Jackson Lafferty

The Education Renewal and Innovation has engaged students in a wide variety of ways. We want to hear their perspectives, their experience, what they’re faced with, whether it be in high school, whether it be in post-secondary, because from their feedback we want to make productive choices and make some changes with our Education Act and programming. We’ll continue to push that forward. This is not the only time. There will be plenty of opportunities to engage our students across the Northwest Territories, the 8,000 students. We want them to be successful. We are creating all these different...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. We are currently going through the review process. We’ve hired consultants to engage with the general public, the DECs, Aboriginal leadership, Aboriginal Head Start program in the communities, the licenced daycare and family day home operators, and more specifically on how the JK is being delivered in the communities. Also, there was an Arctic Aboriginal Head Start Council. Their programming, Aboriginal governments and the NWTTA is part of the process and the public engagement.

We’re expecting that report and the overall review to be completed by July 2015 and then we will...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] I would like to also recognize students from Dechinta. We’ve been working with them for many years now and they have been working with us in Education. We’ve been working very well and moving forward with education.

Also, I would also like to recognize the Austin family in the audience. I realize that they are in a situation, but we are going to support them, also with prayers for them.

The Member is referring to 100 percent. Obviously, I agree with that, but it takes a whole community. It just takes the Department of Education to graduate these individuals. We have to gain support and a push from the parents, a push from the community members, the leaders. We’ve had some challenges along the way. Yes, we’re at a 50 percent margin right now, but obviously our goal is to increase that through the Education Renewal and Innovation. I have just captured some of the key points that we will be delivering, working with our stakeholders. We can’t forget that the district education...

Mahsi. The specific information, which highlights how much it would cost us to reach out to the key people, the stakeholders, the industry representatives, community members, leadership, I don’t have that information here but I can provide that to the Member. But this is an area that we need to seek input. The more information the better, then we can develop an action plan. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. That information that we received, whether it be the 21 different strategies, there was the 30 recommendations. Our government has done a lot of work in this area. Most of the information that we collect, obviously, is through our negotiation with the federal government through the Labour Market Development Agreement, Labour Market Agreement, the Canada-NWT Job Fund that we successfully negotiated. We compiled the information, shared it with the Minister of the day with the federal government. That is information that we’ve been compiling.

Obviously, during our engagement...

I am fully aware of the framework that was initiated in 2009. It has been six years now. A lot of things have changed over that six-year period, such as employment and training stats. We’ve been told over and over, either by this Assembly or the general public, that we need to engage the public. We need to seek their input. We need to gather that data. That’s what we’re doing, Mr. Speaker. Over six years there’s been a lot of work put into play and now we want to build on that. That’s what we’re doing. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Part of the forum we are having in these communities, more specifically Hay River, Fort Smith, Fort Simpson, Inuvik, Norman Wells, Yellowknife and Behchoko in February and March, is to gather all the information, the data that we require that will lead to the development of a strategic framework that will set out a new direction for adults and post-secondary and skills training in the Northwest Territories. That will be followed by an action plan, monitoring and evaluation and also an accountability plan. So there is a great deal of work ahead of us, but we want to compile...

Any information that the Members can contribute to our decision-making will be valuable. Also, my department, obviously, has done some research, as well, so we can compile all that information, and if changes are necessary then we have to seriously look at those areas.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Within our policy there are amendments every now and then, and this is an area that I spoke to last week I believe it was. Making some changes to a policy obviously comes from the general public’s feedback and also the MLAs. If there is an area that we need to make some changes, then there is an opportunity to do so.