Norman Yakeleya

As we hear more from the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment about this summer’s concentration on education reform, I hope we hear bold and creative solutions aimed to drastically improve the education in the Northwest Territories. As we consider this, I challenge all Members of this House to think outside the box and to legislate seriously to turn this situation around and get education moving in the right direction. It’s what you do with education that counts, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, due to the increase of activity now in the Sahtu, when you have a record-breaking number of parcels being taken up by the major oil companies of the world and spending over $600 million, close to $700 million, you know there is something happening very big. Even if the Fraser Institute report comes out saying that it’s not very good to have investments in the Sahtu, and the next day you have a company come and say we’re going to spend over $700 million in the development of the Sahtu oil and gas exploration, you know that when Husky Energy puts in a $45 million road out in nowhere...

WHEREAS the Sahtu region has an employment rate of 55 percent;

AND WHEREAS approximately 9 percent of the population of the Northwest Territories has less than a Grade 9 education and 20 percent of the population has not obtained education beyond high school;

AND WHEREAS the Government of the Northwest Territories strongly supports a resident workforce in existing and future development;

AND WHEREAS there is a potential for major industrial development in the Sahtu that would result in a great demand for skilled workers;

AND WHEREAS there is an increasing demand for renewable energy development in...

Mr. Speaker, I’m looking at what can we do for our students who are graduating with a Grade 12 diploma. Sometimes a diploma is not as strong as we want it to be. I’m looking at ways we can build self-esteem and self-confidence for these Grade 12 graduates. Having a Grade 13 in our high schools would give them that confidence, so when they apply for college in Fort Smith or any other college in the Northwest Territories or a post-university institution down south, it would make them feel that, yes, I do have an incredible diploma. If we have a Grade 13 program in our schools, that would fit...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister’s new renewal of the education system in the Northwest Territories is refreshing. It talks about some of the things that we need to do, and as I read the report the facts stare right in my face and the problem is really huge, and the government is responding to these problems. I want to ask the Minister, with his discussion with Mr. Menicoche, in the short-term, has the Minister and his department considered offering Grade 12 in our high schools, because the quality of our diplomas are not as high as we think they are.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our education system may be performing poorly, according to the recent reports. We are the ones who can do something with our education system. Clearly, education in the Northwest Territories is not up to par and we need to get it back on track. There is a big problem that requires bold solutions and decisive actions.

It is our children’s future that is at stake, and the stakes couldn’t be any higher. If we want our children to succeed, then we need to create a learning environment for them that encourages success. The standard wisdom holds that graduation rates are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I stated in the motion, the Sahtu employment rate is at 55 percent, and also that 9 percent of the population in the Northwest Territories has a less than Grade 9 education, and 20 percent of the population has not yet obtained an education beyond high school.

When I did my numbers here in the Sahtu, there are 675 youth between the ages of 10 and 24 years of age. That’s a high population. That’s 30 percent of the entire Sahtu population, which is about 2,680 people, according to our stats here.

With all the oil and gas development, there is great potential for major...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know our students can do it. Last year at the Colville Lake high school, there were three graduates and they did it through the new technology. I’m looking at these small communities and I’m asking that this Grade 13 concept be seen in the minds of the people in the Northwest Territories and see if it has some value in offering this type of program.

Would the Minister be able to report back to the Assembly on this concept by the end of this year and say, yes, it has value? Would he be able to do that?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I also agree with the last two speakers in that we need to take some breathing room out of this discussion right now. I thoroughly enjoyed the debate on the recommendations from the Electoral Boundaries Commission, and I certainly agree with the comment that the MLAs here need to be the final ones to put the stamp on something important as this, and we need to sit back and look at how we see our jobs as we put our names on the ballot box so that the people vote for us to make decisions, and this one here just needs to take some backroom breathing room and look at it and...

Thank you, Madam Chair. This motion here speaks to reviewing this whole issue again. This is a very important motion. The work done by the Boundaries Commission is very important. I feel the commission is just doing the numbers. It isn’t looking at the essence and importance of culture, language and boundaries of the land. When they make suggestions like moving two nations of people together, which don’t come to agree on a riding, that’s not good. That’s too constrictive, too limited. They should be really looking at the importance of the language and culture.

Madam Chair, we even heard last...