Thank you for continuing to look at is as you move forward, but I’m curious what, if any, assessment or analysis has been done to date about that program and the suitability of a diploma program in the North as opposed to a degree program. Actually, I don’t even think it’s a diploma, I think it’s a certificate program here in Yellowknife with a tie-in to the South. Has any analysis been done in partnership with Health and Social Services about the value and potential benefits? There is a chance that if we had a degree program, we could also increase our enrolment at the Aurora College program here in Yellowknife. So what kind of analysis has been done to date to test the feasibility or question the feasibility of changing it to a degree program?
Since it was brought to our attention, we shared with the college immediately, because it was the wish of the students and we haven’t conducted a feasibility study as of yet. The program that has been requested, we need to explore further, do our research and work with the southern institutions who can best deliver that program. We do have various partners in southern institutions, so we will be conducting those studies as well. Mahsi.
Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just briefly, since I think our first year of our term I’ve raised the concern that the Early Childhood Development Program produced child care workers that were not meeting federal standards. The Minister is aware of that. I’m just wondering, has anything ever been done to try and beef up that program to meet those standards. Thank you.
Deputy Minister Daniels.
We are in the process of reviewing the Early Childhood Training Program to see where we can make some changes to the program that’s being delivered through Aurora College, and to see what type of changes should be made to meet the needs of the operators here in the North, as well as to make sure that the standards are standards that would be recognized anywhere. Thank you.
I’ll take that as a no. I would urge this department to get that work done this year. There’s no need to wait for a review of our child development programs. This is a straightforward program in Aurora College that’s not up to standard. We don’t need to wait for a big, drawn out program next year to do this review. We simply need action, as we’ve been saying for our entire term, to get this up to standard. Will the Minister commit to doing that this year? Thank you.
Mr. Chair, we are working towards that and I understand there is a review that is being undertaken. We will be sharing this with the college as well. We did share with the college when the Member raised that issue a while back along with other courses that he’s highlighted. This has been addressed and we are working with the college and within our department as well. Mahsi.
Thanks for the Minister’s remarks. I wonder if the Minister could provide me with material on how it’s been addressed to date. Thank you.
We can provide that up-to-date information of our correspondence with the various parties. Mahsi.
Next I have Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This may not be something that’s directly the responsibility of the department, but maybe the Minister could deal with the college on this. One of the things that we’re finding just in general in the workforce is that a lot of the students that are completing the courses, they’re going into all kinds of different work environments and I’m wondering if there could be some sort of course that is preparing these students for work environments that they will encounter as they graduate from these programs. Thank you.
Since this is under the direction of the college, I will be more than willing to share that with the Board of Governors. I will be meeting with them. At the same time, I guess, some of the programs have also had practicums, but this information will be shared with the president and also the college itself. Mahsi.
Maybe just to put a little context to what I’m referring to, I know that some students are coming out of the college and graduating. Even sometimes in between year one and year two, they’re running into tough situations in the practicum or in the early stages and are not able to handle the varying types of management that is out there. So if the Minister is going to have a discussion with the Board of Governors, then that’s the context I am referring to. Something that is going to prepare them for the various types of management that they will encourage as they come out I think is essential. They are all going to have essentially the same types of education when they come out, but they won’t all have the same type of work environment when they enter the work field. So it would be good to prepare them for the various types of work environment that they will encounter. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I agree with the Member. Every student goes through a transition, whether it be practicum or wanting to be successful in management areas. We will be sharing this with the college. Mahsi.
Next I have Mr. Yakeleya.
Mr. Chair, I want to ask the Minister through working with the Board of Governors if they would work with high schools in small communities to implement a trade program in the school. I know the school in Tulita is working hard to see if they can get some funding. It’s over $100,000 to do a small trades program in Chief Albert Wright School. They are having a hard time to fundraise. Aurora College has a trades program. I wonder if that’s something that the Board of Governors and this Minister could look at creatively in conjunction with high schools that want to have trade programs in their schools. There are a lot of young people leaving our schools and they really want to go into the trades program. There is really nothing there for them in the communities in the Sahtu. It would be helpful if the Minister could look at something like that. That would be beneficial to the people in our communities.
