Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. Certainly, the Minister is correct about those. Of the equipment that we have currently, some are over 20 years old, and some are breaking down on us. Also, it’s not compatible for training those individuals and going out to a mine site, because they have high tech, more modern equipment. We have an older version. That was the purpose of replacing that equipment. We need to continue with delivering the training program at the campus. If we don’t invest in this equipment, it will be impossible to have the course delivered. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, within our department we’ve done some overall inventory of the housing units that are available in the 33 communities we serve. We do have that information. Also, for this year with the teachers, the majority have found suitable housing units to stay in.

But the Member is right. We need to plan now for next year and the following years on how we can mitigate these issues or challenges we’re faced with. It’s not only us; it’s throughout Canada as well, but throughout the North especially.

This is one of the priorities we’ve identified. We’ve had several meetings on this...

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. That will be taken into consideration. They’re consulting with various groups within the school. I’ll make the effort to dig up some more information in that area and share it with the Member. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, I can certainly say yes to working with the Member and the Members on the other side. I am willing to work with my department and bring forward what we have to date and share it with the committee. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. Certainly, that consultation had covered those people who are working within the school. The Member asked for the terms of reference. I can share what I can share from my department on moving forward with the consultant. My understanding is that those individuals or groups that are within the school have been consulted, but I will double-check with my department if that’s an avenue the consultant initiated. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, as I stated, I need to sit down with my department to find out where things are at. I can’t really give a specific time as to when there are going to be changes, because I need to present to the committee as well if there are going to be proposed changes.

With any proposed changes there are always cost factors as well. We need to identify how much it will cost us to increase the minimum wage and put that forward, whether it be to the committee or the Cabinet. That is the work we need to undertake. I’m willing to do that with my department, to look into that further and see where...

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. That particular school with the proposed addition equals…. There’s been a discussion from my department with the federal government, with Canadian Heritage, on the second phase. As you know, there’s been a federal election, so we’re going to continue on with our discussions with the appropriate department within Canadian Heritage. There’s a partnership agreement that needs to take place with this particular school, because there have been agreements in place for the first phase. We’re currently waiting on the federal government to come into play, and then we’ll certainly make...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The past several months have been very busy for the Apprenticeship and Occupational Certification program. In 2007 a review of the program was initiated by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. This review was commissioned to ensure the system remained responsive to the demand for tradespeople in the North and across Canada.

The review provided 22 recommendations, some of which were initiated immediately upon completion of the report. An executive summary and an action plan addressing these recommendations were recently released to the public. These actions...

I will commit to the Member that I’ll bring something back to the Member, also dealing with the household income. Whatever changes we make does come with the funding, so we need to take that into consideration as well. We need to find out how much it will cost us to change our policy overall for the Northwest Territories. So we need to do that math; factor that in. Mahsi.

Like I said, we are working on this, especially this month, with the following few more months to go. Then, whatever we come up with, we need to talk to the Regular Members as well, because whenever there are changes, we need to notify the Members on the policy changes. As long as it meets the needs of the communities, the seniors especially…. We need to work with the seniors — how we can help them, especially with a recent increase of $10,000 for the Seniors Fuel Subsidy. We want them to qualify for that subsidy program, but at the same time, there is a threshold with their household income...