Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee has been considering Tabled Document 3-17(3), Northwest Territories Main Estimates 2012-2013, and would like to report progress and that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

Okay. We will move on. Before we move on I will allow the Minister to respond to general comments. Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Are there any further general comments? Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Next on my list I have Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Sergeant-at-Arms, would you escort the witnesses into the House. Thank you.

Minister Abernethy, could you introduce your witnesses to the House, please.

I’d like to ask the Minister responsible for Human Resources if he has any opening remarks.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for his commitment. I guess I would like to ask the Minister, if he’s going to consult with French coordinators, I would ask him that he also consult with parents. There has been little, to my understanding, consultation with parents whose students are involved in this particular situation. It’s one thing for a French coordinator to say that this is the way it should be, but I would ask the Minister to consult with parents and to consult with students as well. Thank you.

I appreciate the response from the Minister. I’m having great difficulty because I have looked at a policy for secondary high school education from Alberta and from NWT and they do seem to be definitely different in that Alberta both policies state that any student can challenge any course. I need to obviously have a better explanation from the Minister as to why what I’m reading doesn’t obviously jibe with what he’s reading.

I guess I need to ask the Minister again why, when I read the policy, I see that French immersion students may not challenge a French first language exam, and yet it...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to bring some emphasis to a policy issue within the Education department, a policy which will affect the post-secondary aspirations of our high school students. I think Members know that the NWT high school curriculum follows that of Alberta and I ask why then do our policies not do the same.

Last September, Alberta Education, in a misguided move, determined that French second language exams could only be written by students taking those courses, that other students could not challenge the exam. Not surprisingly, NWT Education followed Alberta’s lead and we...

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Are we agreed to move to detail? Mr. Hawkins.