Thanks for the information. So if our enrolments have gone down, I note that the total funding to schools has actually gone up by about $1 million. If enrolments are down, we have fewer staff from one year to the next, why is the budget going up?
There are actually Collective Agreement increases that cover, actually, two school years because there’s some from the past agreement for northern allowance and then the new agreement. There are also some other increases associated with growth in other areas such as cost.
Thank you to Mr. Devitt for that information. Just one last question. This is almost $150 million that we are allocating to our education authorities. We turn this money over to them, and I think the Minister’s referenced it a bit previously, but what do we ask of the authorities to have them justify to the department that they’re spending the money the way we think they should be spending it?
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. Obviously, there has to be a financial accountability. On an annual basis we receive financial statements from them. I believe it’s audited financial statements from them on an annual basis. That clarifies where expenditures happen and in what areas and so forth, staff, administration, the schools, student programming, all of that. That’s how they base it on annual expenditures, through audited financial statements.
Thanks to the Minister. That accounts for, sort of, the actual money that they’re spending, but they’re spending the money to achieve certain results and standards, I would hope.
I would like to know from the Minister, he’s heard a lot from Members about the inequality of graduating students, the level of education that students graduate with. I want to just ask this question because I often wonder about it. Who is responsible for the quality of the results in our K to 12 education? Is it the education authorities or is it the department?
The quickest answer would be everyone. We’re all responsible. We provide funding to the school boards. Even the parents and grandparents have to play a part. The school programming, there is an accountability framework that happens where my department and I work closely with the divisional boards to make it a success for the students. When we say who is responsible, I believe that we are also responsible. We have to make sure that the school boards are following the Education Act and the money that flows to them goes to the direct cause of student success. Those are just some of the areas that we closely monitor.
We have heard over and over about some students not successfully completing Grade 12. We have heard that. Due to that we are doing an education renewal that will capture the small community schools and professionalism, and also the systems. Even the student assessments are part of that. We are dealing with it. We are very serious. We want the education system in the NWT to be the best of the best. That is what we’re pushing for.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Page 10-33, Education, Culture and Employment, information item, details of funding allocated to education authorities.
Agreed.
Page 10-34, Education, Culture and Employment, information item, education authorities, active positions. Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just one really quick question here. Something that I’ve noticed is the decrease in active positions for the Beaufort-Delta. There is a loss of seven positions here. I also see that is also a trend with the Deh Cho and Sahtu. Specifically for the Beaufort-Delta region, what positions are those and how will it affect the running of the organization?
Thank you, Mr. Moses. For that we’ll go to Mr. Devitt.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The funding formula works on a regional basis, although we do look at community data. The reduction would happen at the regional basis and it would be up to the division education council to allocate that funding by community and school.
So just for clarity, the Minister and staff today wouldn’t know what positions are going to be lost under this formula.
That’s correct.
Thank you, Mr. Devitt. Page 10-34, Education, Culture and Employment, information item, education authorities, active positions.
Agreed.
Page 10-37, Education, Culture and Employment, information item, Aurora College funding allocation, $32.075 million. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Minister has heard committee talk about renewable energy programs, energy efficiency programs and the need to get them into Aurora College. We’ve talked about that for a number of years. I’m not aware of any yet. Maybe I can get an update from the Minister. The Minister also has said that in the interim, the renewable energy aspects and energy efficiency aspects could be built into existing programs such as for electricians or plumbers, these sorts of things. Perhaps the community administration programs and so on. Could I just get an update from the Minister on where we’re at towards getting those programs up and running?
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. The Member has raised this issue on a few occasions and we forwarded that to the college. The college, as you know, delivers these specific core programs that are needed, based on the assessment that they have. They usually do their research and their survey, their studies, interviewing students or community members, and based on that, if there is a high need for renewable energy program, then they would pursue it.
At the same time, it is with the college. As you know, there have been some changes within senior staff at the college. I have re-delivered that to the new president and the chair, as well, so I’m sure it’s on the radar and I will be addressing it again when we meet. We usually meet on a quarterly basis. I will address it again to find out the status of it and if they’re foreseeing when it will be delivered, if the program is going to be delivered. I don’t have that information on the status before me but I will provide that to the Members.
