Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Trout Lake school, obviously there’s a space issue, as the Member is alluding to, but we do have the student population that’s going up and down. In 2009-10 there were 15 students attending the school. But at the current stage we have 33 students. So we have to have that in mind as well as we move forward.
There is a small capital project that’s been identified in the 2010-11 Capital Plan as an immediate measure to deal with the issue with the space. But we can certainly develop a long-term plan for the school expansion down the road. Mahsi.
I’m glad to hear the Minister’s positive response to a long-term plan of creating a new school for the community of Trout Lake. In fact, the government had promised in the past that they would actually build them a new school when the old Charles Tetcho burnt down.
Also, can I ask the Minister, in the long-term capital plan, to ensure that a gymnasium is attached to this school, because I like to think… My colleague Mr. Krutko showed me a letter that indicates that Trout Lake is one of the two communities in the North that does not have a gymnasium. Can this capital planning include a gymnasium when they look at a new school for Trout Lake? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, this particular capital plan that we’re talking about, we need to work with the divisional education council as well. Also, I need to work with my colleague the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs with respect to the recreation, the gymnasium area. We have done that in the past where we’ve had communities partnering on a certain expansion in the schools. Those are the discussions that we can certainly have with the Member and also the Member’s leadership at the community level. I think, Mr. Speaker, this particular issue that’s before us, we’ll discuss it further. Mahsi.
That’s the kind of discussion that we’d certainly like to see for Trout Lake. We’ve taken care of big schools throughout our North up to date, Mr. Speaker, and I think it’s time to start concentrating on our small and remote communities and providing facilities for them. Once again, when will the capital planning discussions begin with the education council and the Minister of Education towards planning of the school in Trout Lake? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, all the schools are our prime focus. We’re not comparing small schools versus bigger centre schools. I think we feel that all schools are the responsibility of the GNWT as a whole under the Department of Education. But with this ongoing discussion that we’re going to be having, we need to compile that information from the divisional education council, what they have on file, with our department. Certainly, from there we’ll move forward with that information on the capital planning process. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Your final supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased, once again, to see the eagerness of the Minister to assist the community of Trout Lake. Like I said, the whole community is behind this initiative. I’d like to ask the Minister once again if he will commit to begin the process of identifying a school for Trout Lake in the long term. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, this will be part of the discussion that we’re going to be having on the capital projects for future discussion, along with other schools throughout the Northwest Territories. Definitely, this will be part of the discussion we will be having within our department and also the education council for Nahendeh. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services. It is in regard to dental care in the Inuvik region and, more importantly, the lack of the orthodontists in the region.
I think it’s critical that we have that service being provided. Like I mentioned in my statement, Mr. Speaker, there are quite a few people who have been calling me and also other Members of this House and, more importantly, the frustration of having to wait three years after being referred for surgery and still hasn’t heard back from the department. I’d like to ask the Minister: exactly what is your department doing to ensure that dental care services are being provided in the Inuvik region and, more importantly, having an orthodontist in the region to provide that important service? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let the record show that this is a two good news day for the Mackenzie Delta from the Department of Health and Social Services. Earlier in my Minister’s statement, I indicated the mental wellness initiatives in McPherson, and I’m happy to confirm that we have a three-year contract with an orthodontist for the Beaufort-Delta. We expect that he will begin service on April 1st, until March 2013. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, that is good news, but too bad that people aren’t hearing it outside of this building. I recommend to the Minister she puts out a press release on that good news story, because I think people are waiting to hear that. More importantly, Mr. Speaker, people are still having to have the lack of dental care in the region and also for the individuals who have taken it on themselves to bring their children to Yellowknife at their own cost to get them into the dental care system in Yellowknife. Is there a way that those people can be reimbursed for those costs associated with dental care from the Inuvik region?
I know lots of people are listening to the debates in the House, so I’m sure the Beaufort-Delta knows this good news already.
Mr. Speaker, I need to advise everyone that dental service is not a health service that the Department of Health and Social Services is responsible for. It is an NIHB service. It’s the federal government that pays for dental service. The Department of Health and Social Services and the authorities assist in this program in terms of getting a contract for the dentist. If the Member wishes to give me the personal information of these individuals, we would be happy to assist them in doing the paperwork to NIHB to recover some of those costs. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I will definitely get that to the Minister. The other issue that I was dealing with is the issue of an individual who was diagnosed to get surgery three years ago and still hasn’t gotten it. I’d like to ask the Minister: can you put some urgency on that case and get the individual into the appropriate care that is needed and so they can get the surgery in regard to their dental care? Can the Minister commit to that? Thank you.
