Shane Thompson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for her answers to this point here. I guess my concern, though, is, when we talk about our divisional boards, when we only have two staff, we are going to burn those people out. They are going to be working really hard, and, you know, when you've got eight schools, it is very difficult for two people. They always going to be on the road, so it is a concern. When we don't even have the proper IT staff, you know, that is a concern.

Will the Minister make a commitment to do a cross-jurisdictional review of the funding formula?

Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement, I talk about the disparity between different regions here. I talk about the Sahtu has five communities or four communities. Is it four? Five, five communities, sorry, and four staff. In my riding, we have eight communities, including the Deh Cho riding, and we only have two staff. Can the Minister explain: if all education bodies have provided funding on an equitable basis, why are there different staffing levels at different divisional education and culture?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I noticed that the divisional education board office has two fewer staff supporting the schools than in the Sahtu. In the Deh Cho proper, eight communities, we have two support staff for nine schools, whereas the Sahtu has four support staff for five schools. It is my understanding that the Sahtu board has two IT support staff, while the Deh Cho has one. This doesn't seem right. We need to address this, or we are going to see more vulnerable children in ongoing decline in the EDI and MDI results for the Deh Cho. It is my position that the base funding based...

Thank you. Could the Minister elaborate if there has been a positive reception from the federal government in this area? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's my understanding that it's the final year for federal funding for the Family Information Liaison Unit, so can the Minister please elaborate on where we are with this work? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have some of the most unique ways to travel across the Northwest Territories. Depending on where you live, you can travel by air, water, trails, roads, or combined of winter roads and ice bridges. People from across the world are amazed at how we transport ourselves across this great country.

Mr. Speaker, I have been asked questions from our constituents about our transportation infrastructure and the challenges they have been facing with the roadside assistance program. My questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure: can the Minister confirm if the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Minister for his answers. I have one more question. Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that four or five years ago, and I'm not exactly sure of the time frame, the Minister of Transportation and the Premier had to write a letter to these companies explaining the Mackenzie Valley Highway was a winter road and maintained by the GNWT. Will the Minister be willing to send a similar letter to these manufacturers who provide roadside assistance to clarify the use of ice bridges?

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister confirm if the department has a system in place to guarantee that the ice bridges are safe to travel?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I spoke about the Aboriginal Sports Circle in the Northwest Territories awards program and how they recognize and give credit to exceptional community members in the NWT sports system. They recognize individuals who have continuously shown dedication, hard work, made significant contributions, and made a positive difference in their respective communities across the NWT. Mr. Speaker, the Nahendeh region had two winners. Yesterday, I spoke of Jonathan Tsetso. Today, I will speak about the other award winner from the Nahendeh region.

During the 2018...

Mr. Speaker, we heard from my constituents that sometimes these companies down south are having concerns about what happens should a vehicle fall through. Can the Minister advise us: does the GNWT have insurance should a vehicle, whether it is going across or is on a flatbed, fall through ice? Do we have insurance to cover that?