Thanks for the Minister’s commitment there. I know the Minister is aware, just from listening in the House, that there are many millions of dollars now just from the GNWT being spent in this area. It is a big project in Simpson, of course, but many other projects such as Diavik’s wind project and many community projects, and our new goal of getting 20 percent of all our thermal communities on solar or deriving their electricity from solar, biomass projects coming on stream quite commonly. Of course, the expertise is coming from the South. That’s the sad thing to me.
We’ve been talking about this for years, knowing that it’s coming, and it’s here and we have not been doing our work. I realize it’s Aurora College. We’re going to be talking about relationships with Aurora College and I will be participating in that discussion. It’s just kind of sad to me when we miss opportunities. I appreciate the Minister’s commitment to get an update there.
Just on the Business Admin Program, the interest to pushing to three years. Apparently we are, I think something like 87 percent of our students are having to go south for their final year. There is a big interest in getting it offered locally. I know the Minister is working on that. Is there an update available on that and when we might expect that to be implemented? Maybe it wasn’t 87 percent. It was 87 percent that had families and so their challenges for moving south for the last year of the program were very big. Just to make sure I’m giving accurate numbers there, as far as I recall.
I agree with the Member and the students that brought that petition forward. There should be degree programming through business administration into our great campuses across the Northwest Territories. There is also the Social Work degree program that students wish to be delivered in the Northwest Territories. I just signed off a letter, I believe this morning, pertaining to that, that I would obviously like to deliver a Business Administration Degree Program. This has gone to the chair of the college Board of Governors. As soon as I hear and once we meet, then I can provide Members with the status.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just wanted to ask a question with regard to the Early Childhood Development Program. Earlier in the budget when we were talking about the early childhood development and the money that we are spending in the budget, there was a $50,000 amount mentioned for Aurora College for the Early Childhood Development Certification Program. I know we have one now but it’s not a program which, I gather, provides certification which is recognized across Canada once people are done with that diploma. Could I get an explanation from the Minister on two things? What was the $50,000 intended for? Was it used? Have we changed our program? Will we be starting a new program in the fall of 2013?
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. For that we’ll go to Ms. Eggenhofer.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, the $50,000 was used by the college to put together a fairly comprehensive discussion paper that looked at the pros and cons of offering the diploma program starting this fall. There were some challenges with offering the diploma program this fall, and they have developed a number of options that would range anywhere from going ahead with the diploma program in the college at quite a high cost of around $750,000, to, essentially, the status quo. But the funding was used to put the paper together.
Thanks to the deputy minister. I’m struggling to understand why we would offer a program that doesn’t really provide us with the qualified people that we are looking for to run our early childhood development programs, so I’ll leave that as a statement. Can I be advised when the decision will be made whether or not to go ahead with a higher quality program in the fall?
I think we’re all waiting for the finalization of the renewed early childhood framework to get an idea of where the priority areas are. If one of the priority areas is to ensure that our licensed child care facilities have diploma-carrying staff, then we’ll be looking at that. The only caution, I would say, is there’s more than one way in getting diploma-carrying staff, and one way is to have a diploma program offered in the college. At the moment, there are actually eight NWT students who are on student financial assistance, who are enrolled in early childhood diploma programs in southern institutions as well.
That’s good.
Committee, 10-37, Education, Culture and Employment, information item, Aurora College, funding allocation. Mr. Bromley.
Just one more follow-up on the early childhood development worker training at Aurora College and where we might be going with that. Obviously, I think we want our people looking after our children, especially in early childhood where so much is happening, to be fully qualified, and of course, we would need to pay them as such. Now, I’ve heard concerns that we don’t want to train workers because we don’t want to be paying those salaries. This is obviously of great concern to me. I think probably everyone would agree our children are our number one resource here. Could I get the perspective of the department on that?
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Chair. This is a concern to me as well. It has been brought up through the stakeholders and most specifically with the seniors as well, the elders that we brought in, that they want to have qualified individuals coming back to our communities and working for fair wages looking after our children, similar to teachers. Those are areas that we are looking at as we speak, and even through the Early Childhood Development Framework, it does consist of a lot of entities and it will capture the wages. It has been a concern for a number of years now, and it’s been brought up here in the House, but we are following through with that.
