Thank you. I will now open the floor to general comments on the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. Any questions? Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to make a few comments to the infrastructure for the Department of Education. I wanted to ask the department, when they are doing their capital planning or their needs assessment, if the community of Colville Lake is in line anywhere in the needs assessment for a new learning centre.
They are operating out of an older unit. They have some pretty good success by having a person in there working with the community and the older people. I think that it’s about time that this community be looked at as a community where a learning centre can be brought in and established to have a proper facility to upgrade, do specific community projects in education or culture and even with employment training, if Colville Lake could be identified as a community where a possible learning centre could be worked in the capital needs or capital planning process.
I know the Minister of Finance has said that money is going to be an issue and I do agree with the Minister; however, we could look beyond these next four years to see if that is something that is possible. …(inaudible)...infrastructure in their existing colleges. There were even discussions in the last Assembly on Yellowknife looking at a campus. There are lots of discussions on those types of infrastructure.
I guess I wanted to ask the Minister to keep your eye on the ball on some of the communities that don’t have facilities such as learning centres or campuses, if some discussion could happen around a new school for Colville Lake and a learning centre combination of a whole bunch of things, how we can move in that type of direction.
I spoke to the Minister of Public Works. Now I want to speak to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment on the washroom facilities in this school. There are upgraded washroom facilities – I know a lot of people use them in camping situations – and I wonder if the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment could think about putting some upgraded washroom facilities in Colville Lake School, since the Minister of Public Works says it will be another year for that washroom in Colville Lake portable and the log building school won’t be useable.
I’m asking for some creativity from this department or this government here. Look at other ways rather than saying, well, too late. I think they need to wake up and smell the honey bucket here, on this issue here. There are 53 people that work in this building here. If you bring that situation to this building here for 53 people, you’re going to have a public outcry. You’re going to have a huge, huge demonstration. People will not stand for it. Why do we allow our kids in Colville Lake and say it’s tolerable? Tolerate this. We can’t even use the outside outhouses. It’s too cold. You don’t allow little kids to do that. At one time it was okay, but we’ve moved beyond that.
So I’m asking for some creativity from this department so those facilities, those units… There’s no proper ventilation in the school for those honey buckets, and I said before, the smell isn’t always great, but we expect the little kindergartens, grade fours and grade threes to live with it and be okay with it. We also put our teachers in those types of situations. It’s not a very good learning and educational type of environment.
I don’t think any one of us in this building here would want to put our kids through that situation. It would be a bloody outcry from parents and from teachers. So I ask the Minister if he would look at some of those creativities to put proper washroom facilities in the school. If he is so convinced that the Department of Public Works can’t do it and it will be operational next year and MACA can’t put in the sewer lagoon. I already said there’s a sewer lagoon being used right now in Colville Lake, so a sewer truck there right now used in Colville Lake. If you fly there you will see the situation.
I guess I’m trying to put this issue on the table so we can have a good learning environment, because right now they’re not taking it very seriously, because what are they doing about the situation there? It’s almost like a joke. I guess that’s something that I want to ask the Minister here in the general comments.
In Deline they’re looking at doing some work on their school, hopefully, by the people. They want a new school in Deline also, but I want to ask the Minister if he could provide me with the process of the needs to go in to renovate the school or to put a new school in Deline. What is the comparison? What is the analysis? What will it take?
In Colville Lake I know they need one; there’s no doubt about it. There are boxes and boxes of stacked material, written material in the school. They’re running out of space. They should at least put in a proper building there for space to store some of their building supplies, educational supplies. They’re doing the best they can, those teachers in Colville Lake. God bless their souls; God bless their hearts for doing the best they can. I think we need to pull up our socks in the Government and do all that we can to help the teachers help the kids.
So I want to ask the Minister those two big ones. Fort Good Hope is looking for some help with their track and field. They have a brand new school, thanks to the government, thanks to the Minister, but there is a lot behind the school that is not developed and they want to put a proper track and field facility in there. They just don’t have that type of dollars; we heard that already.