Yes, I would commit to getting the individual information from the Member and assist where we can. Without knowing the facts, I have to say it’s hard to believe that somebody could not have a surgery for three years. There must be some reasons for that, because we do get periodic requests from constituents and we do help with the process of bridging the gap between the NIHB and our clients. So if the Member brings the information forward, I will commit to follow that up. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Your final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Again, I thank the Minister for that. Mr. Speaker, I’d also like to ask the Minister if her department can put out some sort of a public notice informing the public in the Inuvik region that that contract has been let and there is going to be a service provider so that the public in the Inuvik region knows that their dental care will be taken care of through a new contractor arrangement, so we get it out to the public either through a public announcement or, basically, the Minister making a statement in the House. Thank you.
Yes, I will work with the Beaufort-Delta Health and Social Services Authority to publicize this welcome start of the orthodontist in the Beaufort-Delta region. At the same time, I would like to ask all the public in the Beaufort-Delta, if they have a dental appointment, please show up. If they can’t make it, please let us know so that we could maximize the use of these dentists when they are in communities. This was a topic we talked about in the Beaufort-Delta Regional Council meetings. I will advertise both of them. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Listening to my colleague Mr. Menicoche today talk about school and a gymnasium for Trout Lake, I had asked the Minister of Education not to make them wait long, because I think we had to listen to him speak in this House about the gymnasium for Nahanni Butte for about three or four years.
On the topic of gymnasiums, Mr. Speaker, we all know the value and the importance to children of physical activity, and in our remote and northern communities here, where it is cold much of the year and not everybody can participate in outdoor activities, a school gymnasium is a very, very important thing to promote the health and well-being and enhance the education of our children.
Mr. Speaker, with respect to Hay River and the Ecole Boreale and the advancements that have taken place there with the establishment of a school and now the addition of additional classroom space through the portables that were added on, that school is still without a gymnasium. I wonder if the Minister of Education could update us on what the government is doing in relation to that. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The Hay River school, there has been an addition to it to deal with the space issue; the challenge that was put before us I believe a couple of years ago in the school itself. Also, the gymnasium aspect of it, certainly there have been arrangements made with other schools within the community of Hay River. Part of the long-term plan, of course, is to work on the gymnasiums for those schools without the gymnasiums. Like I said to other Members, I need to work with the Department of PWS and also Municipal and Community Affairs on this particular piece of work. We need to cover all schools that we are currently dealing with. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the Ecole Boreale is a French first language school and, as such, when the original capital budget for that school was obtained, there was participation by Heritage Canada in conjunction with our government, and subsequently our government has invested more capital in that school.
Mr. Speaker, is there an opportunity to secure any funding for the gymnasium to any other sources than just to the normal capital planning process of the GNWT? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, this Ecole Boreale, we are always in negotiation with the federal government just on expansion itself, even here in Yellowknife. Those two schools, we have been in contact on numerous occasions with the previous superintendent of the French school and also even now with the new person onboard, that we continue throughout the open communication dialogue, because we need their support as well when we are faced with the federal government. At the same time, within our department, I will continue to work with other departments in the area of recreation, the gymnasium piece of the area within the school. Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, maybe my question was not clear enough, but what I would like to know -- and I didn’t hear this in the answer from the Minister -- is there an opportunity to secure additional capital funding through the federal government Heritage Canada for the expansion of the facilities at Ecole Boreale through federal dollars, or is it a GNWT allocation that will have to be identified for the adding of a gymnasium? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, with the addition that we are talking about, whether it be the second phase of Ecole Allain St-Cyr and also the Ecole Boreale in Hay River, we also talked about having a gymnasium attached to the school through our negotiation with the federal government. So we will continue to address that at the federal level. We are, like I said, Mr. Speaker, dealing with the French school board on enhancing this even further, expediting the process with the federal government, but it has been a slow process to date, but we’re not giving up. We’re going to continue our negotiations with the federal counterparts and Canadian Heritage. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I assume that the portables that were added on to Ecole Boreale to make room for more classroom space were intended as a temporary measure. So I would like to ask the Minister of Education if, in considering the expansion of the school to incorporate that additional classroom space, the gymnasium could be part of that ask and part of that negotiation and I’m also just wondering if the footprint for an expanded Ecole Boreale could be accommodated on its present site. Thank you.
