Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have an urgent and emergent need for drivers’ licences in the Sahtu. It is one of those issues right now facing us, but I will do that another time.

I want to ask the department what they are doing to make aware the career opportunities in the resource sector.

What type of career counselling is happening at the college, happening at the schools, happening in the communities? What is the department doing?

Certainly the Sahtu is looking for partnerships and is interested in the how’s and the action plan. So I’m asking the Minister, what is the department doing to enhance the findings of life skills? It was a top priority in the needs assessment and job readiness in the Sahtu.

What is the Minister doing to look at some of these priorities as indicated by the needs assessment in telling us this is what’s needed? What is he doing?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize the recipients of the cultural awards and especially the recipient from Deline, Ms. Tutcho, along with Miss Tina Tutcho. They are living cultures of the Sahtu, so I want to say congratulations to the staff who put this together.

I’d also like to recognize the mayor from Aklavik, and also a friend of my mine who I haven’t seen for a while, Mr. Stanley Beck. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Chair, the fire season certainly was terrible down here on the south end of the Territories. Knowing the conditions, knowing that we might have had a bad fire season, knowing the conditions and the dryness, is there any other area that has similar conditions down here? People are saying that it’s so dry down in the south part of the Northwest Territories, it’s prime condition for a fire. If the fire does go, it is so dry it will take off really fast and it’s something that we were expecting. Given this and in follow-up to Mr. Bromley’s questions on the review and looking at all of the good...

What would be the consequences? Would the onus fall on our government if we said to the educational boards, sorry, we have to follow process here. I guess I’m looking at what would be the consequences if we didn’t do this and follow the process as outlined and agreed by this Assembly as to how do we approve expenditures.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Friday, October 31, 2014, I will move that Bill 34, 2015 Polling Day Act, be read for the first time. Mahsi.

Thank you. It’s a well-known fact, also, that government operates and makes changes at lightning speed, maybe a year or two.

So I want to ask the Minister, given the time within our Legislative Assembly, can the Minister direct his staff to dedicate a staff person to go into the Sahtu communities to look at career planning, counselling, so they know that they need to take math and science, so when they finish Grade 12 these are the opportunities in the trades and apprenticeship and the students have a fair chance at least within the life of this government? I know that the Education Act will...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. In our region we’re finding it very difficult to attract apprentices, people who want to get into the trades, because of the quality of the education they are receiving in high school. It makes it difficult for them to enter into a trades entrance program or to get into the Apprenticeship Program because of the lack of skill or training.

I want to ask the Minister, is his department doing anything to improve the quality of education for Grade 12s that want to enter a trades program or a Trades Access...

Thank you. The Minister has indicated that they’re developing and they’re going to be looking at ways they can implement these programs. I would like to ask the Minister for some time frames, knowing the limited time we have left in the 17th. So I’ll ask that question. The employers need people to get valid drivers’ licences. It’s something that’s been repeated in the needs assessment.

Will the department consider working with the Department of Transportation to assist people in the remote communities to go get drivers’ licences and other qualified drivers’ training programs?

[Microphone turned off) …and I understand the needs assessment is completed.

I want to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, what are the priorities and what plans are there to implement the priorities within the Sahtu needs assessment that he found over the past year? Thank you.