Those are some of my general comments to the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. The needs are high. The money is not too much. We need to remember our small communities or some of the things that we don’t have that some of the larger centres have. We need to go back and relook at those, and revisit those and put those needs in the small communities. My people, our goals and aspirations are no different than anybody else in the Northwest Territories. We are looking for help there also. Those are my comments from the Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Just to let the Members know here, we have Mr. Yakeleya, Mr. Hawkins, Ms. Bisaro, Mr. Bromley, Mr. Blake, in that order. I will turn over the comments to Minister Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Chair. The school we just discussed with the PWS Minister and now we are dealing with ECE, I’m not sure how we can change the picture. We did commit and the sewage tank, of course, is going in as soon as possible in the early winter so it can be ready for summer when we talk about the washroom, upgrading the washroom facility area. Our department is working on that. We want to have the completion by summer as well. It will be ready for the next school year.
We need to work closely with the Member, of course, and also with the Sahtu Board of Education on this work and with other work, as well, where the Member also talked about the learning centre. Again, the Member indicated that the fund is an issue. It is a pressing issue in the Northwest Territories and we’re strapped on how much we can spend, and also for capital infrastructure in the Northwest Territories. We have to be mindful of that, that we are servicing 33 communities so the funding can only stretch so much.
There has been a previous federal engagement, their contribution towards Hay River Reserve, Tsiigehtchic and also Lutselk’e for learning centres. This could be another collaboration with the federal government. In my rule as a Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, I will be pursuing and asking those questions, how we can partner up again in this matter.
When we talk about the new schools in Deline and Colville Lake, as the Member indicated, there are, of course, processes that we have to follow, again, with the funding that is allocated for the whole Northwest Territories. We will be discussing those areas. I totally agree with the Member when he says a good learning environment. Each and every community should have a good learning environment. We are very serious about this particular issue that is before us in Colville Lake and now washroom issue, the running water. This is an area that has been discussed and the Member raised that issue in the House before, so we are serious and we are moving forward. We are going to have some remedy by summer with this particular school. Mahsi, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Minister. Next on my list is Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Under ECE my questions are more built around… I feel like I have raised this question many times. I would like to ask some details as to where I may find some future investment if not present investment into both the Mildred Hall Elementary School as well as the Ecole J.H. Sissons School. I know that they get on the capital plan, then they are taken off the capital plan and then they are back on and off. I have to tell you it feels like we’re doing the hokey-pokey dance with those particular schools. It’s very frustrating for the school board as well as the two schools specifically themselves, knowing that their schools keep getting ignored.
I say this now, of course I hate following Mr. Yakeleya’s concern because his concern I want to lend my strength to which is a very serious one, of course, but all schools have their own issues. He’s been advocating well for his. I will give him credit for that.
Today I need help from the Minister of Education to explain where are both Sissons and Mildred Hall on the capital needs assessment plan. As I understood it, they were in line for investment. I don’t see them in there in the capital plan for us, so I’m trying to get a sense of where is the commitment from the department. When can we see planning dollars committed to fulfilling on the promises of finishing?
I can go into great detail as to what the issues are there. The Minister is well aware. The deputy minister is well aware. The department is well aware of these particular problems. I think the school board and many of the parents that take their kids there are kind of getting tired of the fact that their schools are being ignored and wondering where that is, especially in light of the big super schools being built. Let’s start with that, Madam Chair. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Minister Lafferty.
Madam Chair, these two particular schools the Member is referring to have been in discussion during the capital planning projects. As I stated before, there are other pressing issues and matters that are before this department and other departments, as well, throughout the Northwest Territories. We are dealing with 49 different schools as well. I can assure the Member that from within our internal funding we have identified some funds to cover, or also the costs of internal planning on Ecole J.H. Sissons School. There is planning that is going to be undertaken for that particular school. Mildred Hall we want to move forward on, but we just didn’t have the funds to move forward at this time. Those are some of the areas that my department have been dealing with with other departments.
As I stated, we are to keep in mind that there are other pressing issues that are before us when we deal with all of these matters that are before us. Mahsi, Madam Chair.
