Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi. Any assistance the Member can provide, we’d really appreciate it and discussing a partnership approach has always been our push as the Government of the Northwest Territories, we’re always seeking out potential partners. So we will be seeking out what kind of capacities are out there with regards to partnerships. So those are discussions that are open for us as well. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the title of our strategic plan is Northerners Working Together. This reminds us of an important point, that it requires the effort of all Northerners to help us achieve success on the goals of this Assembly. In acknowledgement of the contributions our residents make towards our goal of healthy, educated people, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment is now accepting nominations for inductions into the Education Hall of Fame this year. This is a great opportunity to give recognition to Northerners dedicated to education in the Northwest Territories...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Let me first commend those students that are pursuing their higher education. We support those students 100 percent to fulfill their dream and come back successfully into our Sahtu region or other regions in the Northwest Territories. With this Sahtu trades centre, the Member had approached us a while ago and we are working on the key aspects of gathering information and we need to work with Aurora College in that respect as well. We’re talking about the community learning centres, as well, and combining those and how it would look. But we are working on that, gathering the...

That will be the discussion we need to have. In the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative, that’s been highlighted as well, that it be mandatory for the students to take those specific courses whether they be Aboriginal students or non-Aboriginal students. So those are discussions that we’re having, ongoing discussions. We still have two forums to attend and then the final package will reflect on that as well. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, in respect to the boarding, it is at the board level, the education board level. We provide funding for the students, the enrolment, and they provide funding to the various organizations to establish such as a boarding home. So if there’s a surplus, it goes back to the school board and it is at their discretion to allocate the funding to various programming or other areas as well.

As the Minister, I need to work with that with the school board and I can’t give them the direction to say you should spend that money in that area. I have to respect their decision, as well, but I will...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I can’t agree more with the Member that we need to integrate our northern perspective into our curriculum development. We need to work closely with Alberta. It’s through their jurisdiction that we continue to work on the curriculum development, because a part of the education program is under their jurisdiction as well, the curriculum development. But with the Northern Studies and Social Studies we have made some changes. We’ve produced some textbooks that reflect the Northwest Territories, the geographic areas of the whole Northwest Territories and the routes and some...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Since the establishment of the policy that’s being referred to, the direction, it’s always been the mandate of this government, and also specifically the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, to have K to 12 into the school system in the communities that we represent. We have initiated some into the communities. It is at the discretion of the school boards and also the communities. If they want a high school to kick-start in their region, grade 10, grade 11, grade 12, then by all means we’re definitely open to discussion with the school boards, Mr. Speaker.

Mr...

Mr. Speaker, in the 2010-11 capital plan there has been funding that has been included to provide technical upgrades. We are just reporting program issues. It is a start for our department working with the community to address those space issues that Trout Lake is facing. We will be discussing further with the Member and also with the community DEA. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

This particular area is not just our jurisdiction; it’s a national issue. Workplace and bullying harassment that’s happening within our work environment or outside our work environment. So there is a strategy in place at the national stages and we’re part of the discussion through the Justice department, whether it be the public safety, Education department as well. I will keep the Members posted on if there are going to be any changes or acts that are coming into play. We are looking at various options from other jurisdictions as well.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. We did hear from the community. I also work closely with the chair of the DEC as well. They have raised those issues in the past. We need to look at the overall schools in the Northwest Territories. Trout Lake is part of that process that we need to discuss. The situation it is in, the age of the building and the space of the building, this are information that we have been gathering. We will discuss it further as we move forward to the next year’s capital planning process. Mahsi.