Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I spoke yesterday about housing needs in the Territories, and today I’d like to address a specific aspect of housing. It’s a topic that’s been mentioned several times already by Members of this House over the last weeks and months. That is the need for available, adequate and affordable housing for our teachers.
NWT teachers consistently face housing shortages, unsafe living conditions and exorbitant rent. Last year some 130 teachers were recruited to the North. Of those, 94 were replacement teachers, and 75 of those moved to our small communities. We experience a 20 to 30 per cent turnover of our teachers year after year, and the most often cited reason for this turnover is the lack of available, adequate and affordable housing.
Education authorities cannot sustain such a high staff turnover rate year after year. It costs the education authorities financially. More importantly, there is a cost to the students in our schools. It’s been proven that students perform better when they have consistent, quality teaching. The quality of the teaching is not at issue here, Mr. Speaker, but wholesale changes in school staff every year do have a negative impact on the students and their academic achievements. We want to attract qualified teachers to the NWT and retain them in our schools. How can that happen if housing conditions are deplorable?
The two Yellowknife school boards are lucky enough to have two powers that assist them in the governance and management of their schools. They have the legislated ability to acquire real property and the authority to levy taxes. Over the years they’ve been able to address their teachers’ housing needs on their own without government assistance. Regional boards do not have these abilities and must rely on either the government or the local housing market, which very often is non-existent, to find housing for their staff. The NWT Housing Corporation has admittedly made some effort to supply market housing in some communities, but it’s met with very limited success.
Housing for teachers is still the most difficult aspect of teacher recruitment. The Minister of Education has recently been presented with a study called Cheating our Students: The Impact of Inadequate Housing for Teachers in Small Communities. It has also received a letter of support for the recommendations in the study from the Yellowknife Education District No. 1.
The need for available, affordable and adequate housing for teachers has been around for a long time, Mr. Speaker, and we’re not much closer to filling that need.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement, Mr. Speaker
Unanimous consent granted.
You may conclude your statement, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues.
We’re not much closer to filling the need that exists.
In closing, I’d like to quote from the study.
“If the current GNWT policy on staff housing remains intact then there must be flexibility provided to Councils such as what is available to the Yellowknife District Education Authorities. If schools in the NWT are going to remain attractive to teachers seeking employment…then the need for housing must remain a high priority.”
Action needs to be taken and taken soon. I urge the Minister of Education to consider the recommendations of the study and to respond to the district education authorities immediately.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
