Jackson Lafferty

Yes, Mr. Chairman, I’ve already committed to that.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. I will try to cover all questions and concerns that were addressed here today.

First of all, when we talk about the 1 percent increase over the year period from now, I’m just glad that we received an increase of 1 percent and not a decrease. Yes, we do have a greater opportunity for our ECE department to move forward. We have greater things on the go. I think we just have to be creative and innovative within our department. That’s the direction I gave to my department, that we need to think creatively how we can maneuver and tackle all these different opportunities out there...

Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. The peer passing has been brought up on numerous occasions. There are mixed feelings about this from the parents, even from the educators, due to research that has been done nationally and internationally that peer passing is benefitting those students and so forth. There are mixed reactions to this.

Within our department we’re doing what we can to assist those individuals so they can achieve or be prepared for a workforce environment. We know that post-secondary is not for everybody. Some students would prefer going straight to the workforce once they receive their...

Yes, Madam Chair.

Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. This particular area has been brought up even at the ASA forum and early childhood development discussions, having guidance counsellors. Using previous experience has been very successful, why don’t we have that anymore.

The funding that we contribute to the school boards, it’s at their discretion if they want to hire a guidance counsellor, per se. At the same time, we are in discussion or will be in discussion with the school board, as well, that there is a great need to enter into discussions with the school board on particular guidance counselling.

The Member alluded to...

Mr. Speaker, Nahanni and Trout Lake have been an earmark of our discussion here in the House and my department is fully aware. They are doing a review of those two schools and generate it for this capital planning process. If it makes it this time around or next year – we have to start planning for next year as well – we will see what we can do with that and the review process. I will take that Member’s notice into consideration as well. We will definitely be in discussion with that. Mahsi.

NACC has construction happening there. We did, as a department, commit towards this particular construction. So the Department of Education, Culture and Employment will be contributing towards this construction project. I’ve already committed to that. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, there are capital standards and criteria that we do follow with all of the schools in the Northwest Territories. With respect to the Charles Tetcho School, there is currently a capacity of an identified 33 students. That is 61 percent for 2011-12. Those are numbers that we are currently working with.

With regard to Nahanni Butte, we have contributed $380,000 in 2011-12 for technical upgrades and also minor renovations for that school. Those are the areas that we continue to upgrade. I have already made a commitment to Members that I will be going to the Deh Cho riding in August to...

This is an area that is very preliminary right now and we need to talk to certain instructors and individuals in the school system and also the school board chairs and the school boards. We have to work with them, as well, because they deliver those programs in the communities with the instructors. We are at the exploration stage at this point.

I remember in 2005 when I first got onboard, the ALCIP program was more geared to certificate only. During deliberations, as we are doing here today, we’ve changed it to a diploma program as well. We can provide more detailed information to the Member on the graduates and, of course, the home base where they’re coming from. Some are pursuing even further to get their degrees to become teachers. So, Mr. Chair, there’s been some slight changes from certification to diploma and we are making progress in this area.

I’d definitely like to see more graduates out of this program. So I have the...