Minister of Education, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Chair. As we know, in the Northwest Territories trades are in high demand. We have to focus on those students who are currently enrolled in high school. The college itself, they may have discussed it as a Board of Governors. I have to verify that with them. At the same time, within our department I did say we are looking on Trades on Wheels, similar to the Beaufort-Delta. I’m hoping that someday we’ll be in the Sahtu region, Deh Cho and other areas as well. So those are the key initiatives that we are discussing within our department with other potential partners as well. Mahsi, Mr. Chair.
I certainly hope the Board of Governors would make some concrete move in terms of working with our high school in our communities to implement a trades program within their term as governors. I hope Aurora College can do that for the people in our communities.
I also want to say that I hope they look at putting a trades school into some of our communities. I know this mobile program, Trades on Wheels, as the Minister talked about, but we need something more than mobile. We need something permanent, especially our communities that are against the Mackenzie Gas Pipeline route where there are some resources. That could be some of the industry that could be coming into our regions to extract some of the resources. We need some people out there that could have a career in some of those companies that are working in our region.
I want to ask the Minister in terms of the Teacher Education Program, is the Minister and his department encouraging teachers who are finishing the program, that this government is going to stand behind them to make sure they get jobs in the North in some of the small communities and they would be priority when they graduate from that program and we’ll have jobs for them in the communities?
Of course we want those teachers back in our communities, back in the North, those students that are studying down south. We’ll do what we can to work with those individuals so they can be hired through DEAs and DECs. DEAs and DECs hire their own teachers. I have to respect that, as well, and I need to work with them. So I’ll continue to do my part to hire as many teachers that are coming out of the system, showing them where various areas they can go to or contacts. So, Mr. Chair, this is an area we can work with, with the department. Mahsi.
Is that also the same type of support he’ll give for the other programs we offer at Aurora College? We are looking for a social worker in our community. I’ve already talked to the Minister about this. We’ve been waiting to get a social worker in one of my communities in the Sahtu. Is this the same type of support you’re going to give to the social workers in Aurora College?
We support all the students. We want them to be successful. It’s not only our department, it’s across departments, so I need to work with my colleagues. There is the Nursing Program and social work programming, teachers in our system. Those are the areas and professions that we want to place in our schools, in our nursing stations in our health care system. So it is our priority to work with them to push them in that direction. At the end of the day, it is their decision, Mr. Chair. So we’ll continue to push as a government. Mahsi.
The students I know from Sahtu, there is quite a significant number that went to Aurora College programs this year. Some went to other institutions, post-secondary institutions. We’ve provided them a lot of support. The communities support them. We need them back in our communities. I don’t know if the Minister had a quick hand in this in terms of getting some support into our communities by offering the practicum back into my community.
I talked earlier in the House about someone who was doing some programming in Grande Prairie and now there’s a possibility of her doing her practicum back in Tulita and work with some logistics with some support from this department and the Sahtu educational board. That’s the type of leadership we are looking for in our department. That’s what we’re looking for: getting our people back into our communities to be a good role model. So I do want to thank the Minister for whatever support he offers to me in that area.
It’s not a done deal yet, but it’s something that gives me some hope to open up some of the doors to support our young people. If we provide the support there for these young people, these nursing, social worker, teaching, we have to have the infrastructure there to bring them back. Some of these students that come out of these schools, they fight really hard just to get back into their communities while other students come out of their institutions down south and we open the door for them. We even throw the red carpet out for them to come to our community.
We’ve got to do the same thing with our students that we send out. We’ve got to also help them out there. That’s what I’m hoping to look for. Make sure we treat them all equally and fairly and especially with our northern students who are finishing these programs. That’s what they want. That’s what I’m asking this Minister to make sure that the mechanism is there to support our students. Once they finish the first year, second year, third or fourth year, that there’s an opening in the community for them. I just want to say that. Thank you.
