Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When we talk about the federal government, we have this program with CanNor, and CanNor has done a lot of great projects throughout the Northwest Territories. One of the issues and challenges for Northern Communications Society is their community transmitters. As Mr. Dolynny stated yesterday, they’re operating on a shoestring budget, but he was talking about we’re a digital watch society and, so, Timex and digital. You know, get the information out a lot sooner than later.
Would the Minister lobby, on behalf of the Northern Communications Society, with CanNor to lobby for that funding so we can upgrade our community transmitters throughout the Northwest Territories? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
I totally agree with the Member. I have been doing that since I got on board in 2007 as the Education Minister, because we knew that this was a real challenge that NCS was faced with. Losing our language in the Gwich’in area is a prime example. We’ve been investing into NCS. We knew the federal was kind of lacking in the reporting mechanism or contribution, so I met then with the Minister of Heritage, Minister Moore, to share that information and share our concern. I spoke as an advocate for NCS. I will continue to do that with the new Minister, Shelly Glover. As soon as I get positive results, I will be sharing with the standing committee. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Returning to the topic at hand, the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment made statements in the House yesterday, which despite bemoaning the lack of facts, fell far short of the full truth on school board funding and junior kindergarten. Because of those omissions, the statements were very misleading and unhelpful. The Minister presented, again, only some of the facts, those recognizing budget increases demanded by the Education Act to meet legislated PTR rations, but he ignored the net impacts of his total funding plans which yield substantial and cumulative net losses in funding to school boards.
Why is the Minister continuing to give statements that confuse rather than provide full information on this issue?
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I tabled the fact sheets. I made a statement on the fact sheets, all the information that we received by the school boards. There are always numbers changing. Sometimes it’s out of my hands. At the same time, the latest information that I received, I shared that with the general public through the Legislative Assembly and…(inaudible)…we are working with.
I have before me a finance sheet of agreed upon figures of the Yellowknife Catholic School Board signed off by the Minister’s finance director and the senior finance officer for YCS – and that will be tabled later today – that clearly shows the ECE/YCS agreed upon numbers for board funding projections. There are undeniable deficits that for conservative enrolment predictions accumulate to $1.67 million by year four all in. The impacts of this fall on the backs of our students, and this is true for many school boards.
Why is the Minister not owning up to these budget reductions so we have can a discussion based on full and accurate information?
I’m trying to find that $1.6 million. It doesn’t show on here. There is a deficit for year-end, $435,000. After we contribute on the third year, $960,000, $757,000, and year two, $219,000. That’s money that we contribute to the school board. Sure, he can table this document. This is a document we can work with.
I said we’ll be tabling this document and it’s got the Minister’s senior official’s signature on it. ECE has failed to increase the departmental budget over the last few years to the extent that they have not even met the increase in the CPI, the Consumer Price Index. That says something, but now that we do have full information here, even though the Minister cannot seem to put the numbers together and out in words here today, we do have full information.
Will the Minister finally give serious consideration to address the real budget issues that have become clear? That is, the Minister’s funding plans yield budget deficits that accumulate for YCS, as an example, to negative $1.67 million by ’17-18, in the conservative case, a deficit that is typical of YK 1, Hay River and Inuvik as well. For example, he could simply allow the proven Aboriginal Head Start program to continue in eight communities, providing both a basis for significant savings and an opportunity for a comparative evaluation of the two programs at little cost, and again, the department could put in to this House. We’re not stingy when it comes to education.
Will he do this and start to address these on the basis of real numbers which will be tabled today?
At the end of the day, the Members are asking me to go after new funding which, obviously, we don’t have. I do not have that in my back pocket. The GNWT doesn’t have it. Again, it’s the words of the Finance Minister that we have to be innovative, live within our means and exercise fiscal prudence, the public money, to take a hard look at where we spend our money and if we do better by re-profiling part of it. We’ve done that. My department has done that. We will continue to work with the school boards to make it a very successful project.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have a budget session in a few months’ time, so there is plenty of opportunity for this Minister. Clearly, there are serious communication issues with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. We haven’t seen even an evaluation of the pilot project in Fort Providence and what the impacts of that were on the students, on the families, on the Aboriginal Head Start program. Basic stuff, and everything that comes out of the department communication is confusing and lacking in facts, just like the Minister’s responses.
What will the Minister do to not only address the current confusion of the personal and professional angst, time and money and even distraction to the Minister himself that this has cost, but also what will he do to put in place the policies and mechanisms needed to ensure this debacle does not happen again?
We did a pilot project in the three communities and there will be an evaluation on that.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the Minister of ITI in follow-up to my Member’s statement. Last year, in 2013, we had a major flood in the Mackenzie Delta from the Peel River and there were about 20 cabins that were flooded, some by two or three feet. There were actually three cabins that drifted away down the Peel River.
