Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct. In March 2019, as part of the commitment to implement measures intended to improve accountability and efficiency of their programs and services, the hamlet did enter into a co-management agreement and work plan with Municipal and Community Affairs. The agreement and work plan included recommendation for operational review conducted in months leading up to the agreement. The agreement expired. Again, I wish to stress it expired March 31st, 2020. And while some of the objectives were not fully achieved, the hamlet was demonstrating a commitment to successfully accomplishing these objectives. It was therefore agreed that Municipal and Community Affairs would continue to work closely with the hamlet on the work plan action and planned action items without extending the co-management agreement. So that was an agreement with the department and the hamlet. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you, Minister, for that. Yeah, I guess the community's been wanting answers for some time, and we had a meeting in May, and we were -- I attended that meeting in that community and they were still asking the question, you know, where's the Minister, where's the MACA staff, and that kind of thing. So anyways, so Mr. Speaker, it's clear the residents of Fort Resolution are frustrated. Will the Minister go to Fort Resolution and consult with the community members and elected council before taking further action? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just need to clear the air. So mayor and the deputy mayor reached out to me. We had a conversation. They told me that they were going to be on -- and I believe it was May 10th they were going to have a meeting. I explained that I was travelling already attending an FPT meeting and that however our staff would be available. Our staff -- we did give them that information and staff was waiting the whole night to get the phone call to be brought in. So we were making ourselves available. I can advise you that I ran into the deputy mayor this week and offered to go into Fort Res and speak to the community leadership as my schedule allows. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Minister. I think now that, you know, it sounds like the administration's going to happen, and there are still concerns with the residents of Fort Resolution in regards to the water rates and sewer rates going up. Can the Minister assure the community that that doesn't happen right now until we have a better hand on what's going to happen in the administration work plan? And I'm hoping that the Minister could probably explain that as he goes into the community once he's notified on the date. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do not have a timeline or implementation plan yet. The Minister hasn't even started the required work to address the deficit and outstanding issues. So that work needs to be done. There may likely be some changes required to the hamlet programs and services, including the water and sewer rates. However, we don't know that until we look at it. Municipal and Community Affairs is aware that several hamlet programs and services are not currently functioning at full capacity, and there will likely be changes needed to ensure that residents are receiving these municipal services.

Again, I would encourage the residents of Fort Res to provide support to the administrator as he undertakes the work required to help the hamlet to set work on a stable and financial path. This includes discussions, issues, and concerns with the administrator once he starts on March 5th.

But, Mr. Speaker, yesterday I had an opportunity to talk to a former superintendent for Municipal and Community Affairs, and we were having a conversation about administration and what the role is and how it's going to be done. So we are working on that, and I will work with the Member to explain some of the ideas that we're looking at to make sure this administration is a short period of time. We, I, want to make sure we have an elected council in there as soon as possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Teachers need time and training to roll out the new and adjusted BC curriculum here in the Northwest Territories. Teachers may be expected to complete five 2-hour courses over the summer. Apparently, these courses aren't ready yet. This information was found on social media, not in formal announcement from the department or their education authorities. So can the Minister tell us when the training materials will be ready and delivered to teachers? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This month, they'll be ready. There is a plan for the training. It was released on May 23rd and so the actual plan is out there. I understand what the Member is saying these materials are not immediately available. There's no expectation that teachers will have to work over the summer. You know, that's the benefit of being a teacher. You get that little bit of time off in the summer there so we're not trying to burden teachers with anything.

I will say that in the upcoming school year, there will be some teachers who will be trialing the new British Columbia curriculum. So teachers of grade 4 to 6 classes as well as grade 9 classes. Schools were given the option of trialing some or all of the curriculum in those years. So some schools are implementing the full curriculum for four to six and nine, and others are just doing certain parts of it. So this is not all teachers in the territory; I just want to make sure that people were aware of that. The information about, you know, the curriculum and the resources, we provide that to the superintendents who then disseminate that among their school staff. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. It's very helpful to get this information on the record and out there.

