R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department, in recent years especially, has really been doing quite a bit in this area. Since 2018-2019, ECE has partnered with the University of Alberta's Canadian Indigenous Languages and Literacy Development Institute to deliver Indigenous language programs to community members. Approximately 130 participants have been involved in the NWT-sponsored program. Since 2018, ECE has awarded 29 Indigenous language revitalization scholarships, each worth $5,000, to support NWT students registered in an accredited post-secondary program with a focus on language...

The Member is referring to the academic freedom that universities have. Of course, Aurora College is not yet a university. It doesn't participate in the type of research that necessitates that type of academic freedom, necessarily, but I can assure the Member that the foundational review recommended developing an arm's-length body. The government response agreed that we need to develop an arm's-length body, and I personally can assure the Member that I am not going to preside over the creation of something similar to what we had. I am not going to repeat the mistakes of the past. When we are...

Mr. Speaker, the plans are to continue what we've been doing. I just mentioned a number of different programs that the department is involved with. Also, ECE is currently facilitating partnerships between post-secondary institutions and regional Indigenous governments, with the focus on helping communities build Indigenous language capacity to develop programming that strengthens Indigenous languages and encourages development at the community level. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our greatest northern resource is our people, and it is our responsibility to invest in and take steps to ensure their health and well-being.

On January 1, 2020, Northwest Territories residents will be able to access new and enhanced types of employment leave to protect their jobs when faced with important or challenging moments in life.

These challenges align with the Government of Canada's amendments to the Employment Insurance program and the Canada Labour Code and allow the Northwest Territories to remain competitive with other jurisdictions by offering employees the...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following three documents. "Aurora College Corporate Plan 2019-2020"; "Aurora College Annual report 2018-2019"; and "2018-2019 Annual Report on Official Languages." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. I look forward to seeing if that happens, but it's a little strange, I guess, that, after one Assembly, we give this increase. Usually, you know, if we're budgeting, you might have to have a few years' overages before you work that into the base, so I look forward to seeing the work that this committee does in this Assembly. Thank you.

No, I am brand new in the job, and I plan on reviewing all the budgets that ECE has, to make sure that we are doing things properly.

ECE and YK1 have also been in talks about maintenance plans. The Department has offered to assist YK1. You know, we have the Department of Infrastructure here that specializes in this kind of stuff, and so the GNWT is offering assistance to help develop a maintenance plan so that some of these maintenance costs can be dealt with in a more timely fashion perhaps, or at least there could be a plan in place to avoid some of these emergency expenditures like the...

The surplus at YK1, according to the 2018-2019 financial statements, the total operating surplus, is 1.7 million, and that includes $900,000 in the capital fund reserve.

I am going to try to make it to as many schools as I can. I believe we have 49. I'm going to see what I can do this Assembly. Fort Resolution is right near Hay River, so that will be an easy one. My new deputy minister, who I am lucky to have, is a former principal. One of the first things she did is told me about what a big impression it makes on students when the Minister comes to their school and engages them, and it got me excited about it. I look forward to it. I look forward to getting to some of the places where I don't normally get to go, places like Lutselk'e. I can't make any...

ECE provides funding to all the education bodies in the Northwest Territories based on the School Funding Framework, and that, essentially, is based on the number of students who are enrolled. Then once the regional education body receives that funding, it allocates it to individual schools. It is the principals of those schools who determine how that funding is best used. When there are declining enrollments, that means there is less money. That means there are fewer teachers.

This is something that was discussed at length in the last Assembly, and I know that there were comments made that we...