R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And of course I can't make any assurances on behalf of the board of governors. They are arm's length from the Government of the Northwest Territories and from the Minister of ECE, but I don't think there's any concerns. I'm not at all concerned about the future of the ENRTP program. I think it's very well established and will continue to produce results for many years to come. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The start date, I believe it's early in the new year, was what the program wants to when they want to begin the program. If we wait until after the election it will delay that, and they will miss their I guess their first semester. And so there are some deadlines involved here. Things would have happened earlier had it not been for the evacuations unfortunately. But I see what the Member is saying. You know, we have an environmental studies program. This is another one. You know, there's nothing wrong with a little bit of competition, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 81, An Act to Amend the Education Act, No. 2, be read for a third time. And, Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded vote.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the employment assistance program provides funding to people to help meet their basic needs. So it is not a program to you know, to make people rich or anything like that. So I understand that for the amount of money that you get, it can seem like a lot of work to provide all of these documents. That is why at the beginning of this Assembly, I set out to change the program and overhaul the program. And we have done the work, and we are months away from launching the new income assistance program for seniors and persons with disabilities. Once that happens, the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I don't want the Member to get ahead of himself. Proposing that a new building be built and having a grand opening are two very different things. So we'll see what happens in the future.

Every year the government proposes a slate of legislation that they would like to see proceed. About half of that legislation actually makes its way through an Assembly and is passed. So I can't speak for previous years, but there's been a number of pieces of legislation and the priorities of the Assembly have dictated what has made its way through and what hasn't. And, unfortunately...

Yes, I would.

Thank you. To my left, I have John MacDonald, the deputy minister of Education, Culture and Employment. And on my right, Laura Jeffrey, legislative counsel with legislation division and the Department of Justice.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm here today to present Bill 81, An Act to Amend the Education Act, No. 2.

Bill 81 represents the first phase of amendments that make operational and technical improvements necessary to improve the education system. A second phase will continue beyond the 19th Assembly to allow for more indepth discussions with Indigenous governments, education bodies and the public on the future of education governance in the Northwest Territories.

This bill seeks to amend the Education Act to recognize the vital role Indigenous peoples and Indigenous governments have in education...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that it was back in the sometime in the 90s, I'm not sure exactly when, when the archives, they started storing archives off site. And as I mentioned, there are some minor upgrades planned for next year. Hopefully, the Member will support funding for those upgrades. And those would include, at the offsite space, minor space improvements, fencing, so secure access to the documents. New racking so there you know, more stable storage. As well as some temperature and humidity control improvements where possible. So given the situation and the needs, ECE is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, of course, we are currently deliberating the capital budget in Committee of the Whole, so I don't want to go too much into that because that document is properly before committee of the House. But I can say that ECE has taken undertaken work to explore the renovation or replacement of the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre and, in particular, as the Member mentions, the need for archival space. So there has been a comprehensive planning study, the development of estimates to explore various options ranging from replacing the entire museum to pursuing more...