Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi. Yes, most definitely those are a mix of the discussions that we are currently having as part of our Education Renewal and Innovation. Certainly, individuals may not be ready or entering the college avenue. We want to give them the tools to enter into workforce development or other opportunities that may arise as well. So, those are discussions that we’ve had with the regional representatives. When we did our forum across the Northwest Territories, we did listen and we are making drastic changes within our Education Renewal and also the Early Childhood Development Framework that will...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The Member is raising an excellent point where we need to do something about our quality of education across the Northwest Territories. That’s part of the reason why we’re developing various initiatives such as the Early Childhood Development Framework, not only that but the whole Education Renewal and Innovation. So those are the two big key factors that we’re implementing within our department. It’s going to take some time. There is a short-term, a mid-term and also long-term arrangements as well. There are quite a few activities that will be happening and we’re engaging...

Mahsi. Within the capital plan, ‘15-16, obviously there’s $423,000 that’s earmarked as part of the proposal for Charles Tetcho School as part of the renovation to existing building space to provide adequate instructional space. I’ve been working with the Member on this. So we’re moving forward on that.

Yes, we’re fully aware that the community wants a stand-alone school. So that is the overall long-term plan and I need to work with the community as well. Mahsi.

Mahsi. That is part of the plan. If we can get it done sooner than that, that will be our priority as well as the department, working with Member Menicoche, how we can expedite this process as well. Mahsi.

In addition to a direct subsidy that the Member is referring to, we also provide daycare operators and also residents. Residents may also be eligible to helping out with the offset of the costs of daycare. It’s just part of the options that we work with across the Northwest Territories. There’s also income assistance child care allowance that is provided as financial support to parents so that they can participate in the labour force and pursue education or training opportunities. Those are just some of the areas that we continue to push forward as part of our subsidy towards the daycare...

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what we will be doing. There are funds that have been identified as part of a child and family resource centre that we’re fully aware of. Not only that but there’s also a public awareness of the overall importance of early childhood development throughout the Northwest Territories. We’ve allocated some funds towards that as well. There are also iPads for new parents. There is the early learning framework. The framework that we’ve been working on for a number of years now, now it’s ready to roll out. Also, the ECD symposium. It would involve all the stakeholders...

Yes, the quickest answer will be most certainly. There will be some things that will happen within the three-year timespan starting immediately. We’ve touched base on improving academic achievement of all Northwest Territories students, increased the number and quality of NWT graduates – that’s what the Member is referring to – improved literacy and numeracy skills of all students, helped prepare them for employment, as well, or further their education after high school.

Mr. Speaker, these are just some of the areas that we’ve tackled. We’ll continue to work with the First Nations, the...

Mahsi. When I first got elected in 2007, the Member invited me to his riding in the Sahtu region. We did visit the communities and we listened to the elders and the community members about this particular subject where individuals completing Grade 12 still had to upgrade and I’ve listened carefully. Based on that feedback we’ve done a lot of research across the Northwest Territories. Yes, it’s true that the smaller communities are somewhat disadvantaged compared to larger regional centres. So those are the very reasons why we’re establishing a very heavy workload within the Education Renewal...

That is in the works. I’ve touched on the planning study and also the educational plan. That will give us the data analysis that we need to move forward as part of the capital planning process. There is a capital planning process that every department is entitled to go through that, so we’re doing what we can to push the Trout Lake school as part of the capital planning process. This will give us more ammunition to move that forward as part of the process. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Since we visited the community with Member Menicoche, also the district education council, we’ve toured the school facility and we know the condition of it. So we’ve been talking about how we can proceed with the planning study. The planning study is underway, 2014-15 year, and it will provide us with a needs analysis, operational plan and also recommend the scope of work.

At the same time, an education plan began in May 2014 and the report is now complete as of June 2014. That provides us more data on the particular analysis and operation plan as well. Mahsi.