Jackson Lafferty

I think we can either meet or exceed the number that we have, especially when we count the money that we allocate to the education board operations in the regional level. Most of our money, the $300 million, goes to the board operations. If we count those students at that level, I’m sure that we can exceed the numbers that are before us from last year on the ECE area. Those are the areas we need to stress and continue to work with on an annual basis.

Mahsi. This particular area is always of interest for us, because we have to fill that capacity at the community level and at the regional level. We do enforce and also have a thorough discussion with the education boards to have their targets, specific numbers of students that should be hired on an annual basis, as we do within our GNWT department. So we’ll continue to stress that on an annual basis when it comes to December-January period. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 3, Electronic Transactions Act, be read for the third time. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am very pleased to advise this House that a ceremony was held today to celebrate the tremendous contributions that people across this territory have made to education.

The Department of Education, Culture and Employment launched the Education Hall of Fame in 2010. We recognize that we all play an important role in supporting the education of our children and the Education Hall of Fame reflects the valuable contributions that people make as educators, volunteers, board members, administrators, and other community members.

In February 2011 we distributed advertisements...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 4, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2011, be read for the third time. Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I’d just like to highlight the inductees for 2011 Education Hall of Fame that are here with us: Ethel Blondin-Andrew, Lucy Lafferty, Ed Jeske, Margaret Field, Dorothy Beaulieu and Garth Brasseur. Congratulations.

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Mahsi, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to be here today to speak to Bill 3, Electronic Transactions Act. I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Social Programs for its review of this bill.

Legal relationships have long been based on paper documentation, and most laws use language that refers to paper documents. Over the past generation, however, more and more people have begun communicating through the Internet and by e-mail. The result is that documents and information are now routinely shared electronically.

Mr. Chair, to some extent, courts have come to terms with technology: people have...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled, Aboriginal Student Achievement - A Status Report, May 2011.

Mahsi. Those are the same questions that have been addressed. I will commit to the Member that I’ll be working with the corporations, the Housing Corporation, also the Beaufort-Delta Department of Education as well, and Beaufort-Delta Board of Education. So we need to find solutions in these areas and support our teachers. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, what I can state in this House is that there are certain programs through the NWT Housing Corporation that each corporation can access. We’ve discussed this and it came from this Assembly, as well, that we need to deliver those subsidies to those corporations so they can build affordable housing. Yes, we support those teachers, very much so, and we know the students are successful because of those teachers. So we’ll continue to work interdepartmental; ECE, Housing Corporation along with the board operations, as well. Mahsi.