Thanks to the Minister. I wonder if the Minister would commit, just so we know what we’re talking about, if the Minister would commit to developing a briefing note, an information package on what we’re talking about here. If we were to upgrade all of our early childhood workers and their salaries, what would be the cost, in terms of the salaries, salary difference across the government for early childhood workers, just so we know what we’re dealing with and if we need to plan for it. I think that’s a good starting point. That would be great.
We can provide that. We have a lot of information. We have done our research, our homework, even across the Northwest Territories, how much the individuals are making. It does vary from region to region and the most isolated communities versus the larger centres, so we can provide it as an information package to the Members for their review.
Thanks to the Minister. Just to be clear, we would have both what we’re paying now and what we would be paying if these workers all met federal standards for early childhood workers so that we can compare. That’s probably what the Minister was saying, but I didn’t hear it exactly, so I just want to be sure we’re talking about the same thing.
I think we’re talking along the same line, so I agree.
Thank you, Minister Lafferty. Committee, we’re on 10-37, Education, Culture and Employment, information item, Aurora College funding allocation. Any questions?
Agreed.
Committee, 10-38 and 39, Education, Culture and Employment, information item, work performed on behalf of others. Any questions?
Agreed.
Committee, if I can get you to return to 10-7, Education, Culture and Employment, department summary, operations expenditure summary, $299.611 million. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Does committee agree that consideration of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment is completed?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. I’d like to thank Mr. Devitt and Ms. Eggenhofer for tonight. Thank you to Minister Lafferty for being here. Sergeant-at-Arms, if I can get you to escort the witnesses out of the Chamber.
Committee, if I can direct your attention to, we’ll be starting with Transportation. With that, we’ll ask Minister Ramsay, do you have any opening comments?
I am pleased to be here today to present the Department of Transportation’s proposed main estimates for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. The department is requesting a total budget of $117 million, including amortization. This represents a net decrease of $3.4 million, or 2.8 percent, from the previous budget.
The net decrease in the Department of Transportation’s budget for 2013-2014 includes an increase to amortization expenses of $3.7 million, an increase for forced growth of $2.4 million, and a number of other adjustments with a net decrease of $7.2 million mainly associated with the Deh Cho Bridge coming into service.
The amortization increase of $3.7 million is a result of both the Deh Cho Bridge coming into service and an increase in the level of capital expenditures over the past several years. These assets have now come into service and accounting for their depreciation has begun.
The department’s forced growth increase of $2.4 million is provided to deal with the general inflationary increases to services and consumables required to maintain and operate the transportation network. The ongoing safe operation and maintenance of the transportation system is our highest priority, and these incremental resources are essential to continue operating and maintaining the transportation system.
The November 2012 opening of the Deh Cho Bridge marked a celebratory occasion for Northerners who braved the biting cold to be among the first to drive or walk uninterrupted across the Mackenzie River for the first time in history. Opening the bridge means the Department of Transportation is no longer required to operate the Merv Hardie ferry or construct an annual ice crossing near Fort Providence, resulting in a reduction to expenses of $2.4 million annually. To operate the bridge requires a number of other expenditures, totaling $900,000, that include funding to maintain the bridge, operate and collect tolls, and for the community opportunity grant. In addition, as part of bringing the bridge into service, the debt service payments are being transferred to the Department of Finance, who will be responsible for managing this debt along with the rest of the GNWT debt portfolio.
I am very pleased that the department was able to bring this important asset into service, and look forward to the benefit that improved access will provide for business and industries in the NWT. As part of the project, the department is now collecting tolls for commercial vehicles utilizing the bridge. I can report that the process for collecting tolls is going very well. Commercial operators are able to pay by calling our Call Centre 24 hours per day, seven days a week. For those that wish to register with the department, we have also established a process to report and pay monthly for use of the bridge.
For 2013-2014 the department is projecting total revenue of $29.8 million, which represents an increase of $4.5 million from the previous fiscal year. The most significant increase to revenues is the tolls associated with the Deh Cho Bridge where we are projecting to collect $4 million in toll revenue.
