Tom Beaulieu

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, in recognition of Education Week, today I would like to talk about a recent trip I made with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment into my riding. On this trip we learned that the South Slave Divisional Educational Council is making efforts to increase the percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations for reading proficiency in all its schools, including Fort Resolution and Lutselk'e. This initiative was implemented in 2007, and in only a few years the student achievement in reading has shown significant...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Standing Committee on Social Programs conducted its public review of Bill 10, Exemptions Act, on February 17, 2010. The committee would like to thank the Minister and his staff for presenting the bill.

The bill repeals and replaces the existing Exemptions Act. In the new act, property categories that are exempt from legal seizure are expanded to include types of property essential for subsistence of the debtor and his or her dependents. The Public Service Garnishee Act is also amended.

Following discussions which took place during the public review...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Standing Committee on Social Programs conducted a public review of Bill 4, An Act to Amend the Child and Family Services Act, at a meeting held on December 11, 2009. Bill 4 makes amendments to the current Child and Family Services Act, it clarifies the terminology description plan of care agreements, care plans and case plans. Bill 4 also addresses the handling of confidentiality of the child protection information as well as other protocols.

Following a clause-by-clause review, a motion was carried to report to the Assembly that Bill 4 is now ready...

Can the Minister tell me what the program cost for this is? Is this an extra cost? What is the cost above the standard cost of education? This is a new program introduced in 2007. Did it cost more? Is there a plan to continue the program?

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today I talked about the importance of reading and the tremendous efforts of the teachers in the South Slave and the South Slave Divisional Education Council. I’d like to know more about the literacy programs. I have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Can the Minister tell me about the change in reading levels of the students between when the program was started and now?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Standing Committee on Social Programs conducted a public review of Bill 7, An Act to Amend the Summary Convictions Procedures Act, at a meeting on December 11, 2009. Bill 7 makes amendments to the Summary Conviction Procedures Act. The amendments will allow a justice to enter a conviction and impose the specific penalty in cases where a person who has been summonsed to appear before the justice by way of a ticket fails to either pay the specific penalty or to appear as summonsed. As well, Bill 7 increases the maximum fine for failing to appear before a justice as...

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I’m not aware if this Leadership for Literacy is fully implemented in the communities that I represent. If they are fully implemented, good. If they’re not fully implemented, because I know, for example, there is no library in the school in Lutselk’e, I’m wondering if the department is looking at a full implementation in all of the schools in the South Slave.

That’s good news to hear that the students are achieving positively. I’m wondering if those results are for all of the students or are those results tied only to those students who are attending school a certain percentage of the time. I’m curious if it’s... I think I heard that it might have been that students are rated once they are attending more than 90 percent of the time and those are the only students being compared. Or is it everyone that’s in school whether they’re attending only 50 percent of the time or not? I’m wondering if those results are tied to absenteeism as well.

Can the Minister tell me if prior to our visit to Fort Resolution, if he’s able to provide me with some sort of a plan on what is going to occur as far as territorial park development goes in the Northwest Territories?

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to talk again about the camping area near Fort Resolution on the Slave River referred to as Big Eddy. In the past few days I have heard many of my colleagues and the Minister of ITI stand up in the House and talk about the importance of tourism in the NWT. This is good to hear, Mr. Speaker, but at the same time I have to wonder about this, because in my riding there is only one territorial park even though there are many areas that can be easily designated as parks.

So we need to start looking at...