Jackson Lafferty

Mr. Chairman, that is correct; we provide funding that flows through to district education council and then it flows down to the schools or DEA and then they decide where their priorities lie. They do share those priorities with us as well. We work hand in hand with the district education council. We are fully aware of that information that has been shared with us. I can give you an example where Fort Providence has a language immersion program K to 3. That is just an example. It is up to the school board to decide where they will spend their money. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. That is something that we can look at. As you know, it is not only music, there are books that are being produced, arts and crafts, so we need to look at all venues, I guess. The money that we distributed, there is almost 40 different organizations, 40 different individuals, so we can look at those areas that the Member is referring to.

This is, of course, very important to us as the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. We have to look at our students and facilities as well. This has been in the works for quite some time now. The Member is referring to capital planning. There will be a discussion next year; this coming fall. We’ve already initiated our capital planning for last year. With respect to the college, there is going to be information coming forward and we will be working as a department with that information, once it’s delivered to us.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. This is an area that has been brought to our attention and to this House as well. As you know, the money has been allocated to the school boards, but at the same time I am listening to what the Members are saying, the concerns that have been brought to our attention. We may have to look at those areas. At the same time, we do provide grade extensions as well. Based on the number of students, we can provide funding so they can kick-start grade extensions in their home community. Again, it all depends on the students, if they want to pursue, whether it be Inuvik or a bigger...

Mr. Speaker, again, the funding does flow through the school boards. What the Member is referring to, we will talk about that as the Department of Education, Culture and Employment with the school boards and with the ASA, the forum. That’s an ongoing discussion that we’re having. We need to find a solution. We can say throw money at these different schools and different areas. We need to find out where we need to focus our priorities. I understand where the Member is coming from, so I will follow through with that with our ASA and the school boards as well. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Chairman, that official languages area, as the Member indicated, there are a few line items that have been discussed. Some of the areas, of course, we have to deal with the French implementation, improve government communication and also service delivery in French by implementing the GNWT Strategic Plan on French Language Communications and Services. We had to follow through with that in response to an order by Justice Moreau. Another area, of course, is the Aboriginal Languages Summer Institute expansion of $300,000. Those are just some of the key highlights that I just want to address...

Mr. Chairman, again, this has been identified through the venue, the forum. As you know, there are a lot of small, isolated communities that don’t have library services. They have to go to a school, but there are certain operational hours at the school. After hours, the students cannot access. They have no place to go. This is an area that is a high importance to us as well as the Education department.

Mr. Chairman, this suggestion and ideas came from the people and I feel that we need to act on it. That is part of the reason why we have identified the library services, so kids can continue...

Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. This particular topic, as you know, has been an ongoing discussion. I’ve met with the board, just as the Member has also met with the board, to talk about various options that they’re going to bring forward. We need to work with that organization. They will be bringing an options paper to us to work with. So we are waiting for that information. In due time we will be sharing with the Members or giving the Members a briefing on where we need to go from there.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. This is an area that we did explore. We may not have covered all establishments, because as I outlined earlier, there are over 2,000 different facilities that we sponsor. We are doing what we can to find out what’s happening with the facilities, the cost factors and so forth. We are, at the current stage, exploring those areas. We have started and we will continue to do that. Again, there is a review that has been undertaken, so that could fall in that, the first phase and also the second phase. Mr. Chair, yes, we have started that. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, we do have boards that represent those small communities. I also meet with the chairpersons that are responsible for each region. That information is brought to our attention and we work together collaboratively. At the same time, there is the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative that’s underway and we will be going to the Beaufort-Delta. Those issues have been addressed in other regions, as well, similar to what the Member is raising.

It is clearly our discussion around the table on numerous occasions already, Mr. Speaker, since we started in September. At the end of the day...