The department is also proposing a number of other changes to revenue. This includes a requirement to incorporate existing service fees into the base rate for the various driver and vehicle licensing and permitting services that the department offers. There is no increase in the cost of the service for this change, but incorporating this change into the previously established revenue categories required a number of adjustments to the amounts reported in the various line items. In response to the Financial Management Board’s direction to review revenue sources, the department conducted a rigorous evaluation of fees charged by the road licensing and safety and airports divisions to ensure each is fair, equitable and reasonable. This budget proposes a number of adjustments to bring these fees up to date, with the majority of the fee increases ranging from 15 to 20 percent.
Meeting the 17th Assembly’s priority of improving economic development opportunities hinges upon improvements in transportation infrastructure. The importance of cultivating the link between the transportation system and economic development prospects is now greater than ever. New developments within the mining industry such as a fourth diamond mine, the Prairie Creek Mine and the NICO project, highlight the need for additional transportation infrastructure investment so that our infrastructure and services can meet the demands of industry. The need for improvements to transportation infrastructure has been highlighted this past winter where the department’s regional operations in the Deh Cho and Sahtu are experiencing a marked increase in industrial traffic due to resource development. In anticipation of increased pressure on the winter road system, the department is working directly with industry to accelerate the construction of ice crossings, strengthen the road surface, and increase the level of service to extend the operating season to the latest possible date in the spring. The department is also working to improve safety by increasing the number of enforcement patrols on the winter road, developing a Mackenzie Valley Winter Road driving guide, and working with the oil and gas and trucking industry to ensure the safe movement of the heavy loads.
The magnitude of the oil and gas activity in the Mackenzie Valley reinforces the need for an all-weather highway. Formal planning for this highway has been underway for a number of years. Last month the department submitted the four regional project description reports, completed in partnership with the land claimant groups, and a project screening document to the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Review Board. To get the environmental review process underway, the department referred the project to environmental assessment. Much additional work is required to keep this project moving forward. The department has engaged the federal government in discussions on funding required to move the project through the environmental assessment process. To support this work, CanNor recently contributed $600,000 for the next stage of environmental and engineering study activities. The department signed a memorandum of understanding to create a partnership with the Gwich’in Development Corporation for stage 2 planning activities and a similar MOU is anticipated with the Tulita District Investment Corporation shortly.
The northern portion of the Mackenzie Valley Highway project, the highway from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk, has reached an important crossroad. The Environmental Impact Review Board issued its final report in January 2013, recommending the project proceed subject to terms and conditions. The GNWT’s response to the report has been submitted for consideration to the federal government and we expect that formal environmental approval of the project will be issued shortly. The department has also recently completed the 85 percent design for the highway and used this information to prepare an updated cost estimate that reflects our northern construction realities, granular material sources, haul distances and design parameters. We are currently negotiating with the Inuvialuit Land Administration around royalties and land tenure with respect to the Inuvialuit Land Claim Agreement. The updated cost estimate of $299 million was sent to the federal government, and we are now seeking a firm commitment from Canada for an agreement on additional funding. The GNWT continues to emphasize the importance of knowing the federal commitment in advance of project approval decisions and anticipates a response shortly.
While I have highlighted some of the major new projects we are working on, I also wanted to share a few of the activities underway to address needs across the existing transportation system. The department is currently developing a Climate Change Adaptation Plan, Road Safety Plan, Green House Gas Strategy and Strategic Infrastructure Investment Plan that will be completed in 2013- 2014. The department is also investigating options to improve the existing Tlicho winter road and to connect Wekweeti to the public highway system in the future. These planning activities, along with the modal strategies already completed, will support the development of a multi-modal transportation strategy that will guide our path forward through the future. The development of the Transportation Strategy will also be informed by other GNWT-wide planning activities such as the NWT Economic Opportunities and NWT Mineral Development strategies currently under development.
These are the highlights of the Department of Transportation’s proposed main estimates for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. There are many other positive and exciting projects and initiatives that the department expects to accomplish. I am confident that the proposed budget will provide for the continued safe and reliable operation of the NWT transportation system. I would be happy to answer any questions. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister Ramsay. Mr. Bromley.
Mr. Chairman, I move that we report progress.
