Kevin A. Menicoche

Mr. Speaker, mahsi. [English translation not provided.]

Today I want to speak about a concern that one of my constituents has raised about the health of the people in Fort Liard. Ms. Sonia Timbre has become aware that another person in her hometown of Fort Liard has been diagnosed with stomach cancer. She advises this brings the total number of diagnosed cases of stomach cancer and the number of deaths from stomach cancer up to 15. According to the 2006 Census, the population of Fort Liard was only 583 people, and 15 appears to her to be an extraordinarily large number of people with the same...

The parents and the teachers are very concerned in Fort Liard. They raised it with me in my December visit. They’re actually so concerned that they’re looking for ways to fundraise to replace the school ground equipment, but it’s our responsibility, Mr. Speaker. The need is immediate. I’d like to ask the Minister what can be done in this coming fiscal year. Can we release some resources so that we can begin the preliminary work or even remove some of this dangerous pressure-treated wood equipment? Thank you.

[English translation not provided.]

Today I want to speak about the need for safe playground equipment in Fort Liard. We are well aware of the importance of physical activity for children’s health. Recently the media has reported that exercise is linked with a greater ability for children to concentrate in classrooms. This is important for us to ensure that our children have opportunities to play games and have fun. I’m not talking about sedentary activities like computer games and indoor activities.

When the weather’s a bit warmer than today, if you go by a school playground at recess you’ll...

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to speak about Foundation for Change a bit. I know that the Minister brought it up in her opening comments and she’s absolutely correct that it did go to committee. One of the biggest changes for me in the Foundation for Change was looking at community nursing. It’s been something especially high on my agenda for the community of Wrigley. I look forward to seeing that change. I know that it took a long while to get to this stage, lots of barriers to overcome, including return of policing to Wrigley was part of the equation and with the help of my...

I’m just trying to get a handle on will the playground equipment be removed this year. Probably the planning process to replace the playground in 2011 sounds good, but am I correct in understanding that they’re looking at removing the playground equipment this fiscal year? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment questions on the playground in Fort Liard. The National Playground Code about six to eight years ago came into place. We assessed our schools and replaced what we could. In Fort Liard that remained undone. I’d like to ask the Minister why that one school playground equipment was not replaced.

Thank you very much. When will the discussions take place and how soon can I know, or even the school in Fort Liard know, about the plans for that playground? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I just want to share a few comments as well. The media said that was an all-encompassing budget. We all worked hard on it and we are to be commended to try to capture all the goals and wants and needs of all the regions and all the different interest groups, as well as bearing in mind, of course, the climate change and the green initiatives that in the long term should save us money.

Those are the same needs that I share for my constituency. We have grassroots organizations that are interested in green alternatives from geothermal to biomass initiatives, and I’m...

As I indicated, the aboriginal students in our smaller communities are missing 41 days of school per year with the equivalence up to about two years of schooling by the time they reach grade 9. I know that the Education department and our school boards consider this very seriously and I think they coupled some of the monitoring stats, like the Alberta Achievement Test, which shows that our use of English is being impacted because they’re missing a lot of that. So what kind of projects are being undertaken this fiscal year and planned for the next year, in terms of addressing this concern?

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to follow up on the CBC special report this morning about the test results that show reading and math levels are still low in the NWT communities. I’d like to ask the Minister of Education some questions on the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative that we have going. I know that it started last year. So if he could tell me just a bit about the program and what initiatives are slated for this coming year, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.