Jackson Lafferty

Yes, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Chair, we have three positions going to Hay River, one to Beaufort-Delta. The three positions going to Hay River area linguist, Aboriginal language services; a registrar, teacher certification in South Slave; a registrar of appeals in the South Slave, as well, so those three in Hay River and one linguist, Aboriginal languages in the Beaufort-Delta, so those are the four positions that are going to regions. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Since the Auditor General’s recommendations came out, we have done a considerable amount of work following through with those recommendations. Within my department we have increased the number of regional early childhood consultants to better serve the smaller communities. Not only that but we also created and hired a territorial inspection coordinator. Those are just some of the key aspects of how we remedied the situation at hand. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. The nine positions that are going out to regional centres is one registrar of appeals; two linguists, Aboriginal Languages Secretariat; one registrar, teacher certification; and also five service officers that I have highlighted earlier. That’s nine in total going out to the regional centres. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. Yes, the Aboriginal language, obviously we’re starting to see results on whether it be the immersion programs, the early learning programming on the language. There have been some pilot projects in the communities. Now we’re pushing more into the communities and regions. We are starting to see results. It’s a very excellent initiative that we are working with our partners across the Northwest Territories.

When we talk about the passing peer placement, we’ve heard from various community members, elders, educators, parents, when we did the forum on Aboriginal student achievement...

Mahsi, Madam Chair. We talk about the overall ERI. It’s a huge undertaking. We’re hearing from Regular Members that this is a big initiative, and we also hear about the JK, obviously the decision from October 30, 2014, to put a stop to the second and third phase and to continue with rolling out to the small communities for last year and also next year. So, we continue to work with the school boards on that. We have 19 communities going forward and 18 the following year.

Keeping the kids in school, obviously it’s a priority. We’ve given out posters and pamphlets. Obviously, this is for outside...

We have three ADMs today. We have an associate deputy, so three deputies and an associate, but the associate term will be up in June. So instead of three, four, five, we’ll be back to four again, three associate deputy ministers and a deputy minister. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Madam Chair. To my left I have Gabriela Eggenhoefer, deputy minister of Education, Culture and Employment; to my immediate right is Olin Lovely, director of corporate services; and to my far right, associate deputy minister Dana Heide with Education, Culture and Employment. Mahsi.

I just want to reflect back on, obviously, the infrastructure. Obviously, we have not failed as a department. We spend millions on infrastructure such as Inuvik’s East Three School, the Tulita school, brand new schools. We shouldn’t be using those terms when we’ve done so much as a department. We will continue to push that forward. We’re at the end of our Assembly. Usually when the capital infrastructure such as a huge initiative that is coming forward, obviously, it is the beginning of a new term.

At the same time, if there is a request, I would consider looking at a guaranteed income support...

I am pleased to present the 2015-16 Main Estimates for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. This budget strives to strike a balance between being mindful of the economic outlook of the NWT and making critical investments in key areas. These include early childhood development, education renewal, reducing the cost of living, improving support to those most vulnerable and bringing services closer to the people. Overall, the department’s estimates propose an increase of $4.2 million, or 1.4 percent, over the restated 2014-2015 Estimates. These estimates continue to support the...