Caroline Cochrane

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We just finished collecting the data. I believe it was at the end of March, actually, that the survey was finished. We're compiling it. It was pretty open-ended, so it is a lot of work, actually, to get the 750. It wasn't just ticking off boxes. They were open-ended questions. We are compiling that now. We will be providing it within the next few months.

I feel that the best way of working in consensus government is actually working with committee. What I am proposing, and I haven't actually, but I'd be sending a letter to committee and asking them to meet with them to...

Currently, actually, the funding model doesn't impact if a student doesn't attend. There is no consequence. However, if the student doesn't register at the beginning of the year, there could be an impact in the funding formula because the funding formula is based on the first month of enrolment. Then after that, it is provided for the rest of the year. They are always kind of a year behind. I am not 100 percent satisfied with the funding formula. Other MLAs have asked me about that. In fact, other superintendents have had issues with that, and chairs.

I have actually committed to doing a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are just in the process, actually, of doing a review of our education renewal, all of the initiatives, but I can talk about a few that have been successful, not based on statistics, but just on what we are seeing.

Our Northern Distance Learning, huge success. Again, I don't have the stats to show that. We are just reviewing it now. I will use Ulukhaktok as one of my examples. I know there are other communities. Three students who graduated from Grade 12 in that community who would have normally had to take upgrading have now got the credentials that they can actually...

Yes, we will absolutely look at our policy and add the minimum amount, because, in some cases, people might even qualify. If we don't have that in, we should have that in, so I will commit to actually having that information in our policy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do have to start by saying that we have one of the best student financial supports in the country. I know I've accessed student loans from other provinces and supplementary program for Indigenous people wasn't an option, so I do have to start with that. The other thing is that Student Financial Assistance isn't a basic right. It's a privilege, actually. The Student Financial Assistance isn't meant to provide unlimited financing to everybody in the world to access. It's actually meant to supplement income, and actually support people. It is income tested. We can't just...

No, at this point, I don't believe. I mean there could be other acts that I'm not aware of, but I do not believe, personally, that there is any act or law that says that a child that is not enrolled in junior kindergarten or kindergarten has to have a viable option. In fact, within our Income Support Program, one of our productive choices says that, if you're parenting a child under three, you can actually stay home with that child, because lots of research shows that the best early childhood development for a child is to actually have their family around and their parents, ideally, with...

The act in section 27(1), again, I am going to paraphrase because I didn't write it all down. It says that children who are between the ages of six and 16 shall attend, and actually, there is a financial penalty if they don't attend. I believe it is $100; we don't want to make students afraid of school. It says that the parents shall ensure that the child attends, as well. Under that, there is nothing that says that they have to; so, no, children under six or over 16, it does not say that they shall attend.

I will commit to working with the MLA, but I also will commit to actually challenging the MLA to come to me and explain to me why, in his opinion, not on the floor here, but in his opinion, that our regional directors don't have that ability, because that is what their job is. I am willing to meet with the MLA and discuss why it should be that headquarters would have to go into the regions versus the people whom we have hired to do that. It might be a bigger issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We do have regional representatives who are in the Sahtu who can actually make themselves available at any time that the MLA would like them to go in and to approach their community. Myself, though, as a Minister, might be a little bit tougher. I would have to check with my staff. My last review of my calendar says that I am booked up, and in fairness, I have even had to talk to other MLAs and say that I can't do constituency tours for four or five days, because I don't have that. I am working day and night and weekends now. We have a lot of work to do. I am willing to be available if I am...

I am a bit confused because post-secondary education, of course, attendance is not mandatory at all. That is about the student actually applying for their own future. I don't think there is any post-secondary across Canada that makes attendance be a requirement. Like I said, though, there are requirements that say children who are over six and under 16 must be registered in school. Although it doesn't say they have to attend every day, they need to attend to be able to keep up and to be successful. It is an issue that we need to address. I am not willing to say it is parents. I am not willing...