Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to start today with a quote: “Education is the greatest weapon. With education you are the white man’s equal, without education you are his victim and so shall remain all of your lives. Study, learn, help one another always. Remember there is only poverty and misery in idleness and dreams - but in work there is self-respect and independence.” So said Chief Plenty Coups.

I have in front of me, as I speak, a picture of a proud friend and ally of the white people. He understood the future and he spoke passionately about it. He had the best...

I do want to say that the community certainly appreciates the Minister’s tours in the Sahtu region that we had. I want to ask the Minister about his consultation and discussion and if he will come back in time on his review and if his review reviewed the adequacy against school capital standards and criteria for the Colville Lake School.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask questions to the Minister of Education and Culture. Several weeks ago I went to Colville Lake. I did a tour of the school in Colville Lake and I was reminded with the school of a program that I used to watch one time called Little House on the Prairie. Mr. Speaker, it reminded me because when I went to the school there were 36 children in this one classroom. It was one room and the parents are very concerned because there are 36 children in one classroom, kindergarten to Grade 6. They’re concerned because of the different grade levels that are being taught...

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the Minister’s initiative in terms of improving the true quality of education in the Northwest Territories, because the last several years of my experience, we have not been receiving that in my region. I do have people leaving this institution in Grade 12 that cannot get into a post-secondary education or a university even, let alone a job, Mr. Speaker. I would ask the Minister in terms of this mandate here, if he is willing to work truly with the leadership in the Sahtu communities to look at major changes into the Education Act, the system that can deliver...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the Minister’s ministerial statement today he talked about the impressive number of graduates. I want to ask the Minister, in terms of the graduates in the communities that I represent or even the Northwest Territories, I want to talk about the quality of the diplomas that these students are going to be receiving.

In a report, I understand that there are 30 percent of students operating below the expected grade level. What is the Minister doing to bring that number down and to give our students good, quality education in the Northwest Territories?

I’d like to recognize two Pages from Colville Lake: Dakota Orlias and Corey Kochon. They are Pages in the House this week.

Thank you. I would like to ask the Minister to go a step further in terms of providing what he says is his mandate was to provide quality education in the Northwest Territories, specifically for Colville Lake, Mr. Speaker. That school that I talked about still has no running water, it has a honey bucket for a sanitary facility. I want to ask what things can bring Colville Lake School up to a quality education standard in the Northwest Territories, like any other school in the North. Again, if I could ask the Minister, how many schools like this in the Northwest Territories are under similar...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The question I have for the Minister, in terms of one small initiative that the Minister and I have talked about, is including the elders into our educational system. It has been three years since I have been bringing this up here, and yet we have not seen the light of day in terms of having the educational system open up our doors to the elders. We have been offering them solutions on this side. When is the Minister going to say as a step in the right direction for providing quality education in the classroom, on the land, that the elders would be included into our...

Mr. Speaker, the Minister has indicated that these certain points within the education system are measured against a certain function level. The assessments of the Alberta achievement tests that we take indicate that 30 percent of students are operating below expected levels of education. certainly that raises alarms, it raises a lot of concerns for people in my region. I want to ask the Minister in terms of his initiative, the Sahtu did indicate that they would like a symposium to really talk about education and the seriousness, as I mentioned in my Member’s statement, in terms of the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What I’m hearing from the Minister is if we do not go with the proposed plan, somewhere down the line we’re going to have a sustainability issue in regard to health care and that we have to find somewhere $8.5 million. That definitely is very concerning to me and my people in the region in looking at other issues regarding health. Also, that we’re going to be under siege. We really have a problem here, Mr. Speaker, in terms of this issue here.

Is this the best that the Cabinet can put before us? If we do keep the existing program, I believe that we’re going to be dealing...