Jackson Lafferty

I wish to table the following document entitled Annual Report on Official Languages 2007–2008. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Document 111-16(2), Annual Report of Official Languages 2007–2008, tabled.

Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. The program enhancement that we’re talking about, that education plan, has been in the works since we started this fall, and it will be completed by the end of October. So once we complete the session, the education plan will be underway. Then we will continue to meet with PWS to continue moving forward on this particular school project.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. With this program review we’ve been talking about, there’s been a consultant who was hired back in August. We initiated the discussion with the damage in that school.

When we toured the school early in the new year, there was considerable discussion on added areas; some areas needed to be upgraded or enhanced. There was some discussion from the DEA, the parents, the school staff and administration. There was a need to do some sort of consultation with the school to identify where we need to upgrade within the school. There’s been considerable discussion with various parents in...

Mr. Speaker, last month I joined former residential school students from across the Northwest Territories in Fort Providence for the Journey to Healing and Reconciliation Conference. The conference was hosted by the Dene Nation and featured several important discussions.

One panel discussion was led by Alex Janvier, who is a Denesuline Indian Residential Schools survivor and Order of Canada recipient, and Robbie Weismann, who is a Jewish Holocaust survivor. Another panel had Jane Morley, a commissioner with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and representatives from the Assembly of First...

Mr. Speaker, we certainly don’t want to cancel programs unless we have to. At times we have to go that avenue, but at the same time we do, to the best of our ability, communicate to the students and the families, because we realize the impact that would have on the family and the student. We want to give at least advance notice if there’s going to be cancellation of a program. That will be part of the communication dialogue from our department with Aurora College and on to the students and the families. We do what we can to communicate with the students who will be impacted when there’s a...

Mr. Speaker, those programs would vary depending on the type of interest in the program. Sometimes we continue to work with the industry where there’s a need. It depends on the industry’s needs. Then we see more students in the program. Most of the time we do have the trades programs to full capacity. But, again, it does vary, depending on certain programs and certain interest from the students and from the community.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce that the Strategy for Teacher Education in the Northwest Territories: 2007–2015 Action Plan has been approved and that priorities have been set for the upcoming year.

The two primary goals of the strategy are to increase the number of aboriginal teachers and to increase the numbers of aboriginal language teachers throughout the Northwest Territories. We currently have 109 aboriginal teachers and 30 aboriginal language teachers across the Northwest Territories.

Other goals include preparing education assistants, aboriginal secondary teachers and program...

Some of the programs have been cancelled in the past due to limited seating capacity. We do have certain criteria that we follow, where in order to cancel a program, there should be a certain number of students into the program. I can certainly provide to the Member that information on the criteria and the guidelines we use for these particular courses we offer.

Mr. Speaker, we do offer a variety of apprenticeship programs at Aurora College. I can provide the detailed lists of all the different apprenticeship and trades programs we do offer. I can certainly commit to the Member to provide that detailed information. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, the Market Housing Initiative, as the Member would know, has been with us for a number of years now. I’ve been working closely with the former Minister of Housing as well as with the current Minister on identifying the units that are probably vacant and can be utilized in the community. We met yesterday as well, talking about market housing — the rent at the community level, where some rents are $700 per month and some rent at $2,200 and so on. That’s what we’ve been talking about: how we can make it attractive for teachers and other professionals working with the development...