Another issue is that the department says transition must happen before the contract with Alberta Education ends for the administration of diploma exams. But, Mr. Speaker, this really shouldn't matter. Students did not write diploma exams while learning remotely during the pandemic. So will the Minister look at revising the timeline for this exam's requirement or eliminate it? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I think there might have been some miscommunication. There is no expectation that we need to fully transition to British Columbia's curriculum before the contract with Alberta Education ends. The contract ends in 2025-2026, marking the last year of diploma exams and the last year that students in grade 12 will use the Alberta curriculum. Implementation of the BC curriculum in all grades is anticipated for the 2027-2028 school year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister again for that. It's helpful to get this information out there. It's not clear, though, how colleges and universities that still base their entry requirements on percentage grades will treat NWT students applying for admission when we start to switch to a proficiency scale. So it's also not clear how this proficiency scale grading will impact scholarships and it's not clear how parents are going to be informed about the new assessment scale either.

So can the Minister tell us what implementation measures ECE has developed to make sure students can continue to apply and be competitive for entrance into colleges and universities? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. One of the nice things about partnering with a large jurisdiction like British Columbia is that colleges and universities recognize that the way that BC does its curriculum and its grading, and so BC does use percentage grades for grades 10, 11, and 12. It's up to grade 9 where there is the proficiency scale that the Member is talking about. So there will be percentages for grades 10, 11, 12. As for grades 1 to 9, we're still working on what that might look like, whether or not we're going to fully adopt British Columbia's scale. Thank you.

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

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thanks the Minister again for that. It's really helpful to get this information out there because clearly there's different views out there or whatever. So professional teachers, though, on the frontline are telling me that they're not ready for this rollout and they're not prepared.

So how is the Minister going to act now to address these concerns and determine whether an implementation delay on the new BC curriculum is needed? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I've heard these concerns directly from the teachers. I met with the NWT Teachers Association a few weeks ago, maybe a month ago now, and, you know, they were expressed directly to me, so I have been asking conversations with the department who was very alive to this. You know, most of them are teachers themselves so they understand this. We have been working on the online courses, which teachers will be able to access at their leisure.

There are professional development days. ECE is providing face-to-face seminars. So there's a number of ways that we are working with the education bodies and the teachers to ensure that teachers are prepared. I do understand the trepidation; it is a big change. I'll note that this has been delayed. You know, I believe the initial plan was to roll this out maybe last year, and we've been pushing it back and now it is a much longer roll out, understanding that there is the need for training.

And I will say that some teachers are already using this as well. You know, the Northern Studies 30 curriculum, which is being piloted this year, does use the BC curricular framework and some other teachers just like to use competency-based curriculum, and so they have been doing it on their own as well. So I understand there is -- I mean, there are some people who are very well prepared and excited, and there's others who feel like they need more training and time for training. And so we are working hard with the teachers' association and the education bodies to ensure that teachers do get that time they need. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister responsible for Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We've added quite a few new RCMP positions since I've become Minister. I sometimes have difficulty keeping them straight, which year we've added them, but I do know that we have added a number of positions in the Member's regions for those communities. And if not this year, the past couple years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Yes, I am aware of that but I'm just asking for Gameti or Wekweeti, and they were not included in there. So, Mr. Speaker, we really need a stronger police presence in Gameti and Wekweeti. There's no detachment or even permanent officers, only visiting officers from time to time. Can the Minister explore opportunities to increase the police presence in Gameti and Wekweeti? Thank you.

Thank you, and I will amend what I said. Those officers are dedicated to those communities, but they are not stationed in those communities. As the Member points out, they don't have detachments. Like I said, we've added a number of positions. We're always working with the RCMP to enhance their ability to do their job, and we will continue to do that. We are exploring options through the First Nation and Inuit Policing Program with the federal government. So we recognize these concerns, and we are looking at ways to address them. There's also, you know, other ways to address some of these issues as well. Community safety officers are one option that we recently gotten into and perhaps that's a path forward to either, you know, put resources in communities where there are none or free up resources from other communities so we can distribute them other ways. So we are always looking at this. Thank you

Mr. Speaker, thank you. I believe year-round police presence in Gameti and Wekweeti is needed. Every time the visiting officers come, the community becomes quiet, and when they leave it becomes lively. The situation is especially hard on elders, you know. I just visited the community over there and the leaders have -- they expressed -- you know, they really want an RCMP station in Gameti and also the elders are having a hard time. It's having an impact on them. So therefore, can the Minister convey to the RCMP the desire for a stronger police presence in the Tlicho communities? Thank you.