Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. As Members are aware, there has been a real tragedy in the Tlicho region; more specifically, in the community of Behchoko. There have been three tragic incidents with three family members involved that also brought us together as a community the last two days. I’ve been a witness to that. I participated. I supported the family which brought us together as a community to discuss what’s been happening in our community.

Not only that, there’s been some of the family of the victims and the family of the accused in one building. There has been a lot of emotion and discussion...

Mahsi. The decision that was made in October 2014 by this government and also Assembly Members that we were going to put on hold the JK programming rollout until such a comprehensive review was undertaken, which, again, is happening now. At that time the decision was made that the comprehensive review will be undertaken by the 18th Assembly government, which we are doing. We are at the final stages. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, the North has a long history and a rich heritage with numerous languages and cultures. Our people work to preserve, revitalize and celebrate all aspects of their cultures and languages, which continually grow and evolve.

In 2014 the Department of Education, Culture and Employment began work on a government-wide 10-year Culture and Heritage Strategic Framework. This framework aligns the existing culture and heritage work of the government around a shared vision, goals and priorities. It is a cultural lens and guide for government initiatives until 2025.

We reviewed the work...

I have already answered. We are working with the YK Day Care Association to find an alternative solution. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. To my left I have Mr. Dave Grundy. He’s the CEO of the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission. To my immediate right is Judy Kainz, director of prevention services and safety officer. To my far right is Ms. Emerald Murphy, legal counsel. Mahsi.

That’s absolutely not true. My department has been meeting with the Yellowknife Day Care Association on numerous occasions. Since mid-2014, we’ve been meeting with them, giving them options to consider and working with them. We have provided some assistance from my department so they can explore other options as well. We will continue, again, working with the organization to find an alternative solution as well.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. I’m pleased to introduce Bill 65, An Act to Amend the Safety Act. Bill 65 proposes several amendments to the Safety Act. The objective of those consultations and this bill is to improve occupational health and safety.

The reasons for the amendments set out in Bill 65 are generally new occupational health and safety regulations have been developed jointly by the Northwest Territories and Nunavut for recommendation to their respective Commissioners where there are insufficient authority in the Safety Act for a small portion of proposed new regulations.

As well, Canada has...

Obviously, my department needs to work very closely with the Sahtu Education Council as well. We have been working with them and the Colville Lake School. This is not new to us. We are fully aware of it. I will commit to getting back to the Member as soon as we have that information and we have deliberations. The next step, once that occurs, I will immediately follow up with the Member.

Again, the Sahtu leadership and the representatives have been working very closely with Colville Lake along with my department. We are going to push them forward as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The first discussion was in March, and as a result, we’ve been in contact, and also vice versa, with the Manitoba board, so the discussion took place from there. We wanted to expedite the process, so we involved firefighters to get their perspective as well. If I’ve missed out on the key topics or detail, I can get Mr. Grundy to elaborate more.

First and foremost, I have to commend Colville Lake leadership exploring options on how they can build the new school. Obviously, we are very interested. There has been a process that we go through with any capital infrastructure here in the Northwest Territories. Part of that is Colville Lake. The Member has been asking questions in the House, as well, and I’m fully aware of that. There are pressing issues, as well, that we are faced with, but this is an area that we are currently exploring with the leadership of Colville on how the P3 can work.

Once a proposal is submitted, then we...