Jackson Lafferty

Within our Education department we have contributed, over the last three years, our contribution, because I feel that Dechinta can go places with the program that they are currently delivering. They are very unique compared to other programming that we currently deliver in the Northwest Territories. So we will continue to subsidize them; we’ll continue to support them. In 2013-14, obviously, we provided $153,000 as a kick-start. In 2014-15 it went up to $415,000. So these are the discussions that we are currently having, what kinds of resources that are required. Again, they’re very different...

When it comes to literacy, we’ve made some changes. We’ve had some pilot projects in the South Slave region. We’ve had literacy coaches. It’s been very successful to date and we continue to use that as an example for other schools as well.

The pilot projects we’ve done over the years, so we’ve seen some results out of that. Within our Education Renewal and Innovation, this will obviously capture the literacy component, and we’ll be discussing further with our key stakeholders where we can best invest in certain areas, whether it comes to DECs or DEAs. They are our true partners, so we will...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. When I first met with Erin Ballantyne in 2009, I believe, or even sooner than that… No, when I first was elected as Minister of Education, she presented to me and I told her you had me at hello.

---Laughter

This was a very exciting project at the beginning and I still have a vision of where Dechinta University is going. It is before us now and we are currently discussing it. We have to work with all the partners as well. There is also the Aurora Research Institute in Inuvik with Skills for Success as well. All the different initiatives have to come into line with the Dechinta...

Mahsi. If the information is not there at this point, we will make sure that it is available. Mahsi.

There are a lot of things on the go right now, a lot of discussions happening. There are also Skills for Success within my department that Dechinta is engaged in as well. We want to engage them. We need to find those individuals with the talent. Not only that, but if we need to change within our Education Act, obviously that will take some time. Those changes have to reflect our engagement with the general public as well. We are currently in discussions with the Dechinta and also the president of Aurora College and the U of A. There is a proposal that’s been discussed and we are moving forward...

Yes. We will provide that to the standing committee, who the actual contractor is. It’s a contractor that’s well known to deal with these matters in other jurisdictions as well. So they’re more specifically on the junior kindergarten area. We also have Dr. Andre Corriveau who’s working very closely with us on this particular file, especially when it comes to the health and social services area. This is a joint initiative between my department, Education, Culture and Employment and Health and Social Services. So we’re doing what we can to capture everything within that review. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. With Dechinta Bush University, it has been successful to date, since 2009. I was just there last fall and I wanted to meet with the staff, meet with the students, and it was a very well-experienced visit. I’ve always been supportive of the Dechinta University Program and I will continue to do so.

When I met with the staff at the Dechinta Campus, they highlighted some of the challenges we are faced with. I expected the proposal that’s coming down, so this is an opportune time to discuss some of these aspects. We will be entertaining a discussion on this. Obviously, Aurora...

There are so many initiatives that my department is working on. When we were at NWT Days in Ottawa we also met with university students from the Northwest Territories. Obviously we want them to come back to our Northwest Territories and work for us. It was a very productive meeting and we’re going to continue to do that. Every time we travel to other provincial jurisdictions, we want to meet with the students. We care for the students. We want them to come back. We support them. There is the Education Renewal and Innovation that’s happening that will capture three years of action plan. Also...

We are being challenged in the Northwest Territories. We know that NWT students are graduating from high school significantly below the Canadian average. We’re fully aware of that, and our system is not meeting the standards. The whole Education Renewal and Innovation will definitely capture that. We’re fully aware of that and we’re developing tools to capture that as well. Along the way, it’s a three-year mandate, a three-year action plan, and we will be keeping the standing committee up to speed while we’re making changes along the way.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Again, I have to reflect on the whole Education Renewal and Innovation. It is a very broad sector. This will obviously capture the graduation of our students across the Northwest Territories. Some of the areas of which we are aiming and also our goals and objectives are obviously to improve the overall academic achievement of all students, 8,000 students, 49 schools across the Northwest Territories. We also want to increase the number. The Member touched on the 50 percent. Obviously, we want to reach 80 percent or plus, but that will take some time.

Also, improving literacy...