Charles Dent

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not sure. I can't answer that question. I would doubt that it does. Having seen the school myself, I would expect that that probably doesn't meet our current standards, and we are moving to put the addition in as quickly as we can.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the college has long been interested in finding a way to have a residence built in Yellowknife for college students and the programs here, but we have been unable, at this point, to find the money in the capital program to support that kind of approach. I, like the Member, would dearly love to see us better accommodate students here. I know that we’ve had to restrict the availability of housing to certain programs to ensure that the people in this program can find housing. So it is a problem, and it’s a particular problem because of the cost of housing...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have heard a great deal in this Legislative Assembly, since the beginning of this session, about the need to invest in early learning and childcare programming. The Report on Pre-Budget Consultation, prepared by the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight, discussed, in some detail, the needs in our communities with respect to these programs.

When the Prime Minister addressed his caucus last May, he made special mention that Canadians across the country were eager to participate in a national childcare system built on the principles of...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just for clarity sake, I wouldn't want people to believe that district education authorities or councils have been breaking the law. What they have been operating, in addition to a half-day kindergarten program, is early childhood programming, which hasn't been subject to the kindergarten curriculum. That has been a local decision. They felt it was important enough to bring this sort of program into the school, and we certainly allow that kind of flexibility.

As the Member will note from the last sentence in my opening comments, we have advanced the issue of funding...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning. Earlier this week, I officially launched Family Violence Awareness Week in the Great Hall of this building. The focus this year is the prevention of violence against women and children with disabilities.

Members of this House know the impact violence has against all members of our society. Its corrosive effects eat away at our communities and families. We must work together to eliminate violence, and we must be especially vigilant in our efforts to eliminate violence against the most vulnerable members of our society.

Mr. Speaker, people with...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. The recent rise in energy costs will have an effect on many NWT residents. While market forces may see the price of energy decrease, unfortunately there is no expectation that this will happen in the near future. Long-term solutions are needed.

This issue is broader than just the cost of department programs. We must also make a concerted effort to use our energy resources more wisely.

With this in mind, I would like to outline measures the Department of Education, Culture and Employment is considering to keep our overall costs down, while building...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in fact there haven’t been formal backup plans for a school that burned down or ceased to be available to us for each community. We have relied on the local communities to respond, depending on what the situation is. For instance, often a problem with a school might be limited to a small section, so you may need to replace a classroom or two. It’s not often that a whole school is in need of replacement.

Having gone through the situation in Inuvik now a few times unexpectedly, we are going to work with our colleagues at the DECs to ensure that some thought...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am quite prepared to work with the Aurora College Board of Governors and see what we can do in terms of replacing the facility in Norman Wells. I would be prepared to meet with the Town and other groups, but we need to make sure that we can find the money in the capital plan. That is my first goal: to try and move that forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had hoped to be able to bring this project forward in this current year because I visited the learning centre and would agree with the Member that it is far from ideal. It does need to be replaced. Unfortunately, given the other pressures that we had with schools in the Northwest Territories, we ran up to the limit of the capital plan before that project could be included. So it will be one that I am hoping will come forward in the very near future. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we will be working with our colleagues at the DECs to make sure that there is some thought given to what would happen in the event that a school was not available, and so that there would be some form of backup planning in all communities.