Wendy Bisaro

Again, it’s just one more thing that I think we need to add to the list of potential amendments to the act. I think, as legislators, we need to make sure that NWT residents are protected against potential financial liabilities, and we have to make sure that any legislation that we put in place around developments and so on ensures our people are going to be protected, that this government is going to be protected in having to pick up liabilities, whether it be through closure or whether it be through spills or whether it be through just bad practices as an industry.

I wanted to ask a question...

Thanks. I don’t need the exact section, so Mr. Fulford can stop searching. I guess my concern is that we could have decisions being made by an individual, I would hope not, but we could have decisions being made by an individual to exempt or waive or change royalties. So, my question further to this is whether or not there will be anything in regulation which will determine under what circumstances the Minister can exempt or change royalty payments. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week the Northwest Territories Teachers’ Association released a pan-northern study on teacher workload, entitled “Understanding Teacher Workloads.”

It is significant to me that the findings from this study are consistent with national and international research. In fact, across many sectors in North America, overwork is a growing problem marked by work intensification. This report’s findings show that although NWT teachers love their jobs and their students, they are burning themselves out, trying to deliver a quality product within a system that is not supporting...

Thanks, Madam Chair. I just thought there might be some Members who might like to make a few comments on the process and so on.

The report lays out pretty well, I think, and in a fair bit of detail the process we had to follow. Bills 1, 2 and 3 followed our normal process. They were read in the House to second reading and then referred to committee, and committee held a public hearing and asked for comment from the public, then held a public hearing and then reported it back to the House as ready for third reading.

But the other seven bills, the process has been kind of hijacked, I guess, is...

Thank you, Madam Chair. We would like to consider Committee Report 3-17(5), the report on the review of Bills 1, 2, 3 and other devolution legislation and, if we have time, Bills 10, 11 and 14.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 93(4) and move Committee Report 3-17(5) into Committee of the Whole for consideration today.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the commitment from the Minister, and I would hope that that information would be made public because I’m sure the teachers want to know what changes are coming down the pipe for them as well.

One of the things that is required, and the Minister has referenced it, in terms of junior kindergarten, there’s going to be training required for some of the teachers who are going to be going in and teaching junior kindergarten.

I’d like to ask the Minister if the school boards have been provided with funds to do the training that is required for new staff or is the...

Thanks to the Minister. I didn’t hear a specific answer to my question. Apparently we have to wait for the action plan for the ERI Strategy to come forward. My understanding is that that’s going to be, I think I’ve heard May, I think I’ve heard June. That doesn’t leave much time for anybody to get ready for initiatives in a few short months.

I’d like to know from the Minister if he can tell me, if the action plan is coming out in June, are there expectations that programs or changes other than junior kindergarten that will need to be implemented in September of 2014? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Now that I know that my friend Carmelita is up there, I’d like to recognize Carmel, a long-time friend and co-worker. I would also like to recognize Mr. David Wasylciw and Mrs. McLeod and Mr. Heppelle. Thank you.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Premier initiate a broad and thorough public review of all devolution-related legislation as soon as it is within the jurisdiction of the Government of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.