Thank you. Members, please turn now to the departmental summary found on page 137. Finance, operations expenditures, total department, 2021-2022 Main Estimates, $301,826,000. Mr. Norn.

The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Further consideration of Department of Finance, operations expenditures, total department is deferred. Thank you, Minister, and thank you to the witnesses for appearing before us. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses from the Chamber. We will take about five minutes for the Minister of the next department.

---SHORT RECESS

Thank you Committee. We will resume consideration of Tabled Document 286-19(2), Main Estimates 2021-2022. Does the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment have any opening remarks?

Yes, I do, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, committee, I am here to present the 2021-2022 Main Estimates for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. Overall, the department's estimates propose an increase of $13.3 million, or 3.9 percent, over the 2020-2021 Main Estimates. These estimates support the mandate objectives for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment while continuing to meet the GNWT's fiscal objectives to prioritize responsible and strategic spending.

Highlights of the proposed estimates include forced-growth funding of $4.3 million, including:

• an additional $4.1 million to address the increased demand on the Income Assistance program; and
• $222,000 to establish two student records coordinator positions, each with a two-year term, to handle record requests related to the Federal Indian Day School Class Action Settlement.

The proposed estimates also reflect a total increase of $2.591 million to support new initiatives. This amount is comprised of:

• $1.17 million to expand senior secondary Northern Distance Learning program in 20 small communities;
• $508,000 to establish three regional based career and education advisor positions to enhance post-secondary awareness and employment opportunities for grades 9 to 12 students;
• $306,000 to support the modernization of the Education Act;
• $265,000 to support the development and implementation of competency-based professional standards for JK to 12 educators, to improve educators' certification process, and to increase opportunities for educators to access online professional collaboration;
• $177,000 to support the quality assurance requirements needed under the Post-Secondary Education Act; and
• $165,000 to continue phase 3 and undertake phase 4 of the NWT school and community child and youth care counsellors program.

The proposed estimates also reflect a total increase of $8.893 million for other adjustments, which include:

• $4.255 million to continue supporting JK to 12 schools in remaining open during the pandemic;
• $1.088 million to implement two new benefits to support post-secondary students in their technology needs during the COVID-19 pandemic;
• $774,000 to increase the valuation allowance provision of the Student Loan Revolving Fund;
• $711,000 to provide additional funding for minority and second language education programs in accordance with the newly signed Canada-NWT Cooperation Agreement;
• $600,000 to support labour market recovery efforts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the NWT;
• $600,000 to fund the development of an Indigenous Languages Adult Immersion Diploma in partnership with Aurora College, the University of Victoria, and Indigenous governments;
• $500,000 to continue an infrastructure fund to assist early learning and childcare programs with a cost of property improvements or new construction needed to offer new or expanded licensed programming; and
• $365,000 to maintain 12 multi-person family housing units for Aurora College in Inuvik.

These increases are partially offset by a total decrease of $2.299 million reflecting funding scheduled to sunset on March 31, 2021. The sunsets reflect year-over-year changes and departmental activities in Northern Distance Learning and Northern Studies expansion; time limited funding of Aurora College Housing in Inuvik; time limited funding of a student records coordinator position; as well as redirection of Child and Youth Care Counsellors implementation funding from ECE to Health and Social Services.

These estimates continue to support the priorities of the 19^th Legislative Assembly by:

• implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples through continued support for Indigenous language revitalization initiatives;
• advancing universal childcare by increasing availability and affordability by continuing to implement the actions identified in the Right From the Start: A Framework and Action Plan for Early Childhood Development in the NWT 2013-2023 and the Early Learning and Childcare Canada-NWT Bilateral Agreement and Action Plan;
• increasing student education outcomes to the same level as the rest of Canada through increased opportunities in all NWT small schools through Northern Distance Learning, and the implementation of an action plan that responds to the Education Renewal and Innovation Framework Evaluation 2020 and the Office of the Auditor General of Canada Report on Early Childhood to Grade 12 Education in the NWT 2020;
• enabling seniors to age in place with dignity by increasing the Senior Home Heating Subsidy and creating a separate Income Assistance program tailored to seniors and persons with disabilities; and
• transforming Aurora College into an accredited and independent polytechnic university by continuing to develop the polytechnic university implementation plan.

