Debates of Oct. 29th, 2025

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, so I committed to the Member for Range Lake in question period earlier today to go back to the department and get further information. I'd be happy to share that information with the Member for Yellowknife Centre as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of ECE. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Given the fact that the Minister's willing to go back and share the information, I'll certainly say I appreciate it. Would the Minister be able to tell us how many students have been hit with late fees based on the fact that they've applied on time and funds were not available when they've sought them to pay for their applications? So in other words, some details that back up this particular problem if (audio).

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment would not have information about late fees from every student, and every institution also doesn't operate the same way. While some institutions might have late fees, not every single one of them does, and not every single student would have incurred a late fee. There's also the issue that there are a -- not everybody. A lot of students had their applications fin online -- or in on time, and so I want to make sure that everybody hears me when I say that, but not all applications are in on time and not all applications are received complete, and they're not considered fully received and on time unless they are complete. And so it's really important that if students do have questions that they reach out to their case officer and make sure that they're asking those questions so that we can give them support too. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of ECE. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. So given that the current high school graduating classes in the NWT are the last ones using the Alberta curriculum and the 2027 graduating classes will be the first ones graduating under the BC curriculum, some parents and educators have some questions about how this is rolling out. Specifically, since the transition to the BC curriculum was first explained as a pilot, I'd like to know from the Minister is the GNWT doing some kind of research and monitoring to evaluate the success of the transition to the BC curriculum? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of ECE.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I just want to be clear it's not the transition to the BC curriculum that is the pilot. It is the NWT-adapted version in our classrooms. And so we are transitioning to BC curriculum. We are not turning around and going back. We've made significant investments in this program. I have heard good things from teachers, educators, and families as well. So I just want to be clear on what the pilot is here.

Mr. Speaker, absolutely this is happening in a phased approach to make sure that we are doing this in bite-sized pieces that we can digest as we go, and we're actively monitoring and evaluating as we go as well. So we're doing that through teacher and student feedback. We're using proficiency scales to assess learning. We're also tracking literacy and numeracy outcomes using BC's assessment tools. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister tell us -- because I am getting some questions from parents -- is there any significant difference between the Alberta and the BC curriculums in terms of how the high school classes or credits are valued or assessed by post-secondary institutions in Canada? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I too am getting some questions when you are out and about around town, for sure. I will say, though, the best place for people to get answers is certainly from their education body. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment works quite closely together with teachers to do professional development and to support them through this transition. So I just want parents to know that they can also get that information there.

To answer the Member's question, though, and to put this all to rest, it is absolutely not putting students in any type of a barrier across this country to get into post-secondary and to be able to access post-secondary by graduating from a high school in British Columbia or through a curriculum through British Columbia versus Alberta. So that information has been followed up on even before the transition occurred from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, and we can put that one to rest and reassure parents across the territory. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of ECE. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so we were somewhat familiar with the standardized testing under the Alberta curriculum in grades 6, 9, and 12, but there's less clarity, or it's less well-known, what kind of standardized testing is present in the BC curriculum, or in the absence of standardized tests how are we now assessing the competency of our students at various stages to ensure that they can keep up with other students in Canada? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, absolutely BC uses a different model than Alberta. So they have the foundational skills assessment, which is done in grades 4 and 7, and the graduation literacy and numeracy assessments done in grades 10 and 12. These assessment tools focus on literacy and numeracy rather than being subject-specific which means it takes out the act of memorization and really celebrates the act of learning in this process.

In the Northwest Territories, Alberta's grades 6 and 9 tests ended in 2023. Alberta diploma exams will be phased out by 2026. And BC's assessments are being introduced gradually to pair with those. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, the first priority for this fall is to make sure we get applications processed as quickly as possible and we're focusing on getting those dollars out to students, even students who had their applications in late. I know that stuff comes up. And it is my number one priority to see those payments flow and those applications to be processed.

Second to that, Mr. Speaker, it is going through the process to make sure that we are looking at the entire student financial assistance application process, finding efficiencies, and making sure that we're well prepared for next year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the problem has been identified publicly as more applications than there were previously that overwhelmed existing resources. Is that the case? Thank you.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, there was almost a 20 percent increase in applications this year. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you. Well, I think about the people who have to process these applications; they must be very overworked. Is the Minister going to bring forward additional staffing resources in the coming year to ensure that there's 20 percent more capacity at SFA? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, we took on five additional staffing positions this summer in order to work to accommodate that, and throughout the year, while we prepare for the surge of -- that we hope to see again in 2026, we'll make sure that we're reviewing the efficiencies of the process to ensure that we're doing our part to ensure that we're prepared because we want to see students go to post-secondary, and we want to see more and more students using post-secondary. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

All right, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question -- my set of questions will be for the Minister of MACA, only because he looks like he's lonely over there and wants --