Charles Dent

Public safety is a concern of many residents in the Northwest Territories. This government is addressing this concern through a partnership of governments, police and residents. Today I will highlight some of the innovative partnerships that are working to make our communities safer.

The Department of Justice is working with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to improve public safety by enhancing policing services. Working together to identify and meet the RCMP's resource demands has resulted in this government including 12 new officer positions in the 2004-2005 budget.

Six of these officers...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said, I am confident that the facility is safe, and what we are doing, as the Member will have probably noticed, is that there have been a number of positions advertised. So we are moving to fill some of the positions that have been filled on a casual basis, and we will have more permanent staff who will be able to take the training, and hopefully that will reduce the number of overtime shifts that are required. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess there is a question as to which is more important. The program pays right now the full cost of rent. So there is an agreement that is not calculated as part of the amount that you have to justify. The program does pay the full cost, but most other things are considered the client’s choice. The expenses are added up as to what a person has and brings to the table, and then an amount is provided as a top up. So it’s entirely up to people right now to decide whether they choose to spend the money on a phone. It’s essential to point out that there have been...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said, I have already begun the process of reviewing the program with the standing committee and listen to the committee and work with them as we work through this. Stipulated expenses like rent, for instance, we pay the actual cost. The overall allowance that comes out, we expect people will make choices as to what they spend the money on. Therefore, at this point, it’s up to clients whether they believe the telephone is an essential expense. Thank you.

There are a number of other things that we do. We support aboriginal language and culture through the development of the curriculum Dene Kede, and making sure that teachers in the classroom have access to resources so that they can better offer the program. But another important way that we're going to make sure that language is supported is through programs like the language nest. We ensure that kids come to school knowing that they are able to speak their language and, with some assistance, making sure the communities know that really much of the language learning has to be happening at...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this government has a wide range of bursaries available for students, and students in the TEP program who are studying aboriginal languages would qualify for those bursaries, as well. There are health bursaries, there are bursaries for law students, there are bursaries and grants that are based usually on academic performance. So there are opportunities for students already to take advantage of grants and bursaries. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm sure that the Member knows that I feel it's very important that we have aboriginal language instructors in our schools and that we support the development of them. In fact, the college has an aboriginal language and culture instructor program as part of its offerings. This government spends over $1.6 million a year on the teacher education program. The reason we do it in the Northwest Territories rather than seeing all our teachers go down south, is we want to encourage people who have language skills to learn in the North so that they can be in the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize the Northwest Territories Teachers’ Association as they celebrate their 50th anniversary in service to teachers in the Northwest Territories. During their tenure they have provided strong and effective representation for their membership, and through their work, services to the students of the Northwest Territories.

The association was first formed in Fort Smith during a teachers’ conference in 1953. At the time, there were 63 teachers in the Territories. The association was responsible for providing services to teachers spread out across a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the only one I can answer for sure is that I will endeavour to have the answer to Ms. Lee’s written question within a week, and I will copy all Members on it so that they have access to it. It will contain the sort of information the Member asked for specifically, subsequent to that, which I don’t have at my fingertips.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m not sure. I guess it depends on the nature of the behavioural problems. I suppose, for instance, that a territorial treatment centre might be a facility that could be used for situations like that. But again, without knowing the specifics of the behaviour issues, it's hard to know. It may help the Member to know that I have advised the DEC Chairs that by this fall I will issue a directive that will stipulate what is acceptable use for the funds that are provided to deal with special needs. I am not certain that the school support funding has been spent...