Jackson Lafferty

Mr. Speaker, our work on Education Renewal and Innovation is well underway, with more feedback, information and support coming forward as we share our work with northern stakeholders and experts in the field.

As you know, we have held extensive engagements with many of our stakeholders, including our education partners. This inclusive approach has continued into the development of the action plan. As we speak, the ERI team is out in the communities and regions talking to the public, teachers, parents and students. Early feedback from these meetings is very positive and people are engaged and...

When we talk about legislation passed by this House, 16 to 1. So there has been a generous contribution over the last decade because we had money, we had funds at that time which we don’t at this point. In order to roll out the junior kindergarten, we won’t be the worse. British Columbia, as you see here, is 16.8, we are 16 to 1. Yes, it may be at the bottom, but it’s something to work with.

Then we have our Finance Minister in Ottawa meeting with the Finance Minister of Canada. There could be some changes coming. Certainly, we can re-evaluate our situation at that time. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

As I indicated earlier through this session, JK is optional. It will be up to the parents to decide if they want to take their kids to JK or continue with the day homes. The budget, everybody has to budget, not only in my department but daycare operators, day home operators, they have to budget too. These are reporting mechanisms. We have to work with them. Those are some of the facts that we share with them. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My department met with the superintendents of all regions and those 23 communities are rolling out their junior kindergarten programming. Part of the package will be for them to utilize the PTR, the funding that will be allocated towards the Junior Kindergarten Program. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, those are the discussions that we need to have. I am going to Fort Providence and I will be meeting with that organization.

We have to keep in mind that you’re talking about eight communities. I am responsible for 33 communities and I want to deliver the most effective programming, that’s JK, into the communities. JK is based on Dene Kede and Inuinnaqtun curriculum that recognizes northern culture. It makes learning experimental.

This is the curriculum the program came out with. We have to make it a success in the communities. That’s what I’m committed to. In Fort Providence and...

At the end of the day, the Members are asking me to go after new funding which, obviously, we don’t have. I do not have that in my back pocket. The GNWT doesn’t have it. Again, it’s the words of the Finance Minister that we have to be innovative, live within our means and exercise fiscal prudence, the public money, to take a hard look at where we spend our money and if we do better by re-profiling part of it. We’ve done that. My department has done that. We will continue to work with the school boards to make it a very successful project.

I believe it was in my Minister’s statement, as well, that if we delay junior kindergarten in those communities, obviously it will be detrimental to those individuals, whether they are four-year-olds in the communities.

Aboriginal Head Start has been very successful, but we have to keep in mind that I represent the whole Northwest Territories and I represent the population of the Northwest Territories. That’s the reason why we’re going forward as part of the option to deliver those programs into the communities that will benefit this JK. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I tabled the fact sheets. I made a statement on the fact sheets, all the information that we received by the school boards. There are always numbers changing. Sometimes it’s out of my hands. At the same time, the latest information that I received, I shared that with the general public through the Legislative Assembly and…(inaudible)…we are working with.

Mr. Speaker, the number of educators used to calculate the PTR includes regular classroom teachers, principals, assistant principals and program support staff. It’s important to know that Aboriginal language and culture specialists are excluded from this PTR. Those are just some of the highlights. The principals are covered. Mahsi.

I think the real challenge is with the federal government because I believe they are a year or two behind. We provide funding, again, based on their reporting mechanism. That’s an area that we are working out with the management of the NCS.

At the end of the day, there is a challenge before us, but we are working very closely with the CEO to resolve that issue. My department met with the CEO just last week to identify some of the options. Once the information is available to me, I can definitely be sharing with the standing committee just an update of the situation with NCS. We want that...