Jackson Lafferty

Mr. Chair, I did commit that we want to meet with the DEA for Detah to start the discussion. So we’re more than open to have that type of discussion. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. There were several issues brought to our attention by the school principal. My department has been working with the principal to resolve those issues, whether it be a site investigation. PWS has obviously been working with them as well. They have contracted the PSAV architect as late as this month, September. So that work is ongoing.

The sprinkler system obviously is part of the discussion, I believe. It’s also, from the principal’s perspective, brought to my department’s attention and PWS is aware of that as well. My department is doing what we can to work with the school and...

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. With respect to the Trout Lake school, the last time we visited, I went there with my staff and also Mr. Menicoche and the school representatives. I wanted to see with my own eyes what’s been referred to as a community gathering. The school is also attached to the community hall. We took that into perspective as well. The community obviously wanted us to address the school because the student population is increasing. Obviously, it was the wish of the community to move forward on that addition. Mr. Menicoche obviously stated concerns, as well, about the community hall and how...

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. I have with me, to my left, David Stewart. He is the deputy minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Also, to my right, Olin Lovely. He is the assistant deputy minister, corporate services, with the Education department.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission Annual Report 2014.” Mahsi.

I want to make it clear that we are supporting our northern students to return to the Northwest Territories. That’s the very reason we have increased and enhanced our SFA program. We have increased the basic grant from $1,900 to $2,400; increased the basic grant on books from $400 to $550; increased current remission rates by 50 percent; a $2,000 northern bonus for our students, a bonus for our students to come back to the North and explore the North. Those are just some of the enhancements that we’ve initiated in 2015. We continue to make improvements as part of the SFA program, one of the...

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. This particular school, Ecole Boreale, has been in the works for quite some time now, even going through court proceedings and so forth. We’re not ignoring that issue. We are talking to the appropriate parties. Obviously, we need to be prepared of what the outcome will be with the court case. We don’t know what the outcome will be, so we’re trying to stay in close contact with the parties on how we can move forward in the meantime.

My deputy may have been involved to some degree on the discussion with the school board, and if there have been any steps taken he can elaborate...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated earlier to Ms. Bisaro, these are areas we are currently exploring. Residency has been the topic of discussion recently as well. Even though we’ve made some changes, there is always room for improvement within our policy. So the residency requirement, 12 months residency versus three months, we need to explore those options. What will be the ripple effects? What would be the benefits, pros and cons? I have already committed that this is an area that we are going to be exploring.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. As part of the capital planning process, obviously there is a process that we have to follow. There are five steps that have to meet the criteria within the capital planning process. If one of the projects that we push forward doesn’t get approved, the Members should be notified. If it’s not happening then we need to deal with that. I totally agree with the Member that we should be communicating with the Members. If a project that has been identified as a red flag but didn’t make the hopper, there’s got to be a reason why, and maybe we need to improve that communication. We...

Again, that particular policy has been in existence since 2000 as well. Depending on which students you talk to, some students want to be down south with their family that they brought over there. They don’t want the hassle of coming back to the Northwest Territories, to their community, with the kids that they have without belongings, so it’s their choice if they want to pursue that.

There is a cost factor that we need to look at. How much would it cost us? With 1,600 students, how many are parents with children and dependants? Those are areas that we are currently looking at and how can we...