Sandy Lee

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Short supplementary. I would like to think that when Cabinet Ministers look at transferring a program like this they would work with more information than just transfer this. I like to think that the Education Minister would have brought to the table what it would mean to the kids there, because obviously the Cabinet and the government are the caretakers. I would like to know what information, if any, has he got thus far about what kind of education program these students will be needing. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my questions today will be to the Cabinet and the government with regard to the proposed transfer of TTC to outside of Yellowknife. Madam Speaker, my questions are to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. We, the Yellowknife Members, have been learning a lot about what this program is about and one of the new things we have learned is that the local educational system has a very intimate and intense involvement with the children who are housed there. Although they have their own classroom there, it is being administered by the Catholic...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I’m afraid the Minister keeps displaying his lack of information and knowledge about this issue. I have to tell you that I’m told that there are at least two teachers employed with YK No. 2 who are involved with the centre, who directly are involved in teaching these kids. There are other people involved in this program. They are placed in all seven schools in the city. There are other people involved in educating these kids. So how can he just say, or is that proper budgeting process to say we’re going to do this? I don’t know what the details are, but...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I am a former graduate of Sir John Franklin High School, but when I went to school there we didn't have such an extensive International Exchange Program. I think it is a fantastic program. It adds so much global sophistication and openness to the school and I am so pleased to have them attending our Assembly today. It is especially my pleasure to recognize someone from Austria, a beautiful country known for classical music, and I hope I say her name okay; Pia Zischka. Welcome. Thank you.

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Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, obviously my questions are to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, and I’m following up on the question and answers we had previously. I have to say obviously the Minister was not listening to some of the questions that I have been posing, because I don’t think at any time did I ever claim to be an expert on this issue. In fact, Madam Speaker, I think that’s the beauty of our office in that it is our privilege to be generalists. It is our duty also to ask the experts for information in making decisions. I’m asking the Minister to have...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Going by the very defensive answer of the Minister, I know I have the Cabinet cornered and they do not have answers.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Without having asked any of those questions or gotten information on that or not having had these senior officials talking to those people who are involved in education, how could the Minister have any kind of confidence or any kind of expectation? When was he going to communicate this confidence in education to those who are going to be responsible for taking care of these children? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. With all due respect, I believe the gentleman he’s talking about is a person in charge of this program who resides in Edmonton, who knows that this is a program that their company is administering, but he’s not one of the people who are delivering programs to these kids, whether in school, whether in audio therapy, in speech therapy, whatever medical and social services they use. I’d like to know, yes or no, has the Minister or his department talked to any of these experts and any of these professionals who constantly work with these youth to incorporate them into...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. My apologies for repeating what seemed like the same question and perhaps lacking originality, but sometimes there is a need for that in this House and you have demonstrated that very well in the last session when we were talking about issues that were pertaining to other matters.

I’d like to ask the Minister, with all due respect, the Minister is not the expert on programming and neither is anybody around this table. I’d like to know, and I’d like to be assured, and I think I have the right to know on behalf of those children who are going to be affected that those...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. It is obvious that the Minister doesn't know the full information about this, because we are not dealing with special needs children who need inclusive programs here. We are talking about children who are far beyond the needs of inclusive schooling. Does the Minister know that these students, eight of them, cannot be absorbed into one school? The benefit of having them in Yellowknife is that they can be chosen to go to any of the seven schools. There is no way one school could absorb all of these students, because they have such high needs. Does the Minister of...