bad as the situation may be here in Yellowknife, I'm sure it's much worse in other regions and communities, and it creates a real digital divide here. Can the Minister explain what his department is doing to ensure accessible and affordable Internet access for all of our students?

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

This is a topic discussed frequently around the Cabinet table. ECE doesn't have responsibility over this. Of course, the Minister of Finance is often answering questions about this in the House. The Minister of Infrastructure is responsible for the government infrastructure, but I have conversations with both of them. At the national level, I have conversations with the other Ministers of education of Canada, and we've approached the federal government about the need for investments in broadband infrastructure. The Student Financial Assistance program has provided a monthly technology grant of $100 to help students access funding. Students who attend Aurora College were eligible for a one-time grant to help set up Internet.

There's a number of different things that we're doing. We also need to look at how Internet is being used in schools. We need to monitor it. There is hardware in place for that, and I think we can be more effective with using that. We also understand that you don't need Internet for everything in schools. Yes, it's great, but I think most people in here got through school without using the Internet in every single class, for better or for worse, but it can be done. Through blended learning, we can also mitigate some of those challenges.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Frame Lake.

Kevin O'Reilly

Kevin O'Reilly Frame Lake

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. Sure. I recognize that this issue cuts across many departments, but this is becoming a real issue for low-income families and post-secondary students. Unless our students have access and affordable Internet, education is not universal. I want to ask the Minister, within his authority, what is he doing to remove barriers related to Internet accessibility and affordability for families and students? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

R.J. Simpson

R.J. Simpson Hay River North

I would just be repeating everything I said. Maybe I jumped the gun and answered the question too early, but the Member can refer to my last answer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

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

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think I got a bit of a win from the Minister of ECE about looking into lowering the voting age for the Education Act, which covers our school boards, but I think this step is also appropriate at the community level. My question is for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Is she willing to support our youth and lower the voting age for municipal elections? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since the voting age was reduced in Canada in 1970 from age 21 to 18, there have been many attempts to lower the age voting group, including recent discussions nationally about the federal elections. In the Northwest Territories, this has not been brought to us as a concern from NWTAC, but it doesn't stop us from having that discussion. I will be meeting with NWTAC this weekend. We will be discussing topics around elections in the Northwest Territories, and I will bring this up at that table. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.