Statements in Debates
Mr. Speaker, that’s a very valid question the Member is asking, and it is a very important question as well. If you look throughout the Northwest Territories – I can only speak to my region, as well – we have a high number of females in high school and also post-secondary, upwards of 90 percent. Obviously, those individuals will enter either the skilled trades area or even the professional development area.
Yes, that is one of the prime focuses because we know the stats that are out there, that we have a majority of females in K to 12 and even in post-secondary, so we need to identify those...
I believe some of the options that I highlighted earlier will be discussed at the public forum and the parents will be raising their concerns to YK1, and then we will be hearing feedback from YK1 with the outcome. We are looking forward to those discussions as we move forward.
There is a proposed public meeting that’s going to be happening tomorrow. Then I believe the decision comes down on December 9th. We are just waiting for the outcome of the parents’ engagement pertaining to these areas that have been brought to our attention. I believe there are four options for the general public to consider, the general public of the schools. At this point in time, we are just awaiting the results of those meetings.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to share the Northwest Territories three-year baseline results of the Early Development Instrument referred to as the EDI results. The EDI is a population-level tool that measures children’s ability to meet age-appropriate developmental expectations at school entry.
The EDI measures five areas of a child’s development, including their physical health and well-being, their language and cognitive development, their communication skills and general knowledge, their social competence and the child’s emotional maturity.
Mr. Speaker, the EDI focuses on the outcomes for...
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents, entitled “Government of the Northwest Territories 2013-2014 Annual Report on Official Languages,” and a letter to Mr. Bob Bromley, dated November 4, 2014 regarding a statement in the House on the safety in junior kindergarten.
I wish to table the following two documents, entitled “Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission Annual Report 2013” and “Northwest Territories and Nunavut Workers’ Compensation Appeals Tribunal Annual Report 2013.” Mahsi.
As I stated earlier, there are a variety of programs, subsidy programs that we provide to, whether it be training or small community employment programming. Not only that, there is a substantial amount of funding that we work with through the federal government, and that is Canada’s Job Fund. Those individuals that do not qualify for EI, those individuals, as the Member indicated, are in desperate need of sort of like a training that fall through the cracks. This particular program is geared towards that. Part of the focus of the federal government, obviously, is to train those individuals and...
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The pre-employment program and other programs have been very successful to date. There have been some changes in programming. Right now we are looking at the employment success through adult and post-secondary education and skills training. Those types of programs that existed before will definitely be captured in part of our review process, because we are engaging the key partners and also the stakeholders in the Northwest Territories on how best to deliver this particular program. We are re-evaluating our position on these skills and training programs.
Mr. Speaker, one of the areas, obviously, is the Small Community Employment Program that has been established by this Assembly. It has been very successful to date. They’re providing funding to employers so they can hire those individuals who are interested in various skill set positions. Not only that but there is other programming, whether it be apprenticeship training programming.
I just signed off with the federal government, as well, on Canada’s Job Fund. The funding is available to the employers through my department to identify those individuals. Once they’re trained, they should have...
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Yes, first and foremost, obviously, is to congratulate all those apprentices throughout the Northwest Territories. We are very proud of them, and obviously, we would like to see more of those individuals successfully completing apprenticeship certification and journeyman ticket holders. Part of specifically the training division, apprenticeship, is improving employment success through adult and post-secondary education and skills training. That area is being re-evaluated so we can capture four key areas of categories. That is to better understand the current and future...
Mahsi, Mr. Chair. This obviously has been brought to our attention through the committee’s work, and the committee has heard a lot from South Slave members, as well, the DECs and DEAs. The reporting mechanism has been talked about with the South Slave as well. I met with them about a month ago. This particular topic was brought to my attention, so we talked about how it’s going to be structured. The reporting mechanism will stay the same as it is now, it will just be part of the public service staff if you will.
So we did talk in length about the reporting mechanism and the current...