Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think all Members of this House will agree that teachers are intrinsic to the successful future of our young residents and, indeed, to the future of this territory, and so we need to make sure we take proper care of them. That means providing adequate housing where it is needed.
We are all aware of the multitude of needs in our small communities, and Members constantly press the government to make meaningful investments to help our constituents. An investment in teachers who guide and prepare students to fulfill a productive life is no less meaningful and long overdue. This has also been pointed out repeatedly by the Northwest Territories Teachers’ Association.
My first question I would like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment is: What is he doing to work with the NWTTA to ensure our teachers have access to proper accommodation so that we can do a good job for our students?
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Minister of Education, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Our government, obviously, supports the teachers that are out there, the value they bring to our schools and also our communities. We’ve also met with the Northwest Territories Teachers’ Association, between myself, Minister R.C. McLeod and also Minister Abernethy, to discuss what’s out there, their assessment, their survey that’s been conducted, and I would just like to say thank you to the NWTTA for releasing that information to our government. At least it’s a tool that we need to work with. I believe that as a partnership we can move forward. We are doing that in collaboration with our partners, the NWTTA, between the three departments, and we want to find a solution. It’s all coming together, so that’s what we’re working on.
Mr. Speaker, I am quite glad the Minister is taking this issue very seriously in his department. I think it’s important for the public to understand exactly how widespread this issue is so that they can support our teachers across the North and to find proper accommodation where need be.
I am wondering if the Minister can provide this House with a bit of a breakdown of the number of teachers sharing accommodation in the territory who would rather be in individual housing. Would the Minister have this type of information here handy today? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, this is an area that the NWTTA, again we are working closely with them. The NWT Housing Corporation, Robert C. McLeod is also partnering this. Of course, the NWTTA conducted a survey with its members just recently. Of course, I will be seeking their permission to provide the results of the survey to the Members. At this point in time, we do not collect information on the teachers sharing accommodation. That is information that will be shared between the NWTTA and our community departments. We all know the small communities; there is a shortage of housing. We need to deal with that. How we will deal with that is in partnership and talking about the opportunities. Those are areas that we will continue to discuss among the parties that are here, the three Ministers and the NWTTA, and with the communities as well. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, it appears that the issue is probably more widespread than we are probably led to believe. As a long-time businessman and someone who is an academic, I know that you can’t do decisions unless you have good information, and to make some good decisions, you need the truth and you need the facts. We need to drill down information, as I just asked earlier here. We need those types of specific information. We need to do that type of research.
I will be asking the Minister here today if he thinks that we should be funding NWTTA a little bit more so they can drill down and provide us more specific research so that we can actually do the type of decision-making that we need to do in the future. Can he provide that degree of funding in the future? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories Teachers’ Association, we value their survey that was conducted. They shared that information with us. It is to some degree evidence-based that the Member is referring to and has been referred to in the past. We need to use evidence-based when we come up with various investments into the communities dealing with the housing and other infrastructure as well. Information that was released in a recent survey, again, we are working closely with the NWTTA. We will continue to press that matter. The Housing Minister is also involved in this because we are talking about housing for the Northwest Territories, whether we are professionals, teachers, the social workers and others. We will continue to press that with the communities as well. Committee also needs to work with us because they have the assets and also infrastructure in communities, as well, to work with. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.
Mr. Speaker, what I am hearing today is good news. I’m glad the Minister is taking this seriously.
Finally, I would like to link the work on housing to what we heard in this House before about the education renewal project that the Minister has been undertaking over the last few months. I understand that many people have been involved in the discussions of this project. I am hoping that the NWTTA is one of those partners. In my mind, reviewing the education system in light of the needs of the NWT’s teachers is very worthwhile work. I fully support this initiative. Again, all this is for naught if we can’t ensure our teachers those proper accommodations that they are requesting.
I would like to ask the Minister if he can assure me and the Members of this House that teachers’ housing will be fully addressed in this education renewal initiative and that we will find concrete solutions in the very near future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, that is part of our overall plan to find a concrete solution. That is why we are involved in partners such as NWTTA and also into the departmental discussions that we are currently having to find the solution at the community level. We know that teachers’ housing is very, very critical, especially in the small, isolated communities, and adequate housing to stay in the community longer. So that is part of the vision that we’re currently discussing, and to develop a better relationship with their students as well. The longer the teachers are staying in the community, the more beneficial it is for the communities as well.
I will absolutely commit to making an availability of adequate teachers’ housing an important part of this education renewal process. One of the pillars is to deal with the small community schools and the professions at a community level. So, yes, that will be part of the process.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Menicoche.