I’d like to ask the Minister, out of roughly 20 claims filed, why was there only one claim approved?
Thank you, Mr. Blake. The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for his questions and his concerns regarding the Harvesters Assistance Program that the Department of ITI has. We have $15,000 earmarked for that program on an annual basis and we are currently reviewing the criteria for claims to be filed for access to that funding. We are going to continue with reviewing the criteria.
In the last couple of years, the Member is correct, we’ve had flooding both in the Inuvik region and also in the Sahtu and we’ve had to find funding from within the Department of ITI. Two years ago it was close to $80,000 and three years ago it was $80,000 exactly. We do need to come up with a way to fund that program and review the criteria so that more people can get claims approved when they need the funding.
The policy states the applicant must earn roughly 20 percent of their earnings on a yearly basis from on the land.
Will the department make changes to that policy?
I give the Member a commitment that we will look at the program criteria and understand there are number of elders that are out. Some of those cabins belong to elders who don’t necessarily earn a living or are retired.
Again, that criteria is under review and it’s something I can commit to the Member that we will look at that issue.
Many of those elders and people that do live out on the land do not sell what they make out there. A lot of them share it with their families or barter with other people for other goods.
Will the Minister overlook the policy and help my constituents rebuild their camps on the land?
I will commit to go back to the department and have a discussion with them about how fast we can move forward with a review of the criteria, and if there are individuals that have had applications in whether that new criteria could apply to those applicants or whether they’d have to reapply, we will try to sort that situation out for the Member in the Inuvik region. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister ensure that happens over the summer? Thank you.
Thank you. Yes, I can assure the Member that I’ll have that discussion immediately with the department. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to ask questions to the Minister of Justice regarding residential and tenancy issues. I’m not going to get into the nuts and bolts of the particular issue, but I think the public is well aware of a recent circumstance that I had to help a family here in Yellowknife Centre, but it spoke broadly to types of problems in this area at large to constituents that belong to all of us in some manner or form. Since that incident, actually, I’ve had a lot of calls throughout the city of Yellowknife about problems that they’ve had.
I think all this issue really boils down to is something interesting and I kind of thought this is where the problems should start being examined, which is a tenant bill of rights.
Now, we have the Residential and Tenancy Act, as we all know, and it’s a document there to sort of provide a safety process and, of course, when you have grievances, you take it to the rental and tenancy officer, but that process can take a long time. So that’s the issue, that this constituent, to take it to a hearing, is going to wait over seven weeks before they get their first hearing if they agree to implement the solutions. So, there must be faster ways to do this.
So I’m going to ask the Minister of Justice, what does he think of the concept of a tenant bill of rights that can be put forward quickly into action with quick solutions and provide some direction in cases of emergency waiting maybe seven weeks or more before a solution gets implemented? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During the summer of 2013, the Department of Justice distributed a consultation document on potential amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act. In response, we received 17 submissions to that. Submissions were received from housing organizations, landlords, territorial and community agencies and some individuals. The deputy rental officer and the NWT Housing Corporation also submitted responses to the consultation paper. Suggestions for improvements to the act were also received from MLAs and will be considered as part of the consultation.
The time, energy and careful thought that the organizations and individuals put into their submission certainly is greatly appreciated. The department has now completed an analysis of the submissions received and has developed a set of proposed amendments, which it plans to bring forward during 2014.
I also wanted to respond to the Member about the application made to the rental officer related to the recent incident that occurred at an apartment building here in Yellowknife that sustained flood damage. As this matter is currently before the rental officer, it would be inappropriate for me to comment specifically on that case. Thank you.
Thank you. I’m not after this particular issue of the last part of the statement. I’m talking about the broader picture, which is if incidents happen, what avails themselves to solutions? A bill, or I should say a tenants’ rights bill, may be the solution. That’s what I’m getting at. The Minister said any potential amendments coming forward wouldn’t be coming, probably at the earliest, before fall of this year. So that’s October or November.
So, in essence, what can the Minister do so we don’t have circumstances like this when your apartment, whatever the case may be, be it flood, who knows, fire, who knows what the case may be that happens, that the tenant isn’t shown the door and told figure it out, but, by the way, at the same time we’re taking your rent away and they have to figure it out? Something has to be done. I’m looking forward to hear what the Minister has in his ability as Minister to do something.
Thank you. I will check with the department on whether or not it’s too late to get another submission from the Member. Thank you.
It shouldn’t be from the Member, I’m asking a question to the Minister. What can he do? What’s the point of being Minister of a whole department? I’m asking you a question. What can you do as Minister? Thank you.
