Statements in Debates
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A lot of our concerns that have come up are from people who work for the GNWT, but I just want to know that in the Medical Travel Policy, would the Minister work with the Department of Human Resources to address these employees of the GNWT get time off, possibly paid time off when they have to escort their family members, children, down south when we don’t have the services up here in the Northwest Territories? Is he willing to work with the Department of Human Resources so that the policy does reflect our GNWT employees and they can get time with pay on these travels...
Mr. Speaker, my questions are arising because we’re lacking some services in the NWT. I know the department is looking at developing physician recruitment and possibly developing a pool of physicians here in Yellowknife. What’s lacking there is we don’t have psychiatrists or psychologists that we do need in the small communities for so many different issues.
Would the Minister be looking to address these concerns of medical travel, look at doing a recruitment on psychiatrists for the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The reallocation of these internal funds also brings to light a concern. Which programs are they going to be taking the dollars from and which programs may be hindered by taking on these new initiatives? However, with the Aboriginal Student Achievement, before I got in this position, I did do some work with some of the committees in Inuvik in the elementary and in the high school in my previous position. I want to ask the Minister what is the role of these Aboriginal student achievement committees moving forward in this Directions for Change. Also, he mentions in his document that there was an...
Mr. Speaker, the standing committee had a short timeline to give their feedback and input into this document moving forward. It is a 10-year action plan, so it’s very important that we do it right the first time and that all the recommendations and input are addressed with moving forward with this.
I just want to ask the Minister, was proper consultation with the district education authorities, the Aboriginal student achievement committees, the NWT Teachers’ Association, did they have a bigger time frame, because obviously these guys are the ones that are going to be working on this education...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to recognize and welcome to the House former Premier and current mayor of Inuvik, Mr. Floyd Roland, as well as Ms. Angela Young, who is one of our hardworking educators at the East Three School.
I understand that the Minister’s department had been engaging residents of the Northwest Territories since 2007. I was asking specifically to the Directions for Change document that committee saw and only had about a month to reply on that. However, I’ll move on to my third question here.
With a lot of the monumental changes that are going to be happening within this education action plan, I would ask the Minister, will there be new dollars going into this action plan and is the action plan going to be implemented within the schools across the Northwest Territories in the 2014-15 school year.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment regarding his Directions for Change document that was tabled in the House yesterday. In the opening message in the document, the Minister talks about the coming action plan will breathe life into this framework. I’m just wondering what the time frame is for this government and people of the Northwest Territories, specifically the educators.
What is the timeline for that action plan? When are we going to be able to see that action plan in a document that we can go by and our educators and...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment tabled a document in the House, entitled Education Renewal and Innovation Framework: Directions for Change for our education system here in the North. I appreciate and recognize the hard work and efforts that went into this document by the Minister’s office, also by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. I also acknowledge the hard work that the Standing Committee on Social Programs put into this document by providing their input and recommendations, as well as any other Members that came to those...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today we heard the Minister of Education talk about an Education Renewal Framework. He mentions that we need to improve the relationship between communities and schools, as well as that students in small communities need to have access to quality education as much as those in our larger centres.
My question today is regarding how we can do that through innovation. So I’d like to ask the Minister with the great e-learning program that’s happening in Inuvik right now with the communities of Tuktoyaktuk and Fort McPherson, is there any other communities slated on...
Outside of the Northwest Territories, I know other jurisdictions across Canada have some very stringent, very strong mental health legislation.
Is the Minister willing to look at other jurisdictions across Canada to mirror some of that legislation and things that could work in those jurisdictions that can also work here in the North? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.