Sandy Lee

Thank you, Madam Speaker. It is obvious that the Minister doesn't know the full information about this, because we are not dealing with special needs children who need inclusive programs here. We are talking about children who are far beyond the needs of inclusive schooling. Does the Minister know that these students, eight of them, cannot be absorbed into one school? The benefit of having them in Yellowknife is that they can be chosen to go to any of the seven schools. There is no way one school could absorb all of these students, because they have such high needs. Does the Minister of...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I think the troubling aspect of the debate in this House about this issue is that the focus is so much on the money and the jobs being created, which is not a small thing. After all, we make decisions about how to spend money and such. Today, I think I was trying to indicate in my Member’s statement that we need to focus on the children that are being treated there because of very, very severe issues that they need to be helped with.

These educators are not just an agent that gets government money and just runs this program. These educators are also the experts...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. It’s actually appalling that the Cabinet throws a bomb into this institution. In two years we’re moving this and that’s that, and we’re trying to get information. If anybody hasn’t gotten the point, my point is that all these questions we are asking and the answers to them are the most minimum information that the Cabinet should have had in making this decision. I think reasonable person would agree with that. I’d like to ask the Minister once again, not going by if and when and I’m confident and all that hullabaloo, could the Minister just ask his senior...

With the indulgence of the House, may I just recognize that the exchange student in my riding is staying with Linda and Abe Theil and I would like to thank them. Thank you.

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Thank you, Madam Speaker. How can the Minister say that when he does not know what the requirements are, or does he? Yes or no.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, in case it hasn’t been made absolutely clear by now, I’d like to state categorically once again that the proposed move of the Territorial Treatment Centre to anywhere out of Yellowknife is a very poorly planned and, as one of my Newfoundland friends will say, a foolish idea that must be stopped in its tracks today, Madam Speaker. It should be stopped at least until the Minister and the Cabinet gives us clear answers to some real basic and important questions that we are entitled. We being not only the MLAs of this House or even the staff at the...

They do not have the answers that the people are entitled to know. Now let me ask the Minister…Now I just forgot a very good question that I had for the Minister. I was just too excited about having you cornered. Madam Speaker, would the Minister of Education please direct his senior officials to find out this information as soon as possible and present exactly what the educational needs are? Because I’m telling you the Minister will find that there are a lot of special needs that he’s not aware of. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. That very mundane, feel good, general statement that the Minister is making is showing just more clearly than ever before how little he knows about the needs of these youth in the centre. These are not people who can benefit from the mainstream programming that we have. They are in need of very, very specialized services, which if the Minister would take time talking to them would tell him that it is in jeopardy of being dismantled. So would the Minister direct his senior officials to talk to the educators and those who provide services to these people, talk to...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment and it has again to do with the transfer of the TTC. Madam Speaker, as I have already repeated many times today, the sense I am getting from the people out there, especially the professionals who have been involved in delivering services and addressing the needs of the children who are being treated in this facility, I think that the people will be appalled that the people who do this have never been consulted. In fact, I just learned today that the most senior education official...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I thought we weren’t allowed to talk about a document that’s not before this House. Considering that, I’d like to still ask the Minister, I need to know simple answers about what the Minister has done to find out exactly what the needs are of the services that they are getting in Yellowknife. And you know what? If I’m convinced, if I’m provided with the information that these are the kinds of conditions and training that they need and this is the kind of support system they have and we have, as a government, made a decision, a public policy decision...