Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Being Education Week I want to ask the Minister of Education a few questions regarding the Sahtu. Mr. Speaker, education, either you’re on the land, and my people always wanted to be successful even on the land. Now today in the new world of making a living we want to be successful.
Mr. Speaker, on the land we had an open university. In the Sahtu now we have Aurora College centres. I noted that many of our students are now leaving the Sahtu region for other centres for their educational careers. I want to ask the Minister. When he is talking with his colleagues about capital planning, if they would look at the possibility of some serious discussions around looking at the need for a Sahtu trades centre in the region. Would the Minister commit to that?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Let me first commend those students that are pursuing their higher education. We support those students 100 percent to fulfill their dream and come back successfully into our Sahtu region or other regions in the Northwest Territories. With this Sahtu trades centre, the Member had approached us a while ago and we are working on the key aspects of gathering information and we need to work with Aurora College in that respect as well. We’re talking about the community learning centres, as well, and combining those and how it would look. But we are working on that, gathering the information and seeing where it takes us from there. Mahsi.
Thank you. The Minister indicated that they are working on gathering information; and being quite familiar with the process of moving it through the stages to a vote for capital needs, that’s quite a distance away. So I want to ask the Minister when you are gathering information within the time frame of this government, would this continue to the next government in terms of having a clear picture on whether the Sahtu will receive some good news to say that a Sahtu trades centre is coming down the tube and putting it in the books for some discussion in the House?
Mahsi. That is the information that we are gathering, the needs assessment of the community, a trades centre versus a community learning centre that we have currently. So it could be a part of the discussion on the upcoming capital planning, but it all depends on the information that we do receive and we’ll try to expedite the process along with other major capital projects that we may be faced with. So we’ll do what we can as a department to push this towards the capital planning process. Mahsi.
Thank you. Has the department looked at other avenues to support this initiative, or partnerships in the region or in the North to look at where some cost savings can be looked at? Because there are other needs also. I hear from Members that want to have institutions in the North also.
Mahsi. Any assistance the Member can provide, we’d really appreciate it and discussing a partnership approach has always been our push as the Government of the Northwest Territories, we’re always seeking out potential partners. So we will be seeking out what kind of capacities are out there with regards to partnerships. So those are discussions that are open for us as well. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Your final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister is certainly showing me a little love here in terms of putting this Sahtu trades centre. Would the Minister bring forward this discussion to the next Aurora College Board for serious discussion to look at a trades centre in the Sahtu in order to move it to the next step of putting it in the books?
I do believe there is a Board of Governors meeting coming up and the Sahtu has a representative on there. I’m sure that individual will bring that discussion forward. This will likely be the topic of discussion at that level.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have some questions today for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment going back to my Member’s statement when I talked about a stand-alone campus for Aurora College located here in Yellowknife.
Yesterday I was asking some questions of the Minister of Health and Social Services about planning dollars and found out that there’s $900,000 in planning for Stanton. I’m wondering if Education has any planning money in the works for a new stand-alone campus for Aurora College here in Yellowknife.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. What I can tell the Member is that this is an area that we’ve been discussing for a number of years now. The lease is coming up as well. We need to plan for that this fall. The stand-alone campus we’ve been discussing with other jurisdictions as well, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Nunavut, and other jurisdictions about how we can move forward as a university of the North. We talk about the campus here and we talk about a university of the North building on the existing campuses.
This is an area that’s important for our department and we’ll continue to push forward. I will keep the Members up to speed on what’s been happening with our discussion. A recent discussion that I had just the other day I will provide that information to the Members as well.
The current space that the college utilizes at Northern United Place obviously isn’t conducive to a college campus. There’s no parking, there’s not enough room there. They obviously need a new building. I’d like to ask the Minister if there will be any planning dollars in the capital plan come this fall. I know there’s going to be an election in October, but I’d like to ask if there will be any planning dollars for this campus come the capital plan this fall.
