Charles Dent

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve sent a letter to all Members already advising that this money will not be considered income under the Income Support Program.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The governance council has told me that their intention is to develop a new policy and to refer to the courts to ensure that it is one that meets all of the tests. That, Mr. Speaker, I think meets all the requirements that are set out in the recent decision on Valic and it shows a responsiveness to the situation. The decision in Valic does not at any point say that somebody was negligent on the board and how they handled things. It does say that they did not, the court did not think that they handled the case according to the Charter, but it doesn’t say that it was done...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe I told the House in February that the governance council would be reviewing its chronic pain policy and revising that in light of the decisions in the courts. Their intention now is to finalize that this month and once that’s done, they will refer the policy, the new policy, to the Supreme Court for reference to ensure that it is in compliance with the Charter and court decisions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This, too, is something that I have discussed with the chairs for the divisional educational councils over the past couple of years. There are a number of different initiatives, depending on the community, ranging from elders who act as mentors or counsellors for families to homework clubs and assistance in after school programs to learn how to do things like homework and how to help out. So, yes, it is something that almost needs to be handled on a community-by-community basis. I know that from talking to divisional educational councils, they are interested in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, while we had hoped to see better results from all the communities in the Alberta achievement tests, the Member is right that the results themselves from the small communities caused us some concern. I think we were aware that we have in the Northwest Territories a challenge with literacy and numeracy and, because of that, we already have started to strengthen the program and curriculum to deal better with those challenges.

In a small community, it is more difficult to offer the breadth of programming and the level of service. Sometimes the small...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Because this is a federal program, the best number to call is the Indian Residential Schools Canada helpline, which is 1-800-816-7293. I think that, for the public, is the most important number for them to call because they need to contact that number in order to find out how to access the forms, the applications and so on. Applicants do not need to have verification of attendance before applying for this compensation. The first call should be to the commission to make sure that they get their applications in. Once they file their application, then verification of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this point, there is not an intergovernmental agency. Education, Culture and Employment is responsible for ensuring that student records are provided on a timely basis to applicants or the individuals who ask us for their records. They are doing that. I have committed to the House already in previous questions here or during this session that the Ministers of the social envelope or the Ministers of Social Programs committee will consider this request to work together. We will ensure that we are operating a coordinated response where that is appropriate. Thank...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once the tenders came in or the responses to the proposals came in to the first request for proposals, we found that the prices submitted were well above the budget. So in discussions with Public Works, we looked at other projects that had been undertaken in the Territories for student residences, specifically the one most recently in Fort Smith and were told that if we were to modify the proposal, the design, to reflect the designs that had been used in Fort Smith, that it is likely that we would be able to see the project completed in Inuvik for the amount of money...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning. Mr. Speaker, the months of May and June are a popular time to celebrate educational achievement as students graduate from high schools, post-secondary institutions and various technical training programs.

Graduation ceremonies have been taking place throughout the NWT, where achievement is formally acknowledged and grads given awards for their achievements in academics, athletics, fine arts, leadership and community involvement. I have had the pleasure of attending graduation ceremonies this spring in Inuvik and Fort Resolution. I will be attending...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled Towards Excellence: A Report on Education in the NWT, 2005. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.