If I could just get some clarity on what internal planning dollars for Sissons actually means and the size. Actually, let me rephrase the question. Will a planning study be done? I guess all that really matters is this: Will a planning study be done in this particular fiscal year, 2012-2013? Will that be done in a way to identify the work that needs to be done to retrofit Sissons School? Thank you.
There are the planning studies that we have undertaken with other projects so we can identify what is needed, what kind of work that needs to be done and to identify the resources that we need, the funding. Also potential partnership with other partners as well. This particular area, of course, again using our internal resources so we can move this project along potentially to become a capital project as we move forward.
I have to admit I found the answer a little on the confusing side. What will actually be done this budget year that I can take back to the parents at Sissons and even the school board to say guess what is going to happen this year, is a real commitment on some resolve to do something. What deliverable can I take back to both the constituents, be it the school board, be it the school, be it the families? I am just trying to give them something that they understand, something that is simple and clear. Thank you.
We’re in December now, so we’re talking about potentially starting up in 2012 with the planning study and completion by fall of 2013. Mahsi.
Thank you. Anything further, Mr. Hawkins? Mr. Hawkins is done. Next on the list, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to support my colleagues Mr. Hawkins and Ms. Bisaro in raising this issue in seeking some focus, as the Minister has offered towards moving forward on the Sissons School maintenance deficit and renovations are clearly required.
I’m wondering where we’re at with pellet boilers with our schools. How many schools do we have in the Northwest Territories and how many of them are now using wood pellet heat and are there opportunities for additional movement in that direction? Maybe that’s something the Minister could provide at a later date.
I guess with my last point I wanted to mention Aurora College and the serious timeframe situation we’re in there with I believe the lease running out in the next year or so. Obviously the campus needs some serious work and vision and I’m wondering where the department is on that. What’s being done? I know we’ve had the occasional updates from time to time, a review of schools and so on. There used to be some talk about the Con Mine facility, some potential out there. So I’d appreciate an update on that. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister Lafferty.
Mahsi, Madam Chair. With respect to wood pellet boiler systems, we don’t have the exact number of how many schools. We have 49 schools. I know for a fact that Chief Jimmy Bruneau School is on a wood pellet boiler system and I’m sure there might be a couple more, but we can get that information for the Members.
Aurora College lease, yes, it’s up in 2012. We’re fully aware of it. We’ve been working with the landlord and, as we speak, a letter is going out requesting an extension so we can plan for if there’s going to be a new building or how it is going to look and when is that going to be taken into effect or options that we need to work on. So we just need more time in that area. As you know, again, the capital funding is far stretched and unfortunately we’re not at that point where we can talk about a new facility for the college at this point, but we need to come up with some options. So we are requesting an extension, Madam Chair. Mahsi.
I appreciate that response. How long will the extension be for? I am concerned that we’ve known about this situation for a long time and obviously have not planned for it, or we’ve had higher priorities. So what are we doing to make sure that we do plan for it at the end of whatever period of extension we are proposing to pursue on the lease? Thank you.
We are requesting a minimum two years and up to five years so we can start planning for upcoming capital projects. Mahsi.
I appreciate that information from the Minister. That’s a pretty short timeframe given our financial situation, I guess. It might challenge us, but I guess I’m just hoping that we will be hearing about a long-term plan to get something in place for Aurora College Yellowknife Campus and we need to be very explicit in our thinking to be able to achieve that plan.
Yes, I’d appreciate the information on the schools. I know K’alemi Dene School, for example, in Ndilo is a pellet one. I think we renovated St. Joe’s and I think there are four or five in Hay River being done this year, maybe some in Fort Smith, but in each one there are significant savings. So I’d appreciate a look at what the opportunities might be to help on the cost side, as well as our other broad government goals. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. I didn’t hear a question there. Did you want to respond, Minister Lafferty?
Madam Chair, we will definitely provide that information. As I stated, there are several schools that have initiated wood pellet boiler systems and I’ve only highlighted a couple. So we’ll definitely provide that detailed list. Mahsi.
