Debates of May 27, 2005 (day 3)

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my questions are also for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment and it’s regarding the same issue as the Member for Kam Lake has raised. When I was listening to Mr. Ramsay’s statement, I thought maybe he was reading the correspondence that I received from my constituent because the stories are exactly the same. I think the Minister is aware of this issue because I have been copied a letter that was sent to him. It has to do with some young person who wants to get into an apprenticeship program to get his plumbing certificate and he’s learning that because of a lack of resources or obstacles in their office that he’s not even able to register as an apprentice this year. He has to wait until 2006 to be even registered. That would set him back another two years. In the times that we have where we don’t have enough tradespeople and where there should be more focus and where there should be more efficiency rather than obstacles, it just baffles me why this is the case. I would like to know what the Minister’s best answer is to this question.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Return To Question 28-15(4): Apprenticeship And Training Program Concerns

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Having just gotten the letter the Member referred to yesterday, I don’t have an answer as to the specifics. I say, as I did to Mr. Ramsay, that we have added staff in the North Slave office. We are continuing to review the operations of that office. If there are some problems, then they will be dealt with. I agree with the Member that the goal here is to get as many young people here involved in apprenticeship as possible. It offers young people today one of the best opportunities or a career in the future in the North. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 28-15(4): Apprenticeship And Training Program Concerns

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Let me say, to be fair, that there is a lot of good work being done with this program. I have attended many graduation ceremonies for this program where we have produced lots of tradespeople. It appears though that we are not doing as well as we should be doing. I understand that the Minister is going to look into this, but just like the basic level of services that I was talking about in my Member’s statement, I wonder if the Minister could set a basic minimum rule that when someone wants to be registered as an apprentice in the North that they shouldn’t have to wait for more than one school year. Is it not a doable goal or policy that the Minister could make? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 28-15(4): Apprenticeship And Training Program Concerns

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would think that that would be a very reasonable rule to have and I would expect that our goal is much less than one year right now. I don’t know the specifics of the complaint, having only gotten it yesterday; I don’t know the instances around other circumstances that may be involved. There may be, as I mentioned to Mr. Ramsay, circumstances where you wind up in training courses. Last minute cancellations impact on a number of people and that happens not only here, but in Alberta. In Alberta, they cancel courses as well if they have a number of people drop out just before they start. So that can cause the cancellation for people to attend courses down south, even when we have been prepared to put people there. So in terms of the registration, I will have to follow up on the specifics of the case and find out why it has taken so long. I would agree with the Member that it should be absolutely no more than one year. I believe that our goal is much less than that already.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 28-15(4): Apprenticeship And Training Program Concerns

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Given the situation we are dealing with here and there seems to be numerous situations here of similar cases that obviously these goals are not being met, and the case I am talking about is a person who has studied his program in 2004 and he is expected to finish this year but he cannot register until next year. I can understand cancellations happening and such, but would the Minister look into guaranteeing that whoever is registered for an apprenticeship program, even if there are three or four students, that the courses continue? You cannot hold back people’s careers and lives for a year or two. These people don’t get full salaries and there are lots of inconveniencies in that way. So if we can’t hold the programs in Fort Smith because of a lack of enrollment, would the Minister consider sending them to southern locations so they can continue on with their education? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 28-15(4): Apprenticeship And Training Program Concerns

Thank you, Madam Speaker. In fact, we already do. If we can’t get people into Fort Smith, we are prepared to support them travelling to Alberta. If the course doesn’t have enough numbers in Fort Smith, we are prepared to support people travelling to Alberta. The problem we have is we can’t always get people into those courses in Alberta either. There is a substantial waiting time to register for those courses. So it’s not something we can do on a moment’s notice. There has to be a lot of coordination between the employer, the apprentice, and the apprenticeship office in terms of the scheduling. As I said, the department is meeting with the college in the next few weeks to talk about course cancellations to find ways to deal with that issue to try to encourage people to participate.

You know, by and large, the program has been extremely successful. In the Territories, we have the highest per capita participation rate of apprenticeship of any jurisdiction in Canada. So the program is being very successful. We are getting an awful lot of people through. Since our program started, we have had over 4,500 people who have graduated with journey certification. We have had a tremendous amount of success.

I am hoping that what has been identified by the two Members are individual issues that don’t represent what is happening in the system, but I have started an investigation to ascertain whether that’s the case. If this is a problem that goes deeper than the two circumstances, then it will be dealt with. You have my word on that.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 28-15(4): Apprenticeship And Training Program Concerns

Thank you, Madam Speaker. We are aware of the fact that this session is only going to go until next Thursday. I do want to give the Minister time to respond to this, but could I get him to commit to giving us the information back and responding to these correspondences before the end of session? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 28-15(4): Apprenticeship And Training Program Concerns

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I will do my utmost to try to achieve that.