R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And it's a two-way relationship. The DEAs are the ones on the ground, and they often know the challenges students are facing better than anyone. And so I do meet with the education leaders, the chairs of the DEAs and the regional DECs, and we have those discussions. So I can hear exactly what is happening on the ground.

And for the information flowing the other way, we do reach out and we do explain what ECE is doing. So we've sent out the discussion papers on the Education Act, on the curriculum renewal and all of these initiatives, and we've offered briefings to the...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: Northwest Territories On the Land Collaborative 2021 Report; and, What We Heard 2021 AntiPoverty Roundtable. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The revenue review will be completed by the end of this fiscal year.

The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre is unique. Most museums aren't 100 percent funded by a province or territory. It's generally run by a third party who can then access federal funding. There is not a big pot of money that the GNWT can access to just build a new museum. But that being said, if we look at other ways to operate the museum perhaps we can find some of that funding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We can't just change the name, as the Member says. And I think that if I would have started the process of changing the name on my first day in this position, it still wouldn't be changed because there has to be an extensive consultation process. I would not unilaterally change the name to something I thought was appropriate. There would have to be extensive consultation with Indigenous governments and the public.

The process of renaming the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre is definitely on the radar. It is something that we are looking into. And it is being...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so what the Member's talking about is we wouldn't call it social passing; it's peer placement. So students are placed with their agerelated peers. So if you are of a certain age, you would be placed in a certain grade. And if you have different needs, if you perhaps aren't on the same level with certain subjects, the idea is that you would receive lesson plans and the supports you need to catch up to the rest of your peers.

In reality, I think that we realize, we see that's not the way things work. And this approach is used in many, many jurisdictions. It's not just...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so as I've referenced before, the education bodies, the DECs, the DEAs, they have a lot of independence and they really run their own affairs. And so the type of training that is provided is really based on that particular DEA or DEC. So the superintendent would possibly develop some training on governance and then offer it to the new DEAs. The Member points out that there are often new members. There's elections every few years. Sometimes we have members who have been there for 20 years and they can act as a mentor, but quite often we have new members. And one of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The work has begun under the arts strategy to look at the programs, look at how we fund different organizations, and that is the work to determine whether or not something like an arts council would be the way to go.

We provide more funding for the arts and culture in the Northwest Territories than any other jurisdiction in Canada per capita outside of the Yukon. So it's not like we are not providing these supports. But we also provide we spend twice as much on education per capita as the rest of Canada, three times as much on policing. I don't know how much more on...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 41, Justice Administration Statutes Amendment Act, be read for the second time.

This act amends three statutes administered by the Department of Justice. It amends the Jury Act and the Summary Conviction Procedures Act to reflect changes made to the Criminal Code of Canada. It further amends the Summary Conviction Procedures Act to clarify the role of the Attorney General for the Northwest Territories under that act. It also amends the Partnership and Business Names Act to recognize the authority of an Indian...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a separate process, but it is still income security staff so they are able to assist with that.

I want to point out that this is one of the reasons why the department is dedicated to creating a separate stream for seniors in terms of income security because why should someone have to go and apply for multiple things to get one thing. So that work is ongoing and should come to fruition before the end of this Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I've seen the article the Member's referring to. I don't believe that 300 percent increase is a retail price that people are paying. And I think it's probably related to the fact that the price of propane plummeted last year, and it is now back to the more normal levels. So we are seeing a slight increase in the cost of propane. It's around 10 percent from two years ago, although significantly higher than last year, but it's closer to the average right now. Thank you.