Jackson Lafferty

Mr. Speaker, today we are reviewing our inclusive schooling. We want to reach out to the stakeholders. We heard yesterday that we should be talking to those front-line teachers. We should be talking to those students, the teachers, the professionals, the educators. So that’s what we are embarking on. We are doing our own research, as well, across Canada, across the United States and various places. We want to have a product that will be best suited for Northwest Territories, and based on what we’ve heard and what we will hear from the general public across the Northwest Territories. We are...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. There are various reports that my department receives. One of them is PTR inclusive schooling. We continue to review those files. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, we are not denying students to be educated. We provide the facilities all across the Northwest Territories and the education system as well. We continue to provide funding to the school boards so they can have their children educated in their system as well. We will continue to enforce that on to the school boards. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The students are encouraged to attend the local district school system. If not, if they go elsewhere, then the funding follows them. So if they’re in, let’s say, Yellowknife, St. Pat’s for example, based on enrolment, they will get additional funding for an additional child in the school.

We’re not saying no to the students who want to explore other schools, but it depends on the school enrolment, they funding they receive. So when the Deh Cho region receives funding, if an individual student decides to go to another larger centre, then they will lose that portion from the...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment is committed to providing quality education opportunities for all residents of the Northwest Territories. Healthy, educated people are the backbone of a strong and prosperous society, and a goal of this Assembly.

Strong working relationships with partners, such as the district education authorities and schools, make this possible. The education a child receives in the classroom is essential to their continued success in life. Our educators help each student achieve and...

Mr. Speaker, as you know, inclusive schooling falls under the Department of Education. I am the Minister responsible for inclusive schooling, so I pursued with my department, gave my department instruction to re-evaluate that inclusive schooling. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as I stated in the House yesterday, there is a review of the inclusive schooling. There is a linkage with the early childhood development and it all falls into play. We want to assess inclusive schooling. How is it being delivered? Is it exhausted in all schools to the best of its ability to assist those students? That’s what we’re doing, based on what we’ve heard from the communities, what we’ve heard from the standing committee and other stakeholders out there. That is based on that. We decided we should move forward on re-evaluating our inclusive schooling, so that’s what we’re...

Mr. Speaker, we are exploring those areas where I just met with Beaufort-Delta on e-learning. E-learning is the way to go now, where students are taking on the courses that are not delivered in small communities. Those are, I believe, going to be something big that we will probably focus on as we move further along.

When it comes to the residence for those students, I still have to deal with the school boards, so I can relay the message on to the school boards. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this has been an ongoing discussion that we’ve been having in this House about home boarding, and it’s all across the Northwest Territories. We are trying to deal with this matter as best as we can, dealing with the school boards.

At the end of the day, it’s the school board that makes the decision. If it’s outside their district, then obviously they won’t be supporting a student in Yellowknife. We give them the discretion to expend that funding to the best needs of the community, best needs of the students that are in their region. I will continue to work with the school board...

Close enough. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Gayla Meredith, who is here with us today, the president of the NWTTA. She is here to witness our Canada’s Outstanding Principals statement today.