Charles Dent

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to say that we would follow up on that recommendation. We already provide schools with some direction for emergency response in a whole range of situations. It is my intention to share that with Members of this Assembly, so you can see how we are doing that currently. We are looking at expanding it to include specific references to anaphylaxis and how to deal with those instances. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am aware of the urgency of dealing with this situation, and the Member raised the issue with us last fall. Since that time, the assistant deputy minister has written to all superintendents, urging the superintendents to ensure that they have a clear policy developed to deal with issues around anaphylaxis and to make sure that there is a policy in place at all of our schools. So we don’t have policies in place at this point, but schools have been asked to develop those now. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There’s been no secret that Education, Culture and Employment has embarked on a review of income security programs. I made statements on that in the last session. We have been very upfront about it. We have a process of consultation that’s taking place all across the Northwest Territories right now. In that whole process, we’re reviewing all of our income security programs. So it’s not just one program; it’s all of them. We haven’t got any plans yet for changes. What we’re doing is looking at them, talking to people, asking for advice as to where people think...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As with all programs of the government, there is an appeals process. If somebody finds that they haven't an opportunity to meet the program requirements adequately, they can appeal the decision and ask that it be reapplied. The same process will apply here.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We already consider this to be an important program. It is being used now to ensure that aboriginal language and culture instructors in the school are moved into the UNW funding or salary brackets already. So it is being used to ensure that our staff get the recognition that they should for their qualifications for teaching these important subjects.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said, we are taking a look at whether or not it would be useful to offer this program as a base-funded program through the college. We will have to work with the college after the curriculum is completed. As things stand right now, it is not a two-year program, but the new curriculum should turn it into a two-year program. Once that’s done, we can discuss with the college what it would take to ensure that this could be a base-funded program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize some of my constituents who are here today with the UNW: Wendy Carpenter, Allison Barr, and Barb Wyness.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The ALCIP program is a college program right now. It’s not administered by schools. The schools purchase the delivery of the program from the college, so they pay for the delivery. But the program itself is already a college program. What we’re talking about, though, is increasing the requirements of the program to a full two-year diploma-type course that would, we hope, then be offered as a base-funded program by the college.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At the present time, this program is not funded as a base program, but is offered in partnership with the DECs across the Northwest Territories, so that they are paying for the delivery of the course when it’s delivered in the regions. There has been some discussion about the need to consider whether or not this should be one of the base programs, particularly when in the revised curriculum it becomes a two-year program. We are considering that, but have not in this budget included the funds for the college to offer that as a base-funded program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. I would like to recognize some people in the gallery today, too. David Clark, the president of the WCB is here; constituent Barb Wyness who is often with us during our sessions; and a former constituent and friend, Jennifer Babiuk. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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