Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today, you know I’ve been bringing this up in the House numerous times in regard to students out of Sachs Harbour over the past two years and nothing is being done. Mr. Speaker, given that currently there are many students in Nunakput who, for various reasons, have left high school and moved back to their home communities, reasons such as nowhere to live, not enough moral support or resources, will this government immediately commit the funds to make resources available for a high school teacher so that students can at least earn some high school courses? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. This particular issue has been, as the Member indicated, brought up in the House and we did approach BDEC, the Beaufort-Delta Department of Education, Beaufort-Delta Board of Education. We’ve been working closely with the board on identifying key aspects of the students: are they missing school or having challenges while they’re in school, where they’ll be staying. We provide funding to BDEC on an ongoing basis, on an annual basis.
Mr. Speaker, also the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative, the meeting that we’ve had, the last one in the Beaufort-Delta was a very successful meeting. They talked about the importance of having every student succeed in education, and out of that, Mr. Speaker, part of the discussion was having our students in Inuvik as well focusing in those areas.
So, Mr. Speaker, a lot of discussion took place on that. The leadership were there, as well. Mahsi.
Thank you. You know, all these meetings and nothing happening. Nothing’s been done, students are still at home. The government spent over $275,000 last year for the Western Arctic Leadership Program in Fort Smith. Why aren’t they doing that in Inuvik, why just one community in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Mahsi. That’s the very reason why we’re doing the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative forums in all regions. The Beaufort-Delta was, again, very successful, one of the successful outcomes. We had all of the leadership involved, the educators, the parents, even the youth to talk about their experience. They talk about what they want to be when they graduate and so forth, and that the leadership, the DEA, the chairpersons were there discussing the importance of supporting our students and developing plans of action. That’s what is going to be before this House and I’m looking forward to delivering that key messaging, the voices of the Northwest Territories and voices from the Beaufort-Delta that we’re going to be delivering. Mahsi.
Thank you. I look forward to it too again, but voices are not being heard. Time and time again I have brought this issue up in this House. There’s a lack of support for our students in Inuvik that are coming in from the communities, it’s not there. They’re having to go home. I had a letter last week, Mr. Speaker, in regards to drug and alcohol issues, where a student was staying, they didn’t want to stay in that house. Something is wrong with that. Will this government conduct a thorough review to identify how many high school students from small isolated communities have dropped out of high school? Thank you.
Mahsi. I believe we are listening to those voices. We listen to the MLA that is sitting here, Mr. Jacobson. He indicated the importance of supporting our students, the importance of having these students continue with higher education, and we are pursuing that through the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative. These are important works that are coming from the expertise at the grassroots level. We want to hear the people from the Beaufort-Delta region and that’s what we’re doing.
Also, the Beaufort-Delta education, they have all of the records, all of the attendance, the students that may have dropped out and the reasons for it. They have that information. The Member and community members can access that through the Beaufort-Delta Department of Education, the Board of Education, and it’s easily accessible through them. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Your final supplementary, Mr. Jacobson.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The grassroots level, I live it. Everyday I’m home I see some students in the community of Tuk not going to school because of lack of support. I’m still getting the same calls that I’ve been getting for the last two years. I’m getting the same letters from the same parents that are not being helped. The Minister could do something about this. The Minister could tell the Beaufort-Delta Education Council to fix the problem, but yet he doesn’t. We’re going to do more reviews, more of everything, but we’re failing the students, Mr. Speaker. Two years now I’ve been standing up in here and asking him the same questions, but we’re failing.
Will the government allocate the appropriate resources for serious problems regarding a lack of boarding facilities to ensure quarterly reviews and benchmarks are met for future students in the upcoming school year? Thank you.
Mahsi. Yes, it’s been two years that we’ve been pursuing this Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative since the Member raised this issue. We know that it’s important, and it’s not just the Member, all of the Members have been raising the issues about the success of our students, and that’s the very reason why we’re here, Mr. Speaker. We’ve visited all regions, and we’re finalizing the package, and we will be meeting in a couple of weeks for the final go-round with the leadership to say this is what we’ve heard, this is what we want delivered, what do you think. That is key messaging that’s in there.
The Beaufort-Delta educators, the teachers, the principals, the parents, the youth have raised a number of issues that the Member is raising in this House. So it will be a part of the package as we move forward. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
