Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I think there were three questions there. I can answer one of them. I do believe that we need to support our students in our school system. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, this is an area that we are at the present point exploring. We’re seeking input from the general public, the stakeholders, on the renewal. Part of the renewal process is talking about the funding. Because it pertains to a small community, professionalism is part of the pillars, and there are six of them. I just touched on two. It will be capturing the small, isolated communities. The opportunity is here before us for the next business planning cycle. That is part of the process that we want to tackle. We want to complete that by this fall so we can put that as part of the business...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The detailed information, which I can provide to the Member, I don’t have in front of me. The breakdown of the funding that the Beaufort-Delta Education Council receives on an annual basis that pertains to e-learning, I can provide that to the Member and also the forecast, how much it will cost the organization. It’s all based on the enrollment and also the programming. I can provide the breakdown to the Member. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, there is additional or higher caseloads, then those areas are continually monitored through my department. It’s not only Inuvik or the Beaufort-Delta, it’s all 33 communities that we service.

As I stated, there is a fluctuation in the population in the communities and the caseload does go down as well. Of course, we’d like to see the caseload go down. There are opportunities and activities happening in other regions, whether it be the Sahtu region, and in the Beaufort-Delta there’s the road that’s been discussed. So there are going to be opportunities there.

At the same time, we are...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. With the Income Assistance Program, we made some changes in 2007 to reflect the cost of living in the North and also the remoteness of the communities and, of course, the high costs. So we made those changes in 2007 and we have continued to monitor that since then until today. I have instructed my department to re-evaluate the program itself and continue monitoring it. If there are changes in the cost factor in, let’s say, the Beaufort-Delta, we need to take those into consideration. If we’re going to make changes, we have to come back to this House to make those changes...

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

Mr. Speaker, I just want to say a big thank you, similar to Mr. Alfred Moses, on this CanNor announcement from this morning. Minister Aglukkaq announced new funding for our sportsplex, a sportsplex that’s badly needed in the community of Behchoko.

I would just like to thank her for her contribution, ongoing contribution. Thanks to the chiefs and the grand chief in the region and the GNWT for all the support over the years. We are doing this for the youth, and I just want to highlight the generosity and ongoing commitment from the federal...

Mr. Speaker, that’s a tough question to answer, but at the same time, I as Minister responsible provide funding to the school boards based on enrollment. If enrollment goes down, unfortunately, the funding is less than the previous year.

However, e-learning is a very interesting program itself. My department has been working closely with BDEC and other organizations, how we can enhance in that area, where it can be a teleconference, having a discussion as opposed to having a teacher there. Those are discussions that we are currently having as a resource tool. I believe there is a plan for a...

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to thank the Member for that particular question. Those are the key areas that we are focusing on. We want to have a trained workforce, whether it be from the Beaufort-Delta, Sahtu or other regions. If there are opportunities and activities that are happening, we need to be ready for them.

We are working closely with industries. We have the productive choices part of the program through income security. I’ve told my department to seriously look at the productive choices, how we can improve and have the programming we have now, so it’s sort of like incentives where...

Mr. Speaker, by all means I would like to see more people and a population increase in the Northwest Territories. Based on that, it does fluctuate. People leave, people come, depending on the opportunities. When there’s an increase in the caseloads for, let’s say, the Beaufort-Delta, then have a monetary mechanism. If it’s higher than what is expected or budgeted, then we have to come back to this House. We’ve done that in the past, so we’ll continue to work in that regard. We do have a budget for the Income Security Framework overall. Again in 2007 there was an increase. If there needs to be...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, I, too, would like to recognize Gayla Meredith, president of the NWTTA for her ongoing support and partnership. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.