Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. This is what is before us, $6.5 million of new money that we’re moving forward on. Again, I have to remind that we spent well over $290 million over the last five years throughout the Northwest Territories and our overall education system, educational infrastructure, so we should be proud of the investment that we’ve undertaken in the communities, and we’ll continue to push that forward with the $6.5 million this year, and next year it could be a different number. We have to work with the Peer Review Committee as it goes through the overall capital infrastructure. At the end...

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. What the Member has brought up are a lot of points that obviously have been brought to our attention as well. Due to the fact we are investing just over $6.5 million in capital projects, there may not be much out of a $125 million budget, but at the same time we spend well over $290 million over a five-year period when it comes to schools and different educational assets in the Northwest Territories.

Yes, we need to focus on the small communities, as the Member alluded to, small community schools. We’ve done that. There is Lutselk’e school, there is Charles Tetcho School...

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. As you see as part of the capital planning process, we’ve identified some funds, as the Member alluded to, for renovations to Trout Lake school, Charles Tetcho School as part of the renovation to the existing building space to be provided with adequate instructional space.

There have been several discussions that have taken place. As Minister responsible for Education and Mr. Beaulieu, who is responsible for Public Works and Services, and MLA Menicoche did visit the community along with the Dehcho Divisional Education Council and my senior staff to review the shortcomings of...

Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. I have with me Dana Heide, associate deputy minister with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment; and Tammy Allison, manager, capital planning, Education, Culture and Employment.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. As part of the process, obviously, it needs a needs assessment and also needs analysis from the communities when it comes to major renovations or retrofits of schools or educational infrastructure. Those are areas that we’ll be focusing and putting that forward as part of the capital planning process. This year we have done that. We’re going to do the same next year, as well, and the following years. What we’re hearing from the Members is focusing on those most needed. I can assure the Members that this will be my push again next year with the peer review, the committee that...

We’re fully aware of all of these different stats and the calculation that has been changed by the federal government. It is a federal government administered program, the EI, so I will provide the facts that the Member is alluding to.

Mahsi. The Member is asking for more detailed information and I can certainly provide the breakdown of the stats. Again, I don’t have the breakdown of the stats in front of me, but I can assure the Member that the Canada Job Fund is an area that we’ve negotiated with the federal government to deal with those individuals at the community level where there’s high unemployment at the community level. Not only that, there’s also a Labour Market Development Agreement where we’re currently negotiating with the federal government to provide more flexibility for those individuals that are on EI as...

Mahsi. Yes, most definitely. Those are programs that are currently being discussed by my department and perspective with the college. There’s also federal programing with respect to scientific research programming that we’ve been trying to access for a number of years now. So we are making progress along the way. So those are just some of the areas of innovative programming that we want to be delivered into the three main campuses that we have. Mahsi.

There is a wide range of marketing approaches happening within Aurora College. The Board of Governors is responsible for the three main campuses, including Inuvik. There are various programs delivered, whether it is trades and apprenticeship, education, health, arts, sciences and business. So we want to expand beyond that. There is the ALBE program as well.

As the Member alluded to, we need to attract more students into our programming. That is the ultimate target of the Board of Governors, and we as a department are responsible for training of those individuals. We have various federal...

Mahsi. I thought I did that in my last answer where different programs, Canada’s Job Fund is a national program. Specifically for the Northwest Territories, we are receiving funds towards those individuals that do not qualify for EI and we’ve created some incentives, as well, where we have $500,000 in addition to other provincial jurisdictions because of our uniqueness, our remoteness and the highest unemployment in the Northwest Territories. So that’s one particular program.

There’s also the Labour Market Development Agreement. There’s the small communities programming, employment programs...