Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to present the 2024-2025 Main Estimates for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. Overall, the department's estimates propose a decrease of $9.858 million or 2.6 percent over the 2023-2024 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 these proposed estimates include:
- Forced growth funding of $484,000 to support the increased demand in the senior citizens supplementary benefit and increased lease costs of the Aurora College North Slave Campus;
- Initiative funding of $2.599 million to support the early learning and child care system in the NWT through funding from the Government of Canada;
- Transfers of $1.228 million from the Department of Health and Social Services to support the redesign of the child and youth counselling program;
- Sunsets of $4.485 million which are comprised of sunsets of one-time federal funding for Building Skills 4 Success in the NWT program and complementary funding for Minority Language Education and Second Language Instruction and funding for the Education Renewal and Innovative Initiative and Education Act Modernization Initiative;
- Other adjustments of $2.993 million for budget enhancements for Technology Service Centre Chargebacks; revised cash flow of federal funding for the Aurora College Transformation initiative; and one-time federal funding for three initiatives: The North Slave Regional Training Partnership, the Implementation of the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, and the Memorandum of Understanding with the Canada Council for the Arts;
- An increase in the amortization budget of $313,000; and,
- Reductions of $12.99 million to support fiscal sustainability. These reductions span all activities of the department and include $280,000 under corporate management, $160,000 under early learning, $8.604 million under education, $547,000 under income security, $1.509 million under labour development and standards; and, $1.890 million under languages and culture.
These estimates support the priorities of the 20th Legislative Assembly and vision of Budget 2024, by:
- supporting the mandate commitment to collaborate with Indigenous governments and residents to achieve the objectives of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by engaging with Indigenous governments through the NWT Council of Leaders Secretariat and education partners on customizations and modernizations to the NWT Education Act. Recognizing and supporting the unique educational governance circumstances of the NWT, and doing so in partnership is critical foundational work necessary to create an education system that works for NWT students and families.
- growing and enhancing the northern workforce by investing in skill development and by attracting skilled workers to the NWT. Our area of focus is supporting the NWT's early childhood education workforce by offering more professional development opportunities, continuing to provide for early learning and child care scholarships and, importantly, implementing an early childhood educator certification process. This certification process is an important step in recognizing and encouraging the value of training and experience for early childhood educators who provide care and learning opportunities to our youngest residents. Moving forward, it will support the department in providing wage increases to early childhood educators for increased training and experience and help to decrease the wage gap between early childhood educators and other educators in the NWT.
- working with NWT educators and education bodies to adapt to the British Columbia junior kindergarten to Grade 12 curriculum for use in NWT schools. This redesigned curriculum aims to personalize learning, making it more student-centered, flexible, and focused on literacy and numeracy skills, with an emphasis on deep, active learning to best prepare NWT students for their future.
- supporting the GNWT's Fiscal Strategy by focusing efforts on ensuring reductions would not impact the NWT's most vulnerable residents. This includes NWT residents accessing income assistance, and programming aimed at supporting the early learning and child care sector. ECE reductions will instead focus on transitioning in-person training to virtual sessions and reducing or eliminating underspent budget areas.
- ECE will also focus on improving program delivery efficiency through reviews of the Northern Distance Learning Program, Inclusive Schooling Ministerial Directive, and the Territorial Support Team service.
That concludes my opening remarks, Mr. Chair. Thank you.