Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There has been a significant amount of money that was put into the digital communications network to provide the digital backbone to have computer and Internet hook-ups. We have done some work on cell phone service in terms of assessing the market and some of the challenges. At this point, cell phone services seem to be within the purview of the private sector. There are companies out there like NorthwesTel. Of course they want money to go into the small communities, but at this point we have been treating it as a private sector business opportunity. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I think the private sector has identified those lucrative markets out there and that is why they are in those seven communities mentioned that do have cell phone service, but I don’t think their intention is to go to the communities that don’t have that capacity in regards to the other 24 communities. I think this government has to take this issue on in regards to what the Yukon government has done. They made a political decision. They invested $2 million to ensuring that all communities in the Yukon are going to receive cell phone services. I would like to ask the Minister responsible, will this government take the step to improve the services in 24 communities in the Northwest Territories, regardless if it is cell phone service or uplink systems, so that we can improve our telecommunications throughout the Northwest Territories?
We have done work on cell phone service and looking at what we are doing, what the potential costs and challenges are in looking at other communities. I would be pleased to share that information with the Member. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I think it is critical that we move on this matter. I would like to see the information the Minister talks about. Again, it is more important that we, as government, find ways of improving programs and services. I know there have been questions in the House about the quality of education in our schools, the quality of programs in regards to our health care system. Improving services to our community by technology will improve the delivery system of this government. I would like to ask the Minister exactly what we are doing to improving the service delivery by way of technological advances to improve the service provided by government to communities.
While we are not directly involved, there is a significant project with Industry Canada in Vulcan in terms of delivery of broadband high speed services to the communities. It is a very important project. There is phase one that is in the works to be completed and there are significant dollars for phase two. We are working very closely with all the partners in that arrangement to make sure that, hopefully, will get done. That will give the service that the Member is talking about.
We already invested heavily in the digital communication network. Our schools, our health centres all have that capacity in all through NorthwesTel and those communities. There are Internet services as well. We have spent tens of millions of dollars in this division trying to improve these services. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Your final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Again, Mr. Speaker, the Minister touched on it, the whole area of Vulcan Communications and SSI Micro. I believe that proposal is on thin ice. I think that this government has to do everything it can to ensure that we don’t lose $14 million of federal infrastructure funding. This government has to step up to the plate to ensure that that system of having high speed Internet, take it up to the next level where it is going to be high speed Internet so we actually see improvement in regards to the systems in the North in our communities.
Again, the onus has to be on this government to ensure we improve telecommunications in the Northwest Territories by improving our system. Again, I would like to ask the Minister exactly where is this government going to provide the leadership to our communities and make sure we are advancing into the 21st Century when it comes to technology.
I believe we are well established into the 21st Century. I have indicated to the Member some of the things we are doing directly. Indirectly we are paying very close attention and working very closely with the folks involved in the broadband initiative. It involves Industry Canada and Vulcan. We are very committed to making sure that this is a successful endeavour. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today in my Member’s statement I talked about some of the problems my constituents are having with their NWT Housing Corporation HAP units and, more specifically, the roofs. I have questions for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister agree that this HAP roof problem exists in these homes that I spoke of and that the issue is outside the control of the HAP clients? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are some concerns and there were some issues with some of these roofs. They were built in accordance with the National Building Code of the day, but we have been hearing some issues with the design of the roofs. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister advise me if he and the NWT Housing Corporation staff, specifically the key staff, are aware of the problem and why the problem actually exists? I am wondering if he is aware technically why the problem actually exists. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, we are well aware of the problem and the technical aspect as to why they had some issues with these roofs. Unlike other roof repair programs, the corporation has actually taken the lead in identifying some of the HAP houses with these roof problems. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, will the Minister agree to have staff meet with the clients in Fort Resolution that have this specific problem with the roof, and as a result of which I believe to be a wrong material application on the roof on the design option first selected in the 1980s? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we are always happy to meet with some of the residents that have some issues with some concerns with the roofs. The technical staff will take the lead in determining that if repairs are required, and then they will also estimate the cost of repairs, and then they will ensure the programs advisor is notified. The programs advisor will then meet with the clients and, if eligible, there will be some financial assistance. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mr. Speaker, I believe this to be a special case. I believe that some of these clients, after 20 years of being homeowners, may fall outside some of the program parameters that exist currently. Can the Minister, however, commit to providing technical support and, more importantly, some financial support to bring these units to a proper state for safety as well as for the comfort of the homeowners? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we will be pleased to provide the technical report. I have already outlined a bit of the process we will be going through with identification and doing an estimate of the work required on some of these roofs. If the clients qualify, they will be offered some financial assistance to repair the roofs. This initiative is actually going to be a priority repair for clients who apply for homeownership repair programs. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up on my statement and pose some questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment on early childhood education.
Mr. Speaker, I recognize that we have many capacity issues throughout the North, it’s difficult to find qualified child care workers and we have high costs and affordability questions to deal with, but I really do consider this issue to be possibly the most important opportunity this government has to contribute to a positive future, so it’s of the utmost importance. I’d like to ask the Minister first: what progress has been made in the past, say, 12 to 18 months on our early childhood education programs? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. With respect to the Early Childhood Program, there have been some changes to benefit the communities that we service. Part of the ongoing initiative, the ongoing improvement of the program is the last two years, April 1, 2007, there has been an increase in the contribution, so that can offset or allow operators to increase staff wages and improve benefits for early childhood staff. So those are the areas where there have been some changes. Also, since 2007-2008, the department assists eligible providers with basic rent or mortgage expenses. Those are new initiatives that have been undertaken.
Mr. Speaker not only that, but just on the overall contribution, back in 2000-2001 it was a $2.6 million annual contribution. Now we have, in 2009-2010, upwards of $4.7 million. So we have increased and made progress. Mahsi.
Thanks to the Minister for those comments. I am aware that the funding has increased and I did recognize some of those things in the statement. Thanks for that review. But there are so many more opportunities that I’m hearing about. There still are simply not enough child care spaces in our facilities in Yellowknife or the other communities. The issue of wages remains as a fundamental one. I suspect we need direct subsidies for those wages to get the qualified help and realize the opportunity that’s here. Is the department looking into subsidizing the wages for qualified child care staff in those facilities? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, our contribution is towards the organization and they hire their staff and they pay their staff the wages and also benefits, similar to what we do with the school funding formula. We give a lump sum funding to the schools based on enrolment and then they hire their professional staff. So it’s a similar arrangement that we have with them.
We’re happy to announce that as of this year there have been 55 successful early childhood education candidates surrounding 14 communities. So that’s one of the successes that we like to show the Northwest Territories. So we continue to improve our programs, Mr. Speaker, but those are the formulas that we currently undertake with operators. Mahsi.
Thanks again for those comments to the Minister. Of course, the fact remains that they don’t seem to be getting the qualified help or are able to keep competent staff because of the wage problem, so I’m hoping further attention will be focused on that, perhaps in more direct ways than a general