Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. We definitely don’t accept bullying in schools. Part of the going forward basis, I guess, there are certainly individuals that we heavily depend on. There are elders in the schools that we’re going to be introducing and, as the Member alluded to, Aboriginal-speaking teachers. Most of the students look up to their teachers, look up to their siblings, as well, older siblings. That is part of the plan with the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative, to introduce those individuals who are highly respected at the community level that can teach our children. That is the...

There are six universities in Canada that provide doctor of veterinary medicine programs. After consultation with the University of Saskatchewan in September 2009, after the cut in the programming budget, my department was advised by the University of Saskatchewan that they do not have the policy that would charge NWT students the out-of-province tuition and that they would look at each NWT student’s application on a case-by-case basis. So there is an opportunity there for those students.

Mahsi. This particular program at the University of Saskatchewan is a veterinary program. As I stated, there is a student that’s attending. We sponsor 1,400 students and we’re talking about one seat that’s $25,000, and just imagine – we have huge numbers – the cost of that, and on top of that there’s additional costs as well. But it is needed. We’ve seen some articles in the newspaper, as well, in the Northwest Territories and other parts of the country and we do have veterinarians coming out, as well, to work in the Northwest Territories and other parts of the provinces. So we’ll continue...

The answer will be yes. We are gathering all of the information. We will provide those to the board chairs as well. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, there are various school boards that have policies addressing bullying. I don’t have the specifics of those policies before me, but each school board has their own jurisdictional policy that deals with their students in that region in the communities. I can provide that information once I get my hands on them. Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. That is one of the overall plans. We noticed there was an article in the South Slave Journal highlighting various programming, which highlighted me, as the Minister responsible, to work closely with the principals and the school boards, which we’ve done in the past and will continue to do, as well as working with Municipal and Community Affairs, working with Health and Justice. This is a collaborative approach when it comes to the wellness of all children of the Northwest Territories. That is our overall mandate. Mahsi.

We do have certain programs in the school system that promote on-the-land programming and cultural orientation. We could do more in that respect. We do provide funding to the school boards to promote even more culture-based and community-based programming even at the school level. I can definitely share that with the board chairs with whom I have quarterly meetings and I can promote more of these types of important programs that should be delivered in the schools as well.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Members for bringing this motion forward on the floor. As you know, bullying is a destructive and shameful thing and we cannot tolerate it anymore.

As I stated in this House today, that at ECE we are exploring with other jurisdictions in North America their stance on bullying legislation. We are very serious about anti-bullying in our schools, in our communities, in our homes. Together, with the support of parents and community leaders, I’m confident that we can ensure that our students are safe from this type of behaviour. I’m very glad that this...

Mahsi. We have to keep in mind that there are other professions, as well, doctors degrees and other professions. It wouldn’t be fair to just highlight one profession, sponsoring the $25,000 seat, where other students are exploring and pursuing, whether it be the nursing degree, master’s program, doctors program, lawyers and so forth. So all of those professions do come back in the Northwest Territories and they contribute back to the Northwest Territories. So it’s very difficult for me as the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, to support this one specific profession on...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The policies are in place for a reason and they can be amended as well. Based on what the discussions are that we’ve had with income security programming, we’ve made some drastic changes in 2007 to increase our funding. When the Member speaks to the senior fuel subsidy, I believe he’s referring to there are areas that we need to explore. We don’t want to have an impact on a senior’s pension when it comes to subsidies. There are people living in the household. I understand some people are living there helping out, but some people do take advantage of the elderly people...