Charles Dent

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Except in Yellowknife, all of the education authorities get all of their money from the Government of the Northwest Territories. So who’s paying for it? By and large, it’s this government. All of the boards are encouraged to make sure there is relevant cultural awareness training provided to all of their new teachers. They do that and it’s something I have discussed with the DECs largely because we see it as important to retention. I am satisfied that every board in the Northwest Territories is undertaking activities in this area. What we have done is encouraged them...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment does have a Teacher Induction Program, and one of the goals of that program is to transmit the culture of the system to the new and beginning teacher. So, yes, that is something that we do try and do through the department. That’s also partly the responsibility of the various boards across the Territories. I have spoken to the chairs of all of the divisional education councils and the DEAs in Yellowknife about the importance of cultural awareness and cross-cultural training. In fact, I’ve held up examples...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there were a number of constituents in the audience earlier, but there are still two who I would like to recognize: Mr. Blake Lyons, who is a councillor and president of the NWTAC; and Barb Wyness with the Union of Northern Workers.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, February 11, 2005, I will move that Bill 22, An Act to Amend the Education Act, No. 2, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not sure of the exact criteria. I would expect that the college would require people to be conducting courses that are within the law, that would not be personally offensive to others and the standard sort of requirements that you would expect for use of public space. Anybody is entitled to go to the campus director and propose a course and say here is what I propose to offer, here is how I propose to do it and if the space would otherwise not be used for something else, it can be made available if there is enough public interest to see such a course proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, there would not be any government money into the provision of that course. The majority of courses that are offered by the college are third-party funded and that’s paid for by application fees or by the students signing up for them. In other cases it’s provided for by funds that are provided by First Nations or by employers. So a good portion of the programming that is offered through the colleges is third-party funded. This one, I suspect, is entirely funded by the fees that would be paid by the students who signed up for the course.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the government hasn’t taken a formal position. I can say personally I was certainly supportive of the federal legislation that was proposed before the last election, and I personally would enjoy seeing the federal government bring that legislation back onto the table. But our government can’t create a criminal offence and that is what I think is necessary in order to properly protect animals in our jurisdiction and across Canada. In terms of what we can do further, I expect that my colleague, the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, and myself...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am sensitive to the public concern around this issue. I have a dog as a pet and was troubled when I saw the pictures and heard the story as well, but at this point I can’t add much to what’s been happening with the investigation. I know that the RCMP have appealed to the public for anybody to come forward who has information on the case and they would welcome anybody providing that. The investigation is continuing, but I believe that the RCMP would welcome some assistance if anybody has any information on the case. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not sure whether or not that would. I would have to check with the college. I will take that question as notice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, no, there would not be government resources that would go into this. This sort of programming is available across the Northwest Territories. Any person who has an idea for a course can come and pitch the campus director and request use of space when it’s not otherwise being used for college purposes. Then they have to pay for the course and the space themselves. The cost would have to be recovered from fees. The college would not be putting any money into courses like this that are offered outside of the regular programming.