Jackson Lafferty

I want to make it clear that we are supporting our northern students to return to the Northwest Territories. That’s the very reason we have increased and enhanced our SFA program. We have increased the basic grant from $1,900 to $2,400; increased the basic grant on books from $400 to $550; increased current remission rates by 50 percent; a $2,000 northern bonus for our students, a bonus for our students to come back to the North and explore the North. Those are just some of the enhancements that we’ve initiated in 2015. We continue to make improvements as part of the SFA program, one of the...

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. This particular school, Ecole Boreale, has been in the works for quite some time now, even going through court proceedings and so forth. We’re not ignoring that issue. We are talking to the appropriate parties. Obviously, we need to be prepared of what the outcome will be with the court case. We don’t know what the outcome will be, so we’re trying to stay in close contact with the parties on how we can move forward in the meantime.

My deputy may have been involved to some degree on the discussion with the school board, and if there have been any steps taken he can elaborate...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated earlier to Ms. Bisaro, these are areas we are currently exploring. Residency has been the topic of discussion recently as well. Even though we’ve made some changes, there is always room for improvement within our policy. So the residency requirement, 12 months residency versus three months, we need to explore those options. What will be the ripple effects? What would be the benefits, pros and cons? I have already committed that this is an area that we are going to be exploring.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. As part of the capital planning process, obviously there is a process that we have to follow. There are five steps that have to meet the criteria within the capital planning process. If one of the projects that we push forward doesn’t get approved, the Members should be notified. If it’s not happening then we need to deal with that. I totally agree with the Member that we should be communicating with the Members. If a project that has been identified as a red flag but didn’t make the hopper, there’s got to be a reason why, and maybe we need to improve that communication. We...

Again, that particular policy has been in existence since 2000 as well. Depending on which students you talk to, some students want to be down south with their family that they brought over there. They don’t want the hassle of coming back to the Northwest Territories, to their community, with the kids that they have without belongings, so it’s their choice if they want to pursue that.

There is a cost factor that we need to look at. How much would it cost us? With 1,600 students, how many are parents with children and dependants? Those are areas that we are currently looking at and how can we...

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. The 49 schools that we’re responsible for, any issues or concerns brought to our attention we have to work with PWS, Public Works and Services. We have addressed a lot of them, but they are continuous challenges that we’re faced with, whether it be the mice and other issues that the school boards bring to our attention. So, we’ll continue to work with that through Public Works and Services and to deal with those matters immediately.

The community learning centres, this is an area that Aurora College is responsible for under their umbrella. If there’s a request that comes in...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. There are purposes for having policies in place and the process itself where individual students are sponsored, up to 1,600 students. There are students out there who also qualify for southern funding, as well, in provincial jurisdictions. We have to be careful that there are no duplications. We are mindful of that and we are monitoring it as well. Those are some areas where we have policies in place so there’s no duplication from other jurisdictions, so there is no double-dipping. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Obviously, in the meantime, those concerns and issues that have been brought to our attention, we’ll continue to work on with the principal and the school board. With the new school that the Member is referring to, obviously that’s an area that I need to work with PWS. My department is willing to meet with the school board to talk about the next step and how that’s going to look. We’re reaching out to the community. We want to sit down with them and develop a plan. Obviously, there’s a process in place that we need to follow in order to come to this table. So, we’re more than open to discuss...

Obviously, there is a process in place. We’ve been at this for some time now. We are working with divisional education councils and obviously working very closely with the Department of Public Works and Services to confirm this is the highest priority projects for my department to move forward on. Safety is always a big concern and priority for my department and also the GNWT. That’s why this is before us. Safe schools has been a very important process we have been working with. Again, I just want to re-emphasize we are working with all school boards to make it a priority for the other 49...

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. Yes, on a going-forward basis, the planning study has been in the works for some time. Members have raised that issue in the House. It’s here before us and it’s going forward.

A capital plan for 2015-2016, obviously there are other pressing issues, as well, in the Northwest Territories. I have to remind the House that we spent well over $150 million over the past five years. So we’ve had our turn and there are other significant projects on the go. I agree with the Member that as we move forward, we should be putting more emphasis on our schools, whether it be renovating and so...