Caroline Cochrane

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also want to take a moment to recognize a Page of Range Lake, Mr. Dexter Edjericon. Thank you for being here, and to all of the other Pages, thank you for all of the work that you provide to us. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 48, Post-Secondary Education Act, be read for the third time; and, Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded vote. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

Any good program needs money. We all know that. I don't think I am going to get any argument on that one. Part of the action plan, an action plan is supposed to be comprehensive. The strategy says: this is what we want. The plan says: how do we get to that strategy? If we are not looking at how we are getting funding, then that would be a detriment to the plan going forward, so we will be open to accessing outside funding sources. I also want to say that we are already doing some of that. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment regularly accesses outside funding sources, such as...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is quite disheartening to hear these comments today, in all honesty. I had a conversation with the MLA the other day about one organization representing the interests of all of the people who would be covered within that. This is an example of how, sometimes, it doesn't work really well.

We started out with the Arts Strategy, and between November 2018 and March 2019, we have done 16 key stakeholder engagements, we have 277 general public members who responded to an online survey, and then we realized that we hadn't engaged with the Arts Council, the NWT Arts Council...

Again, the act is kind of vague on the authority of the Minister, and I'm very respectful of them, they're all elected positions, so I'm respectful of their allocations and what they see fit for their regions. We don't tell the district education councils what to use their surpluses on. I felt that was very limiting; it's very patriarchal, it's not how I practise, so we gave the flexibility to say, "Tell us what you're going to use your surplus on."

The sad thing is, Mr. Speaker, that the South Slave District Education Council never identified busing as an issue within their surplus plan, so I...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to be here today to discuss Bill 48: Post-Secondary Education Act. The primary objective of this bill is to create a process of recognition within the Northwest Territories that ensures the effective governance and quality assurance of all post-secondary institutions and their programs. This new system of quality assurance will provide consumer protection for students and employers that rely on institutions to provide the appropriate level and types of education and training.

Currently in the Northwest Territories we do not have a clear and incremental pathway...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. With me today I have on my left-hand side Dr. Chris Joseph. He is the technical lead for Post-Secondary Education Act with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. On my right, I have Ms. Cherie Jarock. She is the legislative counsel for the Department of Justice. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to recognize a really dynamic group of women in our gallery today. We have Sheryl Liske from the Yellowknife Dene. She is a long-time resident of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Ms. Beatrice Harper is the visitor from Onion Lake Cree Nation on the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Ms. Maxine Desjarlais is a visitor from Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. We have that name in the Territories, too, just to let you know. Shelley Wiart is a member of the North Slave Metis Alliance, and she is visiting from Lloydminster, Alberta. She is known as the co...

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories is responsible for ensuring that Income Security programs respond to the needs and realities of residents. I am proud of how this government has increased its financial support to those in greatest need.

Income Security programs help residents bridge gaps in their ability to support themselves and pursue their personal, educational, and career goals. They are a vital part of our social safety network. During the life of this Assembly, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has implemented numerous enhancements to its suite of...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 57, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act, be read for the third time. Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded vote. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.