R.J. Simpson

The process with these reports is that the department develops an action plan, which it then provides to the standing committee prior to the public meetings that are arranged between the standing committee and the Office of the Auditor General. I guarantee that the committee will have a draft prior to that meeting.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When I first took over this portfolio, I soon after became aware that we would be receiving a report of the Office of the Auditor General. Personally, I was happy to have this at the beginning of my term because, as a former Regular Member, I was on the committee that looked at these reports and I know how valuable they are.

I am happy to have the information. I wish I could say that it was a glowing audit. It wasn't scathing, but it obviously shows that we are not doing as well as we would like and that we can do better. There are certain areas that are more concerning...

Mr. Speaker, I want to provide a personal explanation to this House today about the matter of the termination of the associate deputy minister of post-secondary education renewal.

Media reporting yesterday gave the impression that I was not consulted by the Premier on the decision to terminate the employment of the former associate DM. I want to state clearly that this was not the case.

The fact is over the last number of months I have had a number of discussions with the Premier's office regarding the management of Aurora College and the Aurora College transformation team. Two weeks ago, I...

We have a framework. The name is escaping me right now, but it deals directly with this. It deals directly with data collection and how that data is processed. We have standardized the way that we are now collecting this data from the education councils. My colleague is right; there is a separation between all of the education authorities, and separated from ECE, as well.

I think that one of the things that we need to do, and this was mentioned in the Commissioner's address, is look at our Education Act and see if there is a way to better integrate our systems. Not to get rid of the regional...

As I spoke the other day, the department has some partnerships with the University of Alberta, the University of Victoria, and we are making strides to train people to help revitalize the language. We have a mentorship/apprentice program which pairs fluent speakers with those wishing to learn so that they can then learn.

These are a few of the things that we are doing, and as the Member is well aware, there is work going on within the education authorities, as well. She was a former chair of the Beaufort Delta Education Council, and she knows what vital role they play, as well. I know that each...

The term "social passing" is a bit of a misnomer. Students aren't passed into the next grade. They are placed in the next grade. If they don't achieve, if they do not get the credits, if they don't do the work that they need to pass, they do not pass. They are placed in the next grade with their peer group, and they have lesson plans that are adjusted in order to meet that.

I am not going to commit to eliminating social passing because, right now, there is no requirement for a student who doesn't achieve a certain level to be placed in the next grade. That is a decision made by the...

The thing I love about education is everyone is committed. I know that the Member is passionate about education. I just want to reiterate my support for our teachers, as well.

The department has looked at the methodology they use to calculate graduation rates, and we have made a change that more accurately reflects what you would call a true graduation rate, even though there really is no such thing. Different jurisdictions use different rates.

For the territory, we have a lot of in-and-out migration. We have a small population. There is nothing that suits us perfectly. We tried looking at...

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Report of the Office of the Auditor General of Canada was tabled on the Audit of Early Childhood and the Kindergarten to Grade 12 education system in the Northwest Territories. The report focused on five areas: inclusive schooling; Indigenous language and culture-based education; equitable access to quality education; programming, staff qualifications, and training in licensed early childhood programs; and how these areas worked to support student outcomes.

The tabling of this report is timely, falling at the beginning of a new Legislative Assembly that has made it a...

The best-spent money is always on children's education, so it's hard to argue with that.

SFA is for students who are studying. I don't know if that is an appropriate avenue to provide funds to somebody who is working as an apprentice, but I have been speaking for years about the need to get more apprentices in the territory. We have so many journeypeople who are retiring, who have retired. Like the rest of Canada, we just do not have the people to replace them. I am hopeful and committed to increasing that number during the life of this Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.