Tom Beaulieu

[English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to once again talk about the importance of communities being able to hire properly trained recreation and youth staff. During my campaign, many residents spoke about the lack of things for the youth in their community to do. In general during my follow-up visits to communities, many constituents continue to actively need to have something positive for their youth to do. They talked about on-the-land programs, more sport and recreation programs, and some even said the community should have a swimming pool and a youth centre — a place the...

I don’t have anything further. I’d just thank the Minister for those answers.

Mahsi cho. Mr. Speaker, today I have questions for the Minister of MACA. Today I spoke about the many challenges my communities are facing regarding hiring properly trained recreation youth staff.

In response to my previous question on challenges in communities hiring trained recreation staff, the Minister of MACA acknowledges it was something that was recognized for quite some time.

I’d like to ask the Minister: Would he commit to following through with his commitment to meet with me to discuss these challenges, possibly redirecting financing to find solutions?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues.

We are all aware of the success of the trades program. If we can do it for instrumentation, carpentry, and hairdressers, why can’t we do it for recreation coordinators? Later on today I will have questions for the Minister of MACA on this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

A challenge for many smaller communities is teacher retention. Teacher turnover is high in small outlying communities, resulting in interrupted improvement efforts. Within the schools, the Decha school has frequently had no choice but to limit the recruitment efforts to teaching couples only due to a lack of housing.

Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to visiting my communities along with the superintendent of the South Slave district council to meet with me and the community to address the community’s ability to recruit and retain staff?

I thank the Minister for that response. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to improving funding for small outlying communities so that these communities will have adequate opportunity to provide basic quality high school programming for properly preparing students for both functional grade level and Alberta achievement tests?

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Mr. Speaker, I’d like to talk about recent discussions on government cutbacks and their potential impacts on operations on the South Slave District Education Council and the governing body for education for Lutselk’e and Fort Resolution.

The council was established in 1991 to administer K-to-12 education systems for Fort Smith, Hay River, Katlodeeche First Nation, Lutselk’e, and Fort Resolution. Council serves eight schools, with a total student population of approximately 1,800. The council is comprised of one representative in each of the five community...

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Speaker, there is potential for saving the result of the G.N.W.T. reduction in spending that could allow for re-profiling of important educational priorities such as literacy and numeracy.

Can the Minister confirm that there will be no G.N.W.T. funding cuts to South Slave schools?

Mr. Speaker, today I talked about the South Slave District Education Council, which had concerns over recent discussions of potential cutbacks and the need to reaffirm this government’s support. Will the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment honour the commitment to increase funding for special-needs support, trades and physical education instruction by reducing the PTR from 15:1 to 14:1 in the South Slave regional school?

Mr. Speaker, I too will be supporting the motion. I find the transfer of the public housing program to the Department of Education…. I don’t believe it was well thought out, and it was something I think has a good theoretical application but doesn’t apply practically. I think there’s enough work done on this side. It was felt the theory was that it would be an easy, smooth transfer over, and that all of the subsidies were going to try to be under one umbrella, and that they were going to attempt to have one-stop shopping for the tenants in the public housing.

As it turns out, it has complicated...