Caitlin Cleveland

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I'd say in everything that we've heard come out of the new Prime Minister, there is an undercurrent of an education foundation, whether we're talking about trade, whether we're talking about bolstering our economy or our production across Canada. All of that has an educational foundation to it and a diverse expectation for our education system as well.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, to infrastructure funding, we also heard about the importance of economic resilience, growth, and also supporting reconciliation in the words from this new government...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, within our school funding formula, we have accounted, within the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, for different positions within schools. The federal government, with their program, accounted for putting other positions in schools that were different from the method of supporting schools that ECE had in place. So, for example, there was program support teachers that are funded through Education, Culture and Employment. Those program support teachers have funded through our inclusive schooling directive and already last year we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I share the Member's concern, and the answer is yes.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I certainly as a parent share the concerns of many residents of the city of Yellowknife as well as the residents of the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, it is worth me saying right now that I was notified of this project and the results on Monday evening. Immediately from there was able to ensure that that drinking water and cooking water was no longer able to be used been those schools that were advised were experiencing concerns. Mr. Speaker, I can also advise this House and the Member that given the extreme concern with this situation that I...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have a fellow photographer in the House, Vincent Ret. Wanted to say a big old hello to him. He's an incredibly talented northern artist, and it's always lovely to have people in the gallery, especially ones as talented as him. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to present to the House Bill 28, An Act to Amend the Student Financial Assistance Act, No. 2, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a close working relationship with our education bodies. I meet with them multiple times a year. I'm meeting with them again in June. This has been a conversation on our agenda all year. It is a huge concern for both education bodies and myself. Those conversations will continue. This conversation has also happened with the NWTTA.

Mr. Speaker, one thing that is -- needs to be very clear here is the GNWT cannot afford to take on the programs that the federal government introduces and does not continue. When this program was introduced, and...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the schools in Yellowknife are interesting in that they are different from schools across the territory. So the schools in Yellowknife, for the most part, are owned by the education body themselves, but we have mechanisms to work together within the city of Yellowknife. First and foremost, we need to ensure that the water in our schools is safe and that kids in our schools are safe, and so as per usual, I will continue to work with our education bodies. I have a very close working relationship with the chair, and we will continue to work forward...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have received information that the city of Yellowknife does regular testing of their water, and there is no concern. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the course of the next week, confirmation testing will be done in both of the schools and until we determine what those results are and then also from there do some exploration as to what the source of the issue is, I would have -- it would be impossible for me to say kind of what the next steps are for remediating that and fixing that until I know what the issue is and if there is, in fact, a longstanding challenge there that needs to be fixed. Thank you.