Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. Any opportunity that arises, obviously, we like to take advantage of it. We’ve heard about this particular area, whether it be a traditional food that’s available. Again, it would have to be at the discretion of the schools to allow that into their facility. We are, as I stated, working very closely with BDEC, the Beaufort-Delta Education Council, if this is something that they want to explore and have that available to our students. This is just recent news to us, so it is being discussed at BDEC level with my officials. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. Over the years we’ve been working with the federal government on having an identified Older Workers funding program. We just signed off an agreement with the federal government just recently in April 2014 for a three-year agreement. It is being spread out to the communities and it is those individuals who are 50-plus years of age, 55 years of age and older that can access this funding. So far we’ve implemented nine of the NWT communities as a start, Tuktoyaktuk, Fort McPherson, Inuvik, Aklavik, Ulukhaktok, Deline, Hay River, Fort Smith and Behchoko. I will just remind you...

It’s by community. Obviously, a community has to access and apply through the application process for funding. The funding is available, it’s just a matter of a community applying for it, so I would highly encourage those communities that have not applied to apply for the funding that’s available for them.

Taxing them is a different subject. There is funding available to us. As I stated, it’s not only Chevron. There are other companies that came forward. A basic example would be the multiplex and others. I think, in my view, we need to take advantage of these potential investors. As I stated before, there will be plenty more that will be up on the horizon and we need to work with them. We need to work with all stakeholders across the Northwest Territories. Any opportunities that they provide to us as a true partnership, then we need to take advantage of those opportunities.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. This is not the first time that this has been brought to my attention. Not only Inuvik but other regional settings, as well, even the Sahtu and other places. This has been brought to our attention where we need to have a secure residence for our students that are attending at the regional high school level coming from the small, isolated communities. We need to have a suitable place for them to study and to have shelter. We work very closely with the DEAs and DECs to make that a priority for them, because we want every child to be successful as part of their education...

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. When we first talked about iPads for new parents, we sought out potential investors, key partners on this very important matter. There was a request by Chevron. The funding is available to purchase iPads. It’s not only Chevron. We have done this with others from the private sector, the business sector, as well, over the years. My view is that it’s an investment into our overall educational system where there are key partners.

As the Minister of Finance stated, our financial situation now is very tight within our overall territorial budget and we have to explore these areas of...

When we talk about bringing the agriculture programming into our school system, I need to work very closely with ITI since they have that portfolio. But by all means, this is an area that we need to explore further, to see what’s out there in the regions, in the communities, and present that idea to the school boards as well. So, most definitely this will be our topic of discussion. Mahsi.

Mahsi. It’s not actually positions. It’s full-time equivalency. If the enrollment is down it goes back to the school boards and they decide where. It’s up to the school boards to decide how many teachers or janitors or teacher assistants to be hired. So, it’s based on the actual overall budget that we provide to them. Maybe if I can get my deputy to elaborate a bit more because she’s involved with the FTEs and enrollment. When the enrollment numbers go down, my team has to work with all the school boards. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. To my left is deputy minister of ECE, Gabriela Eggenhofer; to my immediate right is Olin Lovely, assistant deputy minister of corporate services; and to my far right, Dana Heide, associate deputy minister with ECE.

Mr. Chair, obviously we want our Aurora College programming to be adaptable and comparable to southern institutions. That’s why it’s key to have key partners involved with delivering these core early childhood programs, even through our venues of Aurora College campuses and throughout the Northwest Territories. We’ve had this discussion. It was brought up in this House, certification diploma programming. That’s when we came out with the different initiatives on staff grant money and the scholarships. Based on scholarships, obviously we want to attract those individuals to come back to the...