Jackson Lafferty

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The decision came down from this government to continue with the 23 communities this year and also next year. Part of the process, obviously, is to re-evaluate the programming that’s going to be happening over the coming months, within eight months. The feedback we’re getting to date has been positive overall, and there hasn’t been major issues pertaining to delivery of JK. There were some questions about specific areas of clarification, so those are some of the information and also calls and e-mails that came to my department. There may be others out there that we may...

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the Member that these veterans should not be forgotten. They are a part of our history and also our identity, so we need to honour them. This is an area that I will be pushing with my school boards, that I work very closely with, to have their presence in our school system, some visibility of the history.

I will commit to the Member that this will be addressed. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. It’s very important that we highlight our veterans. Remembrance Day is fast approaching. These are areas that we need to continue to push into our school system, not only our school system but also our communities, the regional centres. We do have regional representatives and even those seniors that have been part of the process, if they can be visible in our community schools. There are some areas of activities and events that are happening in the various communities and the school systems. The Member is raising a really valid question that we must address with the board...

Mahsi. That is exactly what we’re doing; we’re promoting arts in the Northwest Territories, again, in partnership with Industry, Tourism and Investment. We are, as a department, collaboratively working diligently to implement the NWT Arts Strategy and Action Plan. Not only that but we’re also working with the NWT Arts Council for the whole Northwest Territories. They are our key partners in delivering those areas of interest for the Northwest Territories when it comes to arts delivery.

So, we’ll continue to play those partnerships and have ongoing dialogue with the departments of ITI and Public...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Those are just some of the areas of discussion that have been addressed through our department and through various venues, as well, even working with the NWT Arts Council, because we provide annual funding to them.

We, as a department, recognize that there are no dedicated public arts spaces or display in the Northwest Territories; however, there are many opportunities for art expression display in our schools and also in our communities. My department will continue to support the community-based arts and cultural organizations through partnership. Member Bromley addressed...

Mr. Speaker, I would like to share the Northwest Territories three-year baseline results of the Early Development Instrument referred to as the EDI results. The EDI is a population-level tool that measures children’s ability to meet age-appropriate developmental expectations at school entry.

The EDI measures five areas of a child’s development, including their physical health and well-being, their language and cognitive development, their communication skills and general knowledge, their social competence and the child’s emotional maturity.

Mr. Speaker, the EDI focuses on the outcomes for...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents, entitled “Government of the Northwest Territories 2013-2014 Annual Report on Official Languages,” and a letter to Mr. Bob Bromley, dated November 4, 2014 regarding a statement in the House on the safety in junior kindergarten.

I wish to table the following two documents, entitled “Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission Annual Report 2013” and “Northwest Territories and Nunavut Workers’ Compensation Appeals Tribunal Annual Report 2013.” Mahsi.

As I stated earlier, there are a variety of programs, subsidy programs that we provide to, whether it be training or small community employment programming. Not only that, there is a substantial amount of funding that we work with through the federal government, and that is Canada’s Job Fund. Those individuals that do not qualify for EI, those individuals, as the Member indicated, are in desperate need of sort of like a training that fall through the cracks. This particular program is geared towards that. Part of the focus of the federal government, obviously, is to train those individuals and...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The pre-employment program and other programs have been very successful to date. There have been some changes in programming. Right now we are looking at the employment success through adult and post-secondary education and skills training. Those types of programs that existed before will definitely be captured in part of our review process, because we are engaging the key partners and also the stakeholders in the Northwest Territories on how best to deliver this particular program. We are re-evaluating our position on these skills and training programs.

Mr. Speaker, one of the areas, obviously, is the Small Community Employment Program that has been established by this Assembly. It has been very successful to date. They’re providing funding to employers so they can hire those individuals who are interested in various skill set positions. Not only that but there is other programming, whether it be apprenticeship training programming.

I just signed off with the federal government, as well, on Canada’s Job Fund. The funding is available to the employers through my department to identify those individuals. Once they’re trained, they should have...