Charles Dent

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is no policy. We have never been in a situation before where we had so many vacancies as we do in this situation right now in Yellowknife. So we are responding to a unique circumstance. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, a lot of this is in the communities, but I’ll certainly make sure that Mr. McLeod and I are aware of the issues and look at them together.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment is responsible for licensing all scientific research that takes place in the Northwest Territories. So through that licensing process, we would expect that we would gain an understanding of the scientific research that’s taking place. Part of the licensing process requires that the scientists who are applying for the licence commit to reporting back on what information they have found. We also expect, as part of the application process, that they will advise us of how they are going to involve the local communities and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this point, I have, by way of letter to YK 1, indicated what I think should happen in this circumstance. As discussed between Ms. Lee and myself yesterday, perhaps the next step, if we’re unable to reach resolution there, would be to ensure that there is a better understanding among the public of what the recommendations are and what they mean. So we may have to look at some mechanism for a public meeting to allow stakeholders in Yellowknife to get all of the information.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d certainly enjoy an opportunity to look at changing our subsidy program so that parents could see more support through this government as well. However, we need to identify more revenues. As Members around this table know, we are challenged to meet our current obligations and are running into what the Minister of Finance has called a debt wall not too far off in the future if we don’t get more money from Ottawa. So it is certainly something we have plans for, but to be able to deliver that kind of program, we need to have more revenues. This government needs to have...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, the definitions now, the P1, P2, and P3 would disappear, but the employment equity program would involve the identification and removal of systemic barriers as well as the identification of groups that might be underrepresented and then specific targeted actions to work to bring the representation in various parts of government up to the standards that it should be. So it is in many ways similar. Employment equity is similar to affirmative action, but it is a more active process of identifying where the problems lie and then trying to find ways, whether it is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As is the tradition with how we do business in this House, we have offered to brief the committee. We have shared the information with the committee. We are prepared to have a discussion with members of the standing committee. That would be the first step before any document would be shared outside. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can’t make a commitment on next year’s budget until we have that budget in the House. I hope that we are going to be able to implement the program next year. We will do all that we can to ensure that we can see it happen. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We think it would be ideal if all of the people who were teaching language and culture in the schools had the ALCIP instructor course. That is not a requirement. We understand and recognize that elders in our communities are very able to transmit the knowledge of language and culture to students, so we believe that it is possible for schools to provide this training now. But I agree with the Member, that it would be ideal if we could expand the programming. That is the goal. I talked to the college. We are looking to identify funds and would hope to be able to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, this week, October 29th to November 4th, is Canada Career Week. The theme of Canada Career Week this year is: "Find the Work You Love…Build the Life You Want." The career each of us chooses determines how we spend much of our lives. That is one reason it is important to develop a career that is rewarding and fulfilling. A rewarding career takes careful planning. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment has a role to play in helping NWT residents to realize their career goals.

In the NWT, we celebrate Career Week with a...