That’s a discussion we need to have. I can’t stand here and say, yes, we’re going to commit dollars. We need to discuss further with the capital planning projects that will be before us. If we need to commit a certain amount of dollars towards the planning studies for the college campus, then we will do that. We need to discuss that further. At that point in time we need to highlight what the priorities are. This is one of the priorities we’ve been working towards, so we will be discussing it further if we need to allocate the funding at that time.
Obviously I think the planning dollars are going to be important to getting the government’s commitment to building a stand-alone college campus here in Yellowknife. Yesterday we found out there’s $900,000 in planning for Stanton. I’m thinking that’s coming from the capital plan that’s being developed by the government. If one Minister can say there is money, why can’t the other Minister say that there’s going to be some money? Where is the commitment in the capital plan that’s coming this fall to get planning dollars for the Aurora College stand-alone campus here in Yellowknife? We need a commitment.
I’m fully committed to working towards the planning stages. We are at that point where we’re working towards the capital planning projects. I did indicate in this House that I’m committed to working towards that and identifying dollars. The planning stages are in play and the capital planning process will be before us this summer. We’ll move forward in this regard as a discussion and then see what comes out of that. If we need to allocate funding, then definitely we’ll talk about that at that time.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Justice. I’ll give him a little bit of a break from the education venue. Workplace harassment and workplace bullying are something which I think we are becoming more and more aware of. I think it’s existed for a very long time and is all too common. I think we are becoming more aware that employers do not necessarily treat their employees fairly.
I’d like to ask the Minister of Justice what legislation or regulations currently exist in the NWT to deal with workplace harassment or workplace bullying.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister responsible for Justice, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Within our Justice department we do have a Human Resource Policy that deals with the specifics of if there’s harassment in the work environment or if there’s verbal abuse and so forth. We do have those policies in place and work closely with the Human Resources department as well. Those policies do go through some changes, as well, that reflect up-to-date information we receive from the general public. We’ll continue to make those changes as necessary.
The Minister referenced a policy within the Department of Justice. My concern, I guess, is for employees outside of the GNWT. If someone in a private firm feels they are being harassed or bullied, what recourse do they have to try and make their workplace situation more tolerable?
Those are the areas that we continue to get complaints from various parties and we deal with them either through the employers or through our Justice department. The avenue they may have with respect to certain types of complaints that may be brought forward, it all depends on the case-by-case basis. We need to work with those individuals as the need arises. Again it can be an interdepartmental initiative as well. Our Justice department is available to the general public if there are any issues pertaining to that and also with Human Resources.
Thanks to the Minister. I appreciate that information that the general public does have the opportunity to go to the Department of Justice for assistance. Several other provinces in Canada and the Canadian government itself have implemented, over the last five to six years, legislation which deals with workplace harassment and bullying. I’d like to ask the Minister whether that is something that this government might consider to either change an existing act or to bring in a new act that would deal with harassment and bullying in the workplace.
This particular area is not just our jurisdiction; it’s a national issue. Workplace and bullying harassment that’s happening within our work environment or outside our work environment. So there is a strategy in place at the national stages and we’re part of the discussion through the Justice department, whether it be the public safety, Education department as well. I will keep the Members posted on if there are going to be any changes or acts that are coming into play. We are looking at various options from other jurisdictions as well.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. I guess I’m just not quite clear. I’d like to ask again, he mentions a national initiative. Is the Minister saying that nationally across the board all provinces and territories are working on something and that we are part of that? Because there are Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec who currently have their own legislation.
