Wendy Bisaro

Frame Lake

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 10)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I, too, have a number of comments, and answers can come later on. I may ask further questions when we get to detail, but I just have some observations and some comments that I’d like make comparing last year to this year and so on.

I’d like to comment, first of all, about the Workforce Planning Strategy. I’m really glad that we have that and that it’s still being worked on. One of the things that we noticed, particularly in the last budget or the budget before that, was the number of retirees. I shouldn’t say number of retirees. The number of employees we have who are...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 10)

Thanks, Mr. Speaker. I think I heard the Minister say we have those numbers. All I have in the written response is the current ratio is 13 to 1 and the legislated ratio is 16 to 1. I would like to know what we are moving to, and if that’s what the Minister said that he will get for us, then I very much look forward to that information, if he could confirm, please. Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 10)

Thanks to the Minister. I’m not so worried about the engagement. I know that the superintendents and the board chairs and the boards have been involved all along and that they have known about this initiative. My question is: When were they advised that their funding was going to be reduced for the ‘14-15 budget year? If the Minister doesn’t have that information, that’s fine, I can appreciate that, but it’s my understanding that it wasn’t very long ago; that they were not advised of the funding at the time the project was put forward.

The Minister mentioned that the superintendents had...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 10)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister for those numbers. The Minister said in his response that our education authorities are run by professional administrators, and I totally agree with the Minister, and I, too, have confidence in those authorities and in the trustees that run the boards, but my understanding is that it’s been fairly late notice for these reductions to the superintendents and to the boards and gives them little time to adjust.

I would like to ask the Minister, for my information, when were the education authorities advised of these reductions, these changes in pupil...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 10)

I didn’t really hear an answer there so I will try again. My understanding is that, for instance, the two school districts in Yellowknife, Yellowknife Education District No. 1 and Yellowknife Catholic Schools will lose funding to provide junior kindergarten in 29 communities and they will not get kindergarten in the ’14-15 year.

My question to the Minister is: Does he consider it fair that the larger centres, four communities, will give up some funding with no return in ’14-15?

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 10)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday a banner was unfurled at Yellowknife Education District No. 1, a banner celebrating 2014 as the anniversary of 75 years of Educating for Life. Seventy-five years ago, on January 30, 1939, the original little log cabin schoolhouse now on Franklin Avenue in downtown YK was opened as the first school in Yellowknife. Eighteen students aged from six to 15 years attended classes under the guidance of Mr. Davies, their temporary teacher. A month later Ms. Mildred Hall arrived, the first permanent teacher for Yellowknife.

Life in Yellowknife was very basic in those...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 10)

Thank you, Madam Chair. We wish to conclude general comments on the budget and start with opening comments on the Department of Human Resources. Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 9)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That confirms what I had believed, that yes, it’s not in there.

The Minister, in his budget address, talked about 5 percent. Today was the first day that I heard that he was talking about 5 percent in ‘15-16. In all our discussions previous to this, I have never been advised that this 5 percent was not intended for the ‘14-15 budget.

I don’t have a question here, but I am quite dismayed that we’ve been led down a garden path and the only amount that’s going into the Heritage Fund for this ‘14-15 year is $250,000. Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 9)

It gets more confusing every time the Minister answers a question, I think.

The Minister says that the money will not flow until ‘15, late ‘15 or early ‘16. I understand that, but if that’s the case, then the money is not flowing in until that same time, yet we are recording money flowing in in ‘14-15, so why are we not recording the money flowing out in ‘14-15? I’m not talking about the actual cash transaction; I am talking about the records on the books. We’re not going to get the cash until ‘15-16, so why are we recording it in ‘14-15? Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 9)

Currently, I don’t believe we have anything which states that there will be any kind of an annual reporting mechanism, and that also needs to be in legislation.

The last one is to continue citizen engagement to ensure the public support and the long-term viability and success of the Heritage Fund. It’s very important that the public understands and supports what we’re trying to do with the Heritage Fund, that we’re trying to save for the future, that we’re trying to ensure that we have revenues in the future when our resource revenues are gone. The fund belongs to the residents of the NWT, and...