Those are discussions we need to have with the community of Hay River French school board and our department identifying the gymnasium or the footprint of the actual facility right now. We’ve added on as a temporary measure to deal with the space crunch at that time. So, yes, we will continue to have ongoing discussions with the parties to move this forward with the federal government. So we will continue to do our part as the Department of Education, Culture and Employment with the community of Hay River. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’ve got questions today for the Minister of Justice and I guess I’ll give the Minister of Human Resources a heads up too. We are here for another four weeks, so I’ll have ample opportunity to ask him some questions on advancement of aboriginal people in senior management positions in this government. For today, I’m going to ask the question to Minister Lafferty. It gets back to my Member’s statement. I would like to ask the Minister if he could explain to me how a 17-year tenured aboriginal employee with corrections, with good performance appraisals, is consistently being denied and overlooked for opportunities to advance his career in corrections. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Lafferty.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this particular area is a personnel issue. At the same time, we can be generic about whether it be the 17 years, aboriginal employee within corrections. Mr. Speaker, there has been some progress in play with certain individuals within the system where individuals may work night shifts and they get an opportunity or are offered an opportunity to work day shift, so they can expand their role in day and night shifts. At times, there is some reluctance for various reasons and due to the fact that the warden and associate warden try to deal with this matter and put the individuals through the development stages. There have been some challenges, but we’re not giving up on those individuals. We want them to succeed. We do have an associate warden who is aboriginal. So we are making steps in the right direction, Mr. Speaker, having our aboriginal workforce move up in the system is our prime focus right now and is the priority of the Justice department and GNWT. Mahsi.
Is the Minister aware of direct appointments of non-aboriginal, non-priority persons into positions at North Slave Correctional Centre? Thank you.
There have been direct appointments in the past, but we currently deal with inventory of people that we have on file and individuals that are moving up within the system are given, based on their credentials, based on the experience they provide to the organization and not only that, but to the aboriginal perspective, there are... The numbers we have within our corrections officers at North Slave Corrections is 36 positions are filled by aboriginal workforce and 27 are non-aboriginal workforce. There are 87 other full-time positions with 16 percent filled by aboriginal people. So those are individuals that we continue to focus. We work closely with human resource development, because they do have a plan in place as well. We, on the other hand, within the Justice department, have a role to play during the development stages to focus on those individuals in a management position.
I hope the Minister can understand the frustration of this individual when having been in the corrections field for 17 years. He watches individuals who are new to the position, who’ve been there for less than a year, who are non-priority, non-aboriginal get direct appointed into positions. I’d like to ask the Minister if he would be willing to share -- and he talked about it a little bit -- the Succession Planning Initiative at North Slave Correctional Centre. I know we have 36 percent aboriginal employees on the floor at that facility, but what is the percentage in senior management?
Surely I can share the information that we have within North Slave Correctional Centre on the number of positions, the percentage and whatnot. But I did meet with the MLA and the individual that he’s referring to and I would encourage the individual to continue applying, because now we’re having seven positions that are currently open for transfer. Fifty-seven percent, or four positions, will be for aboriginal people. There is a great opportunity there to be identified. Those individuals who are interested need to work with our system as well. Either take the day shift and night shift combined together and additional roles and responsibilities. Those are the areas we continue to push within our system.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was wondering if the Minister has a breakdown of the 20 individuals that have just gone through the training program for careers in corrections. There are 20 individuals. What is the breakdown on that by priority status and aboriginal persons?
We are very proud of our training program that we have initiated. It’s very successful, focusing on the northern hires. We can have a breakdown to aboriginal perspective. I guess we’re focusing on the northern perspective, the northern people that we hire that go through the transition period to development stages. Yes, I can share that with the Member.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up on my Member’s statement and ask the Minister of ECE a few questions here on early childhood. I’m very supportive of the Early Childhood Small Communities Initiative that’s been announced in the budget. It shows some good coordination. I’m wondering what the deficit is. I’m assuming this is known. What is the deficit in the number of child care spaces in the Northwest Territories and how many new daycare spaces does the government plan to open or support in the coming year?
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. A couple questions there. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The Early Childhood Program delivery is, of course, our first priority as a government and also with my specific department of Education, Culture and Employment. I do not have the breakdown of what the Member is referring to as a deficit, but we are investing more money, as you know, within the budget that will be before us and that we’ll be discussing further on the huge investment that we’re allotting for that particular area of early childhood. So we’ll continue to invest in those areas, because this is a prime example of a worthwhile investment into a system.
I appreciate those comments. I am, once again, very supportive of the program. I think it would be worthwhile determining what the needs are out there for number of spaces. That would help inform the program and make it more effective. I wonder if the Minister would commit to determining how many child care spaces are needed and, once again, I’m wondering how many new ones are being supported this year.