Thank you, Minister. I appreciate that. Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I haven’t had the opportunity to thank the department for the new learning centre in Tsiigehtchic, a job well done in the 16th Legislative Assembly and the people really appreciate that.
I just want to move on to the school in Aklavik. From our updates, it hasn’t been on the priority list and the school is between 30 and 40 years old. I’d like to see that put on the priority list as soon as possible. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. Minister Lafferty.
Mahsi, Madam Chair. The school in Aklavik, as the Member indicated, is a fairly old building. We will be discussing that and we will be visiting the community as well. To be part of the capital projects, of course, the Member can I guess refer that matter to the capital process. So this is the time to start planning for the next capital projects. So we’ll definitely be mindful of that. Mahsi.
Thank you, Minister. Nothing further, Mr. Blake? Okay, thank you, Mr. Blake. Any other for opening comments? Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Just some general comments. I think we can all agree that a school is an essential institution to a community and I mean we’ve had a history of the institutions establishing themselves in communities and then we have children brought into the schools and there’s a need for parents to live in close quarters to their children. So whenever you have a school it, of course, becomes an essential institution of the community. So there’s always a support system in place to ensure that the school is successful and also that it produces successful members of society. I think that’s the goal that we all strive for.
In the Dec Cho constituency, there are schools in the larger communities, but at the same time smaller communities always aspire and want to ensure that there’s an established institution so that parents have the opportunity to be close to the children and ensure that we have the greatest impact of molding these future citizens of society in their primary years. So it’s really integral that we have that opportunity as parents to ensure that we embellish the right virtues and principles to kids that we raise as our children.
I wanted to point out, too, that in terms of the languages, I’m very conscious and try to speak my language whenever I’m given the opportunity and we’re also challenged just by the demography in terms of what age you’re at, in terms of how often our language is used. So I understand there are challenges in ensure that our languages are retained. There are always ways to try to maybe improve it in terms of strategies. I know there have been efforts to revitalize the state of the languages. Of course, language and culture are relative to each other, so they go hand in hand.
One of the big things that I always really strongly believed in is training and training opportunities. We have some very large projects in terms of development projects coming down the rank for the Northwest Territories at some point and I think we need to ensure that we prepare our workforce, our labour force. There is a very vital need at local communities that we have people that get access to trades, so that we have an abundance, or at least so the local community people that could safely provide services to furnaces, that kind of stuff; electrical wiring in our local communities. At the same time, we have people who are trained to be certified plumbers as well. There’s a real recognized need at the local level that we have people who can provide those services and are from the community and trained locally. They’re certified in the end and, at the same time, they contribute to the overall functioning of society.
On those points, I just wanted to at least raise those points, given the opportunity, too, if I could ask a question.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Madam Chair. I totally agree with the Member when he’s referring to the importance of having schools. They are the linkage to the communities. It’s also the centre of the overall GNWT goals and objectives.
The language is of importance, as well, where we have an Aboriginal Languages Strategy that’s before us and has been initiated by this group through consultation with over 200 experts around the Northwest Territories. We are moving forward with that. I do try to speak my language as well. I encourage other Members if they can speak their language, to pursue that even further in the House.
Another area that the Member has touched on is the importance of training. Whether it be the trades, having local journeymen in the community who can train those individuals, whether there be apprentices working under them or working in collaboration with industries at the community or local level. We need to have a working collaboration with the college, as well, because we do have those ticketholders, along with other departments such as PWS and local community organizations such as the Housing Corporation and so forth.
What’s been brought forward is there have been a lot of opportunities that the Member has referred to. I’m definitely looking forward as Education, Culture and Employment Minister on how we can make those changes, working side by side with the college as we move into the 2012 new year and reflecting on the priorities and planning of this 17th Assembly government. Decentralizing was a key topic that we discussed.