That concludes my opening remarks. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Do you wish to bring witnesses into the House?

Yes, I do.

Thank you. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber. Would the Minister please introduce his witnesses?

Thank you, Madam Chair. With us today, we have Ms. Rita Mueller, deputy minister of Education, Culture and Employment, and Mr. Sam Shannon, assistant deputy minister, corporate management. Thank you.

Thank you. Welcome. Committee, I would just like to remind everyone today for the Minister, his witnesses, and the Members to address their questions through the chair. Thank you. We have agreed to forego general comments. Does committee agree to proceed to the detail contained in the tabled document?

Committee, we will defer the departmental summary and review the estimates by activity summary, beginning with corporate management, starting on page 33 with information items on page 34. Questions from Members? Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I think, probably, of all the legislative work that is released in the business plans on the legislative agenda, the Education Act is the most significant that this House has decided to take on. I also note that I think, for whatever reason, when you look across GNWT departments, there's just the policy legislation, and sometimes it includes communication and sometimes it doesn't. Shops just vary widely in size for no real reason. I think ENR's shop is about 12 people, which is the same size, if not larger, than ECE's, despite a completely different workload. All that to say, I think that there is probably a larger issue of making sure that each department has a fair, relative to the other departments, policy shop compared to workload.

I am concerned that this department, specifically, does not have the capacity to take on the Education Act. I think the Minister has spoken to this previously. In some jurisdictions, there would be hundreds of people working on curriculum. There would be dozens and dozens of people trying to take on this work, and we are obviously a jurisdiction that can't afford to do that. I was hoping that the Minister could speak to whether he thinks the capacity in this policy and legislation shop is sufficient to bring forward the Education Act on time and to the full extent that I think it needs to be changed. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Thank you. Committee will note that there are a couple of extra positions here to assist with that type of work. I believe that we will be able to bring the act in on time and, more importantly, to do the work to the extent that it needs to be done. Honestly, I am more concerned about doing it right than doing it quickly, and if that means adjusting timelines at the end of the Assembly and perhaps we even just leave this for the next Assembly after all of the work has been done, I am open to looking into things, as well. I was part of an Assembly where I saw how rushed legislation caused issues and don't want that to happen, so we're putting in place the right people, the right positions, and putting in the work. We have a solid timeline, and I hope or I believe that we can do what we need to do, but we won't be sacrificing quality. Thank you.

Thank you. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes. I am fully supportive of seeing these two positions and hearing that they are there for the Education Act. I am terrified at the prospect of not getting the Education Act done in the life of this Assembly. I actually don't think we took on that ambitious of a legislative agenda, because of the lessons learned in the last Assembly of trying to get too much done and then not doing it properly. To me, the Education Act is one of the pinnacle pieces of legislation that this Assembly has decided to tackle. Can I just get an update from the Minister of when he expects the Education Act to be introduced and when committee can expect to see an LP? Thank you, Madam Chair.

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

Thank you. An LP, I think that we're looking at, let me see, 2022. Is that correct? Some point in 2022. I'll have to flip through my briefing binder for the exact date, but introduction of the bill, we hope for February/March of 2023, which would give ample time for committee to do the work they need to do on that bill. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Member.

Thank you. Yes, February/March of 2023 is about the latest you could introduce a bill and make sure committee has time. I recognize that it is possible to get it done and give committee time to review that, but I would caution the Minister that, if there was any chance of this getting delayed, that date should remain firm. No further questions, Your Honour. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Are there any other questions under corporate management? Member for Monfwi.