Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the whole inclusive schooling is part of the ERI that we are moving forward and developing an action plan. We are currently in the process of reviewing the inclusive schooling directive and funding consultation, of course, engaging the education authorities. The review will be completed no later than the end of this year, 2013-14, because we want it to be part of the action plan as we move forward.

So, as I indicated, the education boards and the Northwest Territories Teachers’ Association will be part of the working group. We wanted to involve those individuals and...

Again, I will have to reflect back on the office of the Auditor General. As you know, they are here this week as part of the review process for Health and Social Services, as we did last year. It’s a very comprehensive review that they’re going through and we must follow the guidelines and they strictly highlight the reporting mechanism, not only that but the monthly reporting mechanism, how we should be working with the clientele. So, all the documents are in place.

Those are just some of the guidelines we have to follow, the regulations that are before us and through the legislation that has...

Mahsi. In order to move forward on a forum for the Sahtu region, obviously we need the tools, we need that data, we need the stats, so I’ll be working very closely with ITI as we move forward on developing the forum for the region and providing that information that’s required, the community needs assessment and information from the community perspective and also the region. We will be compiling all of that information and working with ITI to deliver that to the community. Mahsi.

Mahsi. I need to find out the latest status on the actual report that’s been worked on by the committee. It does consist of a variety of parties that are involved on the committee. I’ll find out the status and if it’s ready for public review or for the committee, because it’s a tool that it’s giving us to work with while we’re developing the study on the feasibility of the Sahtu regional institute of technology that will give us some areas of discussion as we move forward.

So, definitely this is an area that I’ll find out the status. Mahsi.

Mahsi. That type of training has been conducted in various communities, along with partnerships with the various different departments and the communities, so by all means we can pursue those. If it’s a real need in the community, for sure we’ll be working closely with the Department of Transportation and the community. Of course, the college will be involved, as well, when it comes to training in various areas, whether it be trades or different sectors. Those are the needs that need to be identified then I will be getting back to the Member on the information that’s going to be provided...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. There are activities that are happening in the Sahtu region and my department will conduct a study regarding the feasibility of the Sahtu training centre that we’ve been talking about for quite some time now. That would consist of education and training, the needs of the communities. Obviously, we need to do that anyway, because we need those feasibility studies within the guidelines that we approach the next step.

We have established a committee and there’s been a labour pool that’s been developed for training needs, so it is before us. Through the committee, industry...

As I stated, part of our contribution is to all school boards. There are approximately 37 communities, but we deal with all the school boards, the $400,000. At their discretion, they hire elders on an as-needed basis, as well, so this is an initial step for us as a department. We’ve never had this before. We feel we need to have more presence in our school systems. Our prime focus is increasing this over time. Mr. Chair, all I can say at this point is our contribution is towards all the school boards. Currently, we have 37 communities that are accessing it. Obviously, we want all schools to be...

Mr. Chair, that’s correct. It has been under review by the program review office. Mahsi.

Most definitely. Those are the areas that we are currently researching with our contacts in BC, not only BC but Alberta. As you know, Dr. Corriveau was in Alberta for a short period. He made all kinds of connections there with educators and administrators. We are taking full advantage of those resources that are available to us, but most specifically in BC, as the Member is alluding to. Those are some of the areas we want to get our hands on and start working on within our department and the Northwest Territories operators. Mahsi.

Mr. Chair, there’s a variety of sections within this, the increase. Partially it’s the Aboriginal Languages Secretariat, the reallocation, $400,000 increase in new initiatives. There’s North Slave and South Slave, so they all get a contribution. The Sahtu oil and gas, $5,000 increase as part of forced growth. Collective Agreement is part of that, as well, $48,000. Amortization. The employment and standards increased in budget of $18,000, again Collective Agreement. There’s another Collective Agreement with management and program support. These are just a variety of areas that offset the...