R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not sure if that's the team that would support principals and teachers in small communities. If that's the case, that has been delayed. But we are working on that one. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 47, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act, No. 2, be read for the third time. And Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Every time I speak with a federal minister, I bring the concerns of the territory to that Minister. And this is a perfect example of an issue that I'd be happy to bring to the Minister and have those discussions to let them know about the unique nature of the Northwest Territories, the rates of violence that we see here, and the concerns that are being raised. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have that information. Perhaps I can check the dashboard. Everything in the action plan that was a response to the Office of the Auditor General report is online in the progress tracker. And so when an item is in progress, that is noted on the online tracker. So I don't have that information but I can check that out and let the Member know. Thank you.

Thank you. So Education, Culture and Employment oversees this act, and as such we undertook engagement on whether or not this day should be a statutory holiday in the Northwest Territories.

The Department of the Executive and Indigenous Affairs is going to be leading phase 2 of the engagement, and they are preparing an engagement plan. They will be engaging with Indigenous governments, residential school survivors, and so on, to determine how to properly commemorate the date. Thank you.

Yes, I would.

In favour.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And as I said earlier, we're not going to have a school in place for this upcoming school year.

I can say that, you know, there are some roadblocks with the Education Act with the way all the districts are drawn, and so I know the Member has stated that hamlet doesn't want to work with or to have the Hay River involved but I think the Hay River DEA does need to be involved at this point. That's probably the easiest way to get things done. I've had meetings with representatives from Enterprise and the DEA, and there was discussions about perhaps starting small, having a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, we can't have a I can't commit to having a school in place by September. Schools need to be constructed or space would need to be renovated. There would need to be amendments to likely the Education Act. There's too much work to be done to have a school in place by September.

That being said, I have met with representatives from Enterprise, and I'm happy to continue to meet with them and have discussions as well as with the Hay River DEA, who are also involved in those discussions. Thank you.

Thank you. To my right, I have Andrea Giesbrecht, director of labour, development, and standards. It's her second appearance in front of committee. And on my left, Stephen Flanagan, legislative division with the Department of Justice, and it is his first time appearing in Committee of the Whole. Thank you.