Each jurisdiction provides their own issues or challenges before two federal Ministers along with provincial and territorial Ministers. Saskatchewan and other jurisdictions have their own. We want to take advantage of that so we don't reinvent the wheel and see if they can fit into our judicial system as well, our justice system. Those are areas we are exploring. That’s what I was referring to, was that we bring our acts and legislation into play at the national stage and bring that information back so we can establish that type of system here in the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Members will have heard of the fantastic progress that Nunavut is making this week towards meeting the need for new locally trained doctors. The federal government Memorial University program will see eight new interns trained in Nunavut; $5 million injected into Iqaluit’s Qikiqitani Hospital upgrading to accommodate the training, and return practice provisions of two years for each doctor. That’s 16 years of committed physician service. Fantastic. Can the Minister tell me what our Health department is doing to bring such bounty here?
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have received the information in that and I am in communication with the federal Minister to see how we could take advantage of such a program.
Thanks for that comment from the Minister. I’ve been in touch with the Minister recently on the case of a trained physician in our community, a doctor who only needs this government’s help to give us a physician for the future. Briefly, she is asking only for this government to arrange an internship here for her. She says she’ll intern in any specialty so that she can qualify and live here with her family, all of whom are committed to the NWT. Today I learned that she has contacted Memorial University with regard to this program and they were very enthusiastic to move her to the front-line of the next round of the inductions to the Nunavut program, which closes April 7th. We have a hard deadline. I know the Minister’s staff is working hard on this. Will the Minister commit to urgent action so this opportunity isn’t stolen out from under our very noses?
I am not able to speak about personal individual situations here, but as the Member knows, we have met on this and I have instructed my staff to follow up. They have been meeting and getting information to evaluate the situation. I am aware of the urgency.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to stress that this is an opportunity that requires an enthusiastic response. Somehow I’m not getting those vibes. I’m looking for those vibes. My constituent has said that the department is concerned with the costs. My constituent is willing to chip in from her own pocket. When I look at the cost of recruiting staffing and moving a new physician, this prospect seems to save us a bundle right off the start. Will the Minister commit to taking these costs into account and applying our savings to this golden opportunity?
We are reviewing all aspects of this file. We are giving it due consideration. I expect to have an answer for him shortly.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have been urging the Minister to get going on this, because I know that it’s an ephemeral opportunity that’s going to walk out the door on us. I appreciate the Minister going after this. I have to ask why this is so hard. Why are we dilly-dallying about when the long-term cost benefits are so clear here? Why aren’t we working these opportunities aggressively when they show up on our doorstep?
The situation is not as simple and clear cut as the Member suggests. It’s complex to evaluate a medical professional and we are consulting with individuals and bodies to help us evaluate the situation. As the Member knows, my staff have made it a priority to meet with the person in question and we are putting in all energy to evaluate the situation. I am going to get back to the Member shortly.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Education since it is Education Week and our theme day on education has just been rolled out here. I think it’s important that there was a government policy made back in the 12th Assembly to implement K to 12 in all communities in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, some 16 years later we still haven’t fully implemented the policy, in which there’s communities that still don’t have high schools such as the community I represent in Tsiigehtchic. I know that the Beaufort communities are in the same boat.
I think, Mr. Speaker, we have to ensure that we have the policy, that we’re able to implement it fully. The whole intention of the policy back then was to get away from having to send our children away from our home communities to regional centres in regard to having to attend school and high school, and also because of the residential school fallout from that. I think, Mr. Speaker, again, some 16 years later the policy’s been put in force and we’re still not having full implementation of K to 12 in all communities. I’d like to ask the Minister of Education what his department is doing to ensure that we can have high schools in communities such as the ones I represent such as Tsiigehtchic.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Since the establishment of the policy that’s being referred to, the direction, it’s always been the mandate of this government, and also specifically the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, to have K to 12 into the school system in the communities that we represent. We have initiated some into the communities. It is at the discretion of the school boards and also the communities. If they want a high school to kick-start in their region, grade 10, grade 11, grade 12, then by all means we’re definitely open to discussion with the school boards, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we have initiated that and we will continue to do that with other regions such as the Beaufort-Delta, the Member’s riding, that may not have grade 12, but we’re open to discussing that with the district education council. Mahsi.
