Jackson Lafferty

I think we can either meet or exceed the number that we have, especially when we count the money that we allocate to the education board operations in the regional level. Most of our money, the $300 million, goes to the board operations. If we count those students at that level, I’m sure that we can exceed the numbers that are before us from last year on the ECE area. Those are the areas we need to stress and continue to work with on an annual basis.

Mahsi. Currently, we have eight students that will be working within the Department of Justice. So that’s the resources that we have. If there are additional resources, by all means, we need to work within the framework or the budget that we’re going to have for summer students. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 4, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2011, be read for the third time. Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I’d just like to highlight the inductees for 2011 Education Hall of Fame that are here with us: Ethel Blondin-Andrew, Lucy Lafferty, Ed Jeske, Margaret Field, Dorothy Beaulieu and Garth Brasseur. Congratulations.

[English translation not provided.]

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 3, Electronic Transactions Act, be read for the third time. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am very pleased to advise this House that a ceremony was held today to celebrate the tremendous contributions that people across this territory have made to education.

The Department of Education, Culture and Employment launched the Education Hall of Fame in 2010. We recognize that we all play an important role in supporting the education of our children and the Education Hall of Fame reflects the valuable contributions that people make as educators, volunteers, board members, administrators, and other community members.

In February 2011 we distributed advertisements...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled Part 1 – 22nd Annual Report of the Victims Assistance Committee of the NWT, April 1, 2010, to March 31, 2011.

Mahsi. I did commit to working with the education school boards, the NWT Housing Corporation and ECE, my department, to work with the subsidies that we have in place, and also to deal with the northern living allowance that’s before us. Maybe some teachers are not fully aware before they get into the communities that they do receive attractive benefits when they’re in most isolated communities. So I did commit in this House that I will be working interdepartmentally and with other corporations as well. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. When it comes to housing for staff, especially the teachers, we look after all the teachers as much as we can through the board operations. For the 2010-2011 school year, the teachers that were hired, there were no reports of positions going unfilled because of lack of suitable accommodations. As we all know, the northern living allowance, we take that into consideration as well, where each teacher, individual community members do receive those allowances based on their posting. So if they’re in an isolated community, they get a higher northern living allowance, as well...

Mr. Speaker, our priority is to deliver programs to each and every community to serve those students, to serve the community members. When we talk about infrastructure in communities, we have to work in partnership with the communities because there is limited access to infrastructure in the communities, as well. We have to work with those isolated communities, with what they have on hand and work with them. If there needs to be a new building that needs to come up, we need to work with the community government, the school boards and our department, the GNWT.

Mr. Speaker, It’s not just one...