Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have some questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment on a different topic this time around.

A year ago this House recognized that the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnerships Program was going to expire, and it is set to expire on March 31st of this particular year. We had a motion in the House. I know a number of Members, including myself, wrote to the federal Minister, requesting that the program be redefined and re-implemented. I believe the Minister followed up with the federal Minister of the day. I’d like to know whether or not he has...

Thanks to the Minister again. One of the other hindrances for getting and keeping teachers in our communities is their feeling that they’re not safe within the schools or within the community. I know that a number of years ago… Sorry. I should back up. Some of the boards and district education authorities do have a policy, a Safe Schools Policy, but we don’t have one across the GNWT. I believe in 2009 there was a memorandum of understanding between the teachers’ union and the GNWT to develop a Safe Schools Policy. I’d like to know from the Minister whether or not that goal has been...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would encourage the Minister of Transportation to take the pledge to leave the phone alone and post a sticker on his window.

My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, and I would like to say that we heard a great deal about bullying yesterday and I think we heard also about the impact that teachers can have on their students. It was an excellent discussion, as I mentioned. One of the things that we struggle with is to get and keep teachers in the Territories and in our communities, particularly in our small and isolated...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was an exciting visit to the House yesterday by the N.J. Macpherson Grade 5’s and I think we had a very successful Anti-Bullying Day in the House.

I’d like to remind everyone that next week is NWT Education Week. During the last 15 years, a very positive initiative has been run by the Northwest Territories Teachers’ Association, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Northern News Services and First Air. They have all partnered to run a teacher recognition program called Thank You for Making a Difference.

Every January through to mid-February, students...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister for Education, Culture and Employment. In my Member’s statement today I talked about bullying, but I also, at the end of my statement, called for legislation that this government needs to put in place, legislation to counteract bullying and to create awareness and so on against that particular activity.

There are many statistics that are out there. Members have mentioned many of them in their statements. I think the importance is recognized, and I think it’s been recognized by the department and by the Minister. I’d like...

We have the Coalition Against Family Violence which consistently raises the issue through initiatives like Family Violence Awareness Week. What we don’t have and do need is legislation to formulate and coordinate an approach across the GNWT and across the whole of our territory to address bullying and family violence in our schools and homes in our territory.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of this motion. The second whereas of the motion talks about NWT rates of substance abuse. We are among the highest rates in Canada. It seems to me that we have been doing the same thing to deal with our addictions and our substance abusers for a very long time. Our treatment programs really haven’t changed a lot. We have gone probably down in the number of treatment programs that we have over the last number of years. In my mind, we haven’t been successful doing the same thing over and over.

I think it is time to reconsider what we are doing. It is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that it is going to be on the list of things to discuss with board chairs, but my question to the Minister was whether or not the department would take the lead and would initiate some action to coordinate bullying. I would like to ask him if he is willing to do that. Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister. I appreciate that we have a great, very long line-up of legislation that is waiting to be done. I really appreciate the fact that it is on the radar for the Department of Education. I look forward to getting something back in the near future.

The Minister mentioned that there is a policy. I would like to know from the Minister, is this a policy that directly addresses bullying or is it a different kind of policy. If I can get a bit of an elaboration on what policy does exist within the department that schools are asked to implement. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is my very great pleasure to recognize and welcome the Grade 5 class from N.J. Macpherson School. You guys look great in your pink. Thank you so much for coming.

I have some Frame Lake constituents that I would like to recognize specifically. Maybe you guys could stand up when your name is called so we know who you are. Diana Rockwell; Elaine Cronk, and mom Carolyn Cronk is also here; Michael Elms, instigator of this event today – way to go, Michael – and his mom, Megan Holsapple; Liala Noksana; and their teacher, Carrie Heldman, also a wonderful Frame Lake resident...