Thank you. We will continue to work forward with the process that we have in place. We’ve received submissions and we will be bringing forward amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act later this year, which will be debated in this House. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister is well within his ability to say I’m going to examine this issue in the public’s good, but maybe he’s more interested in I don’t know what. I’m not going to suggest anything, I’m just saying I don’t know what he’s more interested in. Maybe he doesn’t think that people are important. I do, and I’m certainly sure he’s going to stand up and say he cares about them as well. But all I’m asking him to do is take this initiative very seriously that we should have some type of tenant bill of rights, because when a tenant is shown the door due to construction or delay or whatnot, the landlord continues to take their money and they’re left at their own avails and we have to hope that the landlord steps up and makes sure that they are not left in the dark or on their own or on the street. That’s the problem. So, frankly, I’m just looking for a bit of leadership on this issue that we will ensure that when families are in crisis, they’re not left to the street, that’s it, because a hearing could take three weeks, seven weeks, and if they don’t appeal, that’s fast. Thank you.
Thank you. I certainly do care about people. I’ve been in this position for almost 12 years now and I do take my job very seriously. If the Member is so inclined, he has got the opportunity to move a motion on the floor of the House if he wants to pursue his idea. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to return to my line of questioning with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment and see if I can, one last time, try and get some clarity as to two conflicting statements and a package of fact sheets, which the Minister tabled the other day.
I would like to know from the Minister when a Junior Kindergarten Program starts, say in September of 2014, will the school district that runs that program get the money in September 2014, or will it have to wait a full year to get it in September 2015 like they do now for most students? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Minister of Education, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My department met with the superintendents of all regions and those 23 communities are rolling out their junior kindergarten programming. Part of the package will be for them to utilize the PTR, the funding that will be allocated towards the Junior Kindergarten Program. Mahsi.
Thanks. I think that was a yes, but I’m still not sure and I would really like to get that question clarified and I think the school boards would as well. However, I guess I have to leave it at that.
The Minister has spoken in regards to the fact sheets and he has spoken, as well, in his statements to the pupil-teacher ratio and stated that we are 13.8 to 1. Across Canada the best PTR is 11.8 students to 1 in Newfoundland; the worst, so to speak, is 16.8 students to 1 in British Columbia. So I’d like to ask the Minister, we are currently at 13.8, but the road that we are on seems to be taking us to put our student-teacher ratio back to 16 to 1, the legislated PTR.
Is that the design of the Minister and the department that we will make sure that we go from 13.8 to 1 to 16 to 1 and put us at the very top of the list, which is the worst? Thank you.
Mahsi. The ratio will vary from school board to school board. Some would have around 14.5, I believe, and some would have 15, 15.5, 16 and a couple of the school boards will be just beyond 16. But I did commit in this House that I will be subsidizing those individuals who work beyond 16 to 1. So as the fact sheet indicates, we’re at 13.8 at this point and then according to our legislation it’s 16 to 1. So that’s where we’re getting back to our legislation level. Mahsi.
Thank you. I totally understand that things vary. We have small schools, we have large schools, and yes, we absolutely vary. The average across the territory is 13.8 to 1.
The Minister just said, if I heard him correctly, we’re moving back to 16 students to 1, 16 to 1. Is that what I heard? Am I correct in what the Minister said? If that’s the case, do we really want to go to the top of the list and be worst in the country for PTR? Thank you.
When we talk about legislation passed by this House, 16 to 1. So there has been a generous contribution over the last decade because we had money, we had funds at that time which we don’t at this point. In order to roll out the junior kindergarten, we won’t be the worse. British Columbia, as you see here, is 16.8, we are 16 to 1. Yes, it may be at the bottom, but it’s something to work with.
Then we have our Finance Minister in Ottawa meeting with the Finance Minister of Canada. There could be some changes coming. Certainly, we can re-evaluate our situation at that time. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will try to be short. Lastly, I would just like to ask a question of the Minister with regards to a couple of comments on the fact sheets, which bothered me. I did say earlier that something in the Minister’s statement was disturbing and the fact sheets were disturbing as well.
There were two statements which I have difficulty with. “It is not unreasonable to expect the education authorities to absorb and plan for a minor decrease of 0.4 to 1 percent over a three-year period.” That’s hardly a fact, Mr. Speaker. The numbers are a fact, but the expectation is not a fact. I would also like to say, in another sentence from the fact sheet, “With the size of the education authorities’ budgets and their flexibility on how they spend their budgets, we are confident that they can manage the successful introduction of junior kindergarten.” I would like to ask the Minister how those two statements can be considered factual. Thank you.
I’m glad the Member raised that profile. The department expects that YCS will not only look carefully at the cost of JK, $1.2 million, but also how they can restructure their overall programming in order to absorb the $436,000 that the Member referred to earlier, Member Bromley. This should not be an unreasonable undertaking given that their overall budget has consistently been around $18 million from this government to the school board. This is an area that can be absorbed.
The $436,000 represents approximately 2 percent of the overall budget. That’s where it’s at, Mr. Speaker.