I just wanted to follow up with a question to the Minister. For one, I think the community of Enterprise... I’ve raised this in the House with other departments, but I think this is more a designation for Education, Culture and Employment. The leadership of Enterprise have expressed that they want to see if they can establish a school in Enterprise. I think they’ve also indicated that they want to see if there’s a way to meet the governments half way. More likely my presumption is that there’s been some plans set in place in the previous Assembly and that the community is quite willing to discuss what it is that is possible in terms of perhaps establishing, maybe in addition to their hamlet office, more classrooms so that students could be housed locally, educated locally. There are concerns of putting all their children on the bus and then bussing them to Hay River on a daily basis. Has the Minister perhaps established communications or meetings with the leadership there to ensure that they work in partnership with the local leaders?
I’d like to thank the Member for raising that issue. He has raised that issue with us. We want to move forward on this. We did send out a letter back in the summer to Enterprise, to identify the process of establishing a school, the requirements that need to be met.
I’m glad to hear that the Member is referring to wanting to meet the government half way. Anything we can do to assist, my department will be there to assist the community of Enterprise to move this further along. It could be part of the capital projects as we move forward where the community does not have a school at this point.
Bussing those students, there are some concerns and safety factors that have been discussed with our department. We want to move forward on this and it could be attached to the hamlet office, as the Member has referred to. Those are the discussions and options that we need to have with the community. We sent a letter on the specific requirements on the process, so we’re looking forward to having that dialogue with the community again.
I have another. In terms of languages and culture, I know there have been efforts to try and ensure that the languages survive. I think over the course of the past few years there have been efforts to try and significantly note the status of Aboriginal languages in Canada. You can only do so much. There are of course local initiatives but what’s more important, too, is just ensuring that parents and families do in fact try to teach their children to ensure that the language is kept. At what point would the Minister maybe designate languages going into extinction or going into decline? Just to ensure that it’s given priority.
First and foremost, I’d like to commend Fort Providence’s language immersion which has been very successful to date. I think that needs applause, a pat on the back, for sure.
We want to create more of those language immersion programs into the schools. We need the language speakers, as well, to become teachers. Every opportunity with the federal Ministers over the last four years I’ve raised that issue about the importance of our languages. We are losing our languages, especially in the Far North. The Gwich’in are losing their language rapidly. As for some of the languages such as Tlicho are still a bit strong, but we are losing our language to the little ones.
Language has always been at the forefront of our discussions with the federal Minister responsible for Official Languages, Minister Moore. We’ll continue to push that forward.
I would like to see language immersion in all schools as much as possible with the resources, with the teachers that we may have. We want to produce more Aboriginal language speakers as teachers to come out of the post-secondary schools and come back to our communities. This is one of the priorities of my department as we move forward.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. There are no further speakers on my list. Are we agreed that general comments are concluded?
Agreed.
Are we okay with moving on to detail?
Agreed.
We will bypass page 8-2 as it is the summary. If we could move to page 8-4, Education, Culture and Employment, activity summary, advanced education, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $1.401 million.
Agreed.
Page 8-7, Education, Culture and Employment, activity summary, education and culture, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $12.344 million. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Just one quick question here. I see the Kaw Tay Whee School in Detah is up for some much needed work, renovation. There has been a concern about mould in that community. I’m wondering if that problem has been taken care of or is this the work that’s meant to take care of that problem.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Daniels.
Thank you, Madam Chair. This project is meant to reconfigure some space in the school. Currently there is some office space that’s being used for storage, so this project will be more to address the issues of increasing or adding some storage space to the school, doing some work on the lighting in the school and addressing some of the administrative space needs in the school. The other matter is with respect to moisture in the school and that is ongoing work that we’re working closely with Public Works and Services on currently.
Just to confirm that, obviously there are some health concerns and so on there. Can the Minister confirm that that work will finish up fairly quickly and take care of that problem?
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Madam Chair. My understanding is that through Public Works and Services and in consultation with ECE, this is an issue that they want to expedite as best as they could to remedy the situation within the school.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Page 8-7, Education, Culture and Employment, activity summary, education and culture, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $12.344 million.
Agreed.
Page 8-2, Education, Culture and Employment, department summary, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $13.745 million.
Agreed.
