Charles Dent

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 4, An Act to Amend the Education Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. In fact, we already do. If we can’t get people into Fort Smith, we are prepared to support them travelling to Alberta. If the course doesn’t have enough numbers in Fort Smith, we are prepared to support people travelling to Alberta. The problem we have is we can’t always get people into those courses in Alberta either. There is a substantial waiting time to register for those courses. So it’s not something we can do on a moment’s notice. There has to be a lot of coordination between the employer, the apprentice, and the apprenticeship office in terms of the...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Having just gotten the letter the Member referred to yesterday, I don’t have an answer as to the specifics. I say, as I did to Mr. Ramsay, that we have added staff in the North Slave office. We are continuing to review the operations of that office. If there are some problems, then they will be dealt with. I agree with the Member that the goal here is to get as many young people here involved in apprenticeship as possible. It offers young people today one of the best opportunities or a career in the future in the North. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. That is the intention. That should be happening already. I’ve asked the department to discuss this issue with Aurora College and make sure that we’re managing our cancellation policies better than what appears to be the case. That discussion will happen within the next couple of weeks. The department does often pay for apprentices to study in the South. One of the problems that we run into though is when the number of participants suddenly declines, when it’s not expected the courses can be cancelled. Right now in the North we cancel the course if we have fewer...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Absolutely, yes. It is the role of the apprenticeship office. It’s the role of all of the staff that work in Education, Culture and Employment to make sure that people have the best opportunity to advance.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I will do my utmost to try to achieve that.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would think that that would be a very reasonable rule to have and I would expect that our goal is much less than one year right now. I don’t know the specifics of the complaint, having only gotten it yesterday; I don’t know the instances around other circumstances that may be involved. There may be, as I mentioned to Mr. Ramsay, circumstances where you wind up in training courses. Last minute cancellations impact on a number of people and that happens not only here, but in Alberta. In Alberta, they cancel courses as well if they have a number of people drop out...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I will have to get more details on what he means by a review. The overall program of apprenticeship is administered by the apprenticeship board, but the operation of the offices is something that is run by the department. If the Member is asking whether or not we will review the operation of the offices, absolutely. That process has already started and will hopefully be concluded very quickly.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Ramsay unfortunately must have hit the facility on a day when there was a significant amount of transition. It is true that a good portion of the facility is disrupted because of the ongoing renovations, but right now the Fox Moth gallery is again open, as is the feature gallery and the mezzanine gallery. The plan is that in June the auditorium will open and will feature videos throughout the summer. The north gallery will open with a photo exhibit from NWT mining, celebrating with an exhibit that’s been sponsored or brought forward by the mining...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The total project is expected to be completed in 2006. The permanent display will open in the north gallery in the summer of 2006 and the permanent display will open in the south gallery in the summer of 2007. In 2006, the south gallery will house a travelling exhibit of Dene artefacts from the Royal Scottish Museum. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.