Steve Norn

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. For my Member's statement today I'd like to recognize three constituents of mine who were recently awarded the Aboriginal Sports Circle of the NWT for their achievement in sports.

The name of the first individual is Bayleigh Chaplin of Deninu Kue, who won the Langugae and Culture Award. Cabin Radio wrote a great story about each of the winners, and wrote this about Bayleigh:

Bayleigh is always willing to lend a helping hand and, despite hard times in life, she always puts on a strong face and takes part in cultural activities and events. When she isn't on the field...

I have another question for the Minister: is there a job shadowing program in place for recent post-secondary graduates for nurses and social workers in the NWT?

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Roles such as nursing and social work are demanding, physically and mentally, especially in small communities. I believe everyone in this House who is in here should give them all the support and tools they need to help them do a good job and be successful. That being said, my worry is that we are putting inexperienced staff, nursing staff specifically, to the detriment of those who need the care the most, i.e. special needs. My question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services: are there certain aptitudes or a minimum amount of experience that nursing staff...

No further questions, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The committee wishes to deal with, one, Bill 1, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, and, two, Tabled Document 5-19(1), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization), No. 3, 2019-2020, in that order. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. My questions are in line with my Member's statement earlier. I just wanted to make a quick comment. The Member for Deh Cho already addressed one of those questions, also. I want to say mahsi cho.

Anyways, my question for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment is: what initiatives do the Minister and his department have in place to address low school attendance rates in the small communities? Mahsi cho.

Mr. Speaker, the 19th Assembly's mandate items addresses this issue specifically, which states that one of the desired goals of this Assembly is to increase student education outcomes of the same level as the rest of Canada.

Well, Mr. Speaker, we have a long way to go in achieving educational parity on each of the fronts that I have just mentioned, but if we want the NWT to achieve true educational parity compared to Canada's national average, I believe it is imperative that our government redouble our efforts in the smaller communities because that is where the education outcomes need to...

Mahsi cho, Madam Chair. I move that consideration of Tabled Document 5-19(1), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 3, 2019-2020, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 5-19(1) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill. Mahsi cho, Madam Chair.

Mahsi, Madam Chair. I'm just listening to the Minister's comments and Mr. Koe's comments for this being a financial patch, and the lending rate of prime plus one. From what I'm hearing, of this $135 million, we're not entirely sure how much is going to be used or if it's all going to be used for this fiscal cycle.

I would like to thank the Minister for his response. I think it is important, too, that visibility for your department is important in my riding. There are four schools in my riding. The one in Ndilo and one in Detah, those are easy places to do a tour. That would be really good. I would like to see that, but, if I could get a commitment from the Minister to see if he could visit our schools in Lutselk'e and Deninu Kue, I think it is important. It helps boost morale for the teachers and the kids, and I think it is important that they see the head of our education department.