Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today is for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod, since he sat there quietly. Mr. Speaker, the capacity building fund initiative undertaken by the GNWT, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, was a great investment for 33 communities. Over 90 percent of the fund has been dispersed to date. However, Mr. Speaker, the community of Behchoko is still awaiting their share of the pie. What is the current stage with respect to the capacity building fund with the community of Behchoko? Mahsi.

Mahsi, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I just would like to make a brief general comment. My question can be at a later point when we go in detailed discussion. I would just like to highlight the apprentices that were addressed here in the opening remarks. I think this is a step in the right direction. Although the number is small, we must also take a baby step working with the communities, identifying apprentices in the communities; just fill in the gaps to meet the needs of the community. We in the Northwest Territories are lacking a trades workforce. This way, we can certainly work with...

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. I move to report progress, Mr. Chair. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, at this time, the committee wishes to consider Bill 1, An Act to Amend the Partnership Act; Bill 2, An Act to Amend the Condominium Act; and Bill 3, An Act to Amend the Legal Services Act. Mahsi, Madam Chair.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when questioned on this issue -- it was addressed during the previous session -- the Minister informed this House all the areas that are part of the curriculum in the Northwest Territories have to receive attention and make sure there is an important curriculum in place. Considering the state of our languages and the rapid rate of language loss, the need for aboriginal language curriculum is urgent. What measures will the Minister take to ensure that the language curriculum is given equal priority to other subjects and funds are found to guarantee its...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to question the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment regarding our important language and it being taught in the schools. We want to be able to teach our language in our schools. I want to ask him a question regarding that. (Translation ends)

…address my question to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. I would like to, first of all, congratulate the Minister and his department for the recent decision to allow the Athabaskan language communities to work independently on their own language...

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, to continue on with the comments. Mr. Brad Enge, a lawyer in private practice from Yellowknife also made a presentation on April 19th expressing his concerns with the bill. He also pointed to the Professional Code of Conduct of the Canadian Bar Association and stated that the conflict of interest would exist regardless of the proposed amendments to the Legal Services Act.

Mr. Enge, like Ms. Peterson, referred to the definition of the law firm which includes legal aid. Furthermore, Mr. Enge made a reference to abundant case law dealing with the obligation of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, maybe I can throw in another angle. Assuming that the DEAs, the teaching and learning centres, the language communities, have committed to working together to create a language curriculum that fits their needs in the regions, will the Minister at least commit to considering the work plan and suggestions put forth by the Aboriginal Languages Special Advisory Committee? Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am glad to hear the Minister is committed to working with other aboriginal language organizations in different respective regions. Mr. Speaker, I would like to continue with my question concerning these distinct and philosophical differences each group expressed in the development of the original curriculum. Is the Minister prepared to provide the same amount of financial support to Athabaskan language communities for the work on the new curriculum? Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (Translation) Today I will make a statement regarding something that’s really important regarding the graduating of 12 students at the end of this month. There is going to be approximately 32 graduates this year. There are a lot of graduates from other communities, the communities of Gameti, Wekweeti and Behchoko. Once they graduate, a lot of them are carrying on into the colleges and universities, which is very important.

Not only that, but we have Chief Jimmy Bruneau School. Most of all of these teachers have been in these schools for many years, and they should be...