Mr. Chair, yes, we will be working with the community DEAs and DECs. It is the community’s decision, as well, to hire those individuals, so we’ll be working closely with them and other professions as well. Mahsi.
We’re on page 10-37, information item, Arctic College, funding allocations. Agreed?
Agreed.
Moving on to 10-38, information item, work performed on behalf of others.
Agreed.
Page 10-39, again, information item, work performed on behalf of others.
Agreed.
Page 10-40, work performed on behalf of others, information item.
Agreed.
Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The NWT ice patch study I see is not being renewed this year. The study was to help decision-makers in the development of effective management strategies for archaeological sites, wildlife populations, traditional economies at risk of impacts from our changing climate. I’m wondering, we’ve spent, obviously, over $100,000 on this study. I don’t recall seeing any results from that. Is this something the Minister could provide? Could the Minister provide Members reports from this work?
Mr. Minister.
Mr. Chair, yes, that was a really good project in the Sahtu region and we can definitely provide that information. We do have that information. We don’t have it here with us but we’ll share it with the Members. Mahsi.
If we can move back to page 10-7, department summary, operations expenditure summary, $285.895 million.
Agreed.
Does the committee agree that we’ve concluded the Department of Education, Culture and Employment?
Agreed.
With that, I’d like to thank the Minister and your witnesses. Sergeant-at-Arms, could you escort the witnesses out. With that, I will rise and report progress.
Clarification. Mrs. Groenewegen, I believe that when we moved into Committee of the Whole, the direction was we were going to deal with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. Clarification; is that the direction? What’s the wish of the committee? Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that we report progress.
---Carried
Can I have the report of Committee of the Whole, please, Mr. Krutko.
Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Tabled Document 133-16(5), Northwest Territories Main Estimates, 2011-2012, and would like to report progress. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Motion is on the floor. Do we have a seconder? The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.
---Carried
Orders of the day for Thursday, February 17, 2011, at 1:30 p.m.:
Prayer
Ministers’ Statements
Members’ Statements
Reports of Standing and Special Committees
Returns to Oral Questions
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Acknowledgements
Oral Questions
Written Questions
Returns to Written Questions
Replies to Opening Address
Petitions
Reports of Committees on the Review of Bills
Tabling of Documents
Notices of Motion
Notices of Motion for First Reading of Bills
Motions
First Reading of Bills
Second Reading of Bills
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Tabled Document 4-16(5), Executive Summary of the Report of the Joint Review Panel for the Mackenzie Gas Project
Tabled Document 30-16(5), 2010 Review of Members’ Compensation and Benefits
Tabled Document 38-16(5), Supplementary Health Benefits - What We Heard
Tabled Document 62-16(5), Northern Voices, Northern Waters: NWT Water Stewardship Strategy
Tabled Document 75-16(5), Response to the Joint Review Panel for the Mackenzie Gas Project on the Federal and Territorial Governments’ Interim Response to “Foundation for a Sustainable Northern Future”
Tabled Document 103-16(5), GNWT Contracts over $5,000 Report, Year Ending March 31, 2010
Tabled Document 133-16(5), Northwest Territories Main Estimates, 2011-2012
Tabled Document 135-16(5), GNWT Response to CR 3-16(5): Report on the Review of the Child and Family Services Act
Bill 4, An Act to Amend the Social Assistance Act
Bill 14, An Act to Amend the Conflict of Interest Act
Bill 17, An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act
Bill 20, An Act to Amend the Evidence Act
Minister’s Statement 65-16(5), Devolution Agreement-in-Principle, Impact on Land Claims and Protection of Aboriginal Rights
Minister’s Statement 88-16(5), Sessional Statement
Report of Committee of the Whole
Third Reading of Bills
Orders of the Day
Thank you, Madam Clerk. Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until Thursday, February 17, 2011, at 1:30 p.m.
---ADJOURNMENT
The House adjourned at 8:04 p.m.
