Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was going to speak about education in our small communities. In 2013 the Alberta Achievement Test results show that the Northwest Territories is not doing very well. Actually, this test is a measurement of our education system in the Northwest Territories, and when you look at it, the results are pretty glim and bleak in the small communities. We do have a commonality with the larger centres. When you look at the results from the small communities and larger centres like Yellowknife and Hay River and Inuvik and Smith, there’s a commonality that connects us, and that...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On the same note for the comments from… I’m not sure if this is the right area to look at, but looking at the contracts and work, I would really appreciate the staff and the Minister to hear the Northerners and local contractors are doing the work. They are working out of the regional office. We certainly like to see the economy in our communities have a little bit of a reprieve there for our people, so I appreciate whatever they are doing to make it happen. I fully support the Housing Corporation to see that that work gets there. I just wanted to give kudos to the staff...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to get a breakdown just to confirm the core funding to the Metis locals. Can I get a breakdown on what exactly the Metis councils are getting?

Thank you, Madam Chair. I have one question for the Minister with regard to the percentage of senior management or Aboriginal employees within the government sector. We are hearing that there is a different percentage in each department. Are we getting closer to representing the population that we serve with our government employees? I know there was some type of discussion, and with the time we have left in this government, are we moving the bar up a half percent or a percent or something where we can say yes, we’re getting closer to the number of representation by the population that we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Thursday, February 12, 2015, I will move the following motion: I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that, notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on Thursday, February 12, 2015, it shall be adjourned until Monday, February 16, 2015;

And further, that any time prior to February 16, 2015, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may...

Yesterday I had an exchange with Mr. Premier about the different things we can do in our small communities. This morning I was talking to a resident in Tulita that said I finished Grade 7 but today I have a successful business in Tulita. That’s what I’m looking for in our schools. More of that type of leadership education in our schools where kids today can just do what they have to do to be successful, successful thinking in the schools. That’s where I’m looking.

Is that something the Minister is looking at in regard to education in the North?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. In my Member’s statement I talked about the quality of education in our small communities, especially with the fact of finding that our students are not at the same level as our southern students on their education.

I want to ask the Minister what he is doing to bring these numbers up so that we know that our students are getting a quality education and that they can bring the level up to a number that we can be proud of.

I’m thinking about the meeting we had last year in Sahtu when we talked about the implementation plan of the Sahtu Land Claim Agreement and some of the work that needed to yet be negotiated and worked on. Out of the number of activities, how many does the federal government yet need to complete? How long will it take for them to complete the implementation plan? I’m hearing that the territorial government is up to date on our implementation plan. I know some dates take a little longer than we anticipated, but what I’m hearing is that we’re okay.

I congratulate the Premier and the staff on the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This morning I was looking at some of the stats that I’ve been compiling, and one of the most frightening stats that I picked up and started to read had to deal with the shocking report that the Department of Education had compiled. It has to do with our future of the Northwest Territories and our small communities, and it’s startling and it’s frightening. I was wondering: how do we work on this and get this to be something that we can celebrate? It has to deal with the results that the consultants found in our children in our small communities.

The results were showing...

Mr. Chair, I just want to understand something from the section here, Sahtu land claim implementation. Under the terms, the territorial government will get funding from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, and Canada will provide a 2015 grant payment to the GNWT to assist the Sahtu implementation activities pursuant to the Sahtu Implementation Plan. Just help me out here. There is one government giving another government money, so then they can help with the implementation of the Sahtu Implementation Plan? Is that normal? Is that what the process is set up to? How many...