Caroline Cochrane

Again, the act is kind of vague on the authority of the Minister, and I'm very respectful of them, they're all elected positions, so I'm respectful of their allocations and what they see fit for their regions. We don't tell the district education councils what to use their surpluses on. I felt that was very limiting; it's very patriarchal, it's not how I practise, so we gave the flexibility to say, "Tell us what you're going to use your surplus on."

The sad thing is, Mr. Speaker, that the South Slave District Education Council never identified busing as an issue within their surplus plan, so I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The MLA is right; the Legislation, it starts with us. We approve the budget that is going forward for schools. At that point, then, ECE allocates the budgets to the district education councils, and we use a school funding formula for that. That funding formula has different aspects; some for inclusive schooling, some for French languages, some per capita for the number of children in school. Then the education authority, at that point, we kind of lose our authority within that. ECE does not have a mandate within our education net to provide direction to any district...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to recognize a dynamic group of individuals who are here with the Jane Glassco Fellows. We have staff, and we have fellows as well. I'm just going to name them all, and excuse me if I do mispronunciation of names. I'm going to try my hardest.

We have Sherry Campbell, Melaina Sheldon, Ashley Carvill, Chloe Dragon Smith, Don Couturier, Heather Bourassa, Hilda Snowball, Julianna Scramstad, Kaviq Kaluraq, Kelly Panchynshyn, Kristen Tanche, Killulark Arngna'naaq, Luke Campbell, Tina Decouto, Tony Penikett, John B. Zoe, and Vivien Carli. I appreciate you all...

Again, it was just today that I realized that this was an issue, at all. I started out here four years ago. When I did a speech in the House about getting in to become a Minister, I talked about my experience in accreditation, not knowing anything about politics, only about best practices. Best practices in accreditation talks about evaluation, it talks about data, it talks about measurable outcomes, so I have carried that right through my whole four years. I did that with the polytech education act about quality education based on best practices. It would be foolish for me to stand here at...

We just finished the consultation pieces on the action plan, people from throughout the Northwest Territories on what their ideas are. We are just compiling that information right now, and we will developing a "what we heard" report, just like we always say. The reality is, after that report is done, actually, we need to meet together, all departments that are involved in this action plan and in the identified actions, because I do not even know what they are going to say yet, and any department that has some kind of action that will be required, we will be working together to make sure that...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. With me today I have on my left-hand side Dr. Chris Joseph. He is the technical lead for Post-Secondary Education Act with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. On my right, I have Ms. Cherie Jarock. She is the legislative counsel for the Department of Justice. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to recognize a really dynamic group of women in our gallery today. We have Sheryl Liske from the Yellowknife Dene. She is a long-time resident of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Ms. Beatrice Harper is the visitor from Onion Lake Cree Nation on the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Ms. Maxine Desjarlais is a visitor from Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. We have that name in the Territories, too, just to let you know. Shelley Wiart is a member of the North Slave Metis Alliance, and she is visiting from Lloydminster, Alberta. She is known as the co...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to be here today to discuss Bill 48: Post-Secondary Education Act. The primary objective of this bill is to create a process of recognition within the Northwest Territories that ensures the effective governance and quality assurance of all post-secondary institutions and their programs. This new system of quality assurance will provide consumer protection for students and employers that rely on institutions to provide the appropriate level and types of education and training.

Currently in the Northwest Territories we do not have a clear and incremental pathway...

As stated, again, we can't really say what the 19th Assembly will take on. That is not our role, but I am hopeful that education will be on the priority list for the next Assembly. We need to work better. We are failing at our children. Our graduation rates are low. Our early developmental index is coming in low. It is not okay. Our children are our future. We keep saying that. If we really believe that as a society, we have to put our energy, we have to put resources behind that and the next government has to focus more on that.

I just recently learned, actually, that not all district...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that most people know by now, after four years, that I try to consult with stakeholders as much as possible. I believe that the best service is done when we do work together, in all honesty. That's not just in this House; that means with everybody.

Indigenous governments actually have a real role in education. As we move towards self-governments, they have even more and more of a role. They have the right to actually draw down education. I think we have an obligation within GNWT to actually work with them and to actually provide the supports. I know that within...