Jackson Lafferty

Certainly, as I stated, we are discussing this with various departments and within our own department and other departments as well, that we’re expecting to see some results based that we can certainly share with the standing committee after session. Probably, we’re hoping that before next session or springtime, or even at the earliest the summer, that we can certainly have a draft documentation saying that this is what we can probably pursue with and then share that with Members of the standing committee.

Certainly that is one of our goals when we transfer the program, the one-stop shop that we’ve been talking about here in the Assembly. We continue to do so; provide various subsidies in a one-window approach. So we continue to improve in that area. However, if we can improve in certain areas, we’d like to hear from the Members as well. Certainly that will be one of our mandates to move forward, to have a one-stop approach.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. There are different pots of funding that we provide to daycare establishments, whether it be for profit or not-for-profit organization. I can certainly share that information with the Members on the criteria of the funding. I don’t have that information with me right now, but I can certainly provide the detailed information on the program, the criteria, the funding distribution to the organizations.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to announce new services from the Department of Justice to help families in transition. These services are the first steps in longer-term project design to create an effective and accessible family law framework for more choices for families.

For many people, the court system works well, but it’s only one option. It can be expensive and time consuming. As Members know, mediation offers parents an alternative. They talk to each other, work out their issues, like where the kid will live, visitation, financial support and how they will continue...

Our goal is definitely to look out for the children at hand. We want them to succeed at life. Certainly throughout the North that’s our goal, the primary goal; to look after those children and their well-being and so forth. Certainly this area that the Member is alluding to, we continue to have the discussion on again improving our program. On a going-forward basis, those are the discussions we will be having during the business planning process and having dialogue with the federal government and FMB on improving our programs.

Clearly this has been a challenge for us within the school system. We’re trying to tackle that issue. I think out of this strategy certainly that will be one of the key topics of discussion on a going-forward basis. How can we get around hiring elders in the schools without penalizing their pension? Those are the areas. The Member also gave us some ideas on how to get around the system. We’re clearly looking for solutions from the communities on getting around the system. Certainly that will be one of the primary discussions that we’ll be having, so there are no impacts on the elders and...

Certainly we’ve heard from visitors in the communities in the regions and coming from the Dene Nation meeting just last week. We’ve heard over and over the importance of preserving and revitalizing our language and enhancing our language. That is certainly one of the prime focuses of our Department of Education and this government. We will certainly do what we can to deal with those strategies. That’s the key message that we’re receiving from the communities. It is our priority to promote that even more into the communities and schools. We’ve certainly talked about using the elders. We have...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [Statement delivered in aboriginal language and then in English]

We have been celebrating aboriginal languages and cultures during the month on an annual basis. There will be a variety of things happening in different communities around the North such as radio contests, luncheons at community teaching and learning centres. There will also be aboriginal language materials on display and the luncheon here at the Great Hall on Thursday.

We recognize that languages play a crucial and essential role in the lives of the aboriginal communities in the Northwest Territories. It...

Certainly those areas will be captured in the renewing of our Aboriginal Languages Strategy. We will be consulting with the aboriginal stakeholders, the leaders, the parents, the community organizations. Those are the experts at the community level. The 33 communities that we serve we certainly like to hear their input on the challenges. What are the gaps? What are the root causes of the challenges we’re faced with today? We like to hear them out, because we certainly don’t have, as a department, all the answers. So we’re reaching out to the communities to say give us solutions to work from...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Certainly they are, for a number of years now, developing programs that meet the needs of the communities, whether it be the language, the programming, the cultural on-the-land program, taking students out on the land, and just immersion programs into the schools. Not only that, but we are developing some strategies to deal with our languages and eliminating the educational gaps within our schools in the Northwest Territories. So there are those two strategies in place. We’ve also just developed a strategy on literacy, 2008-2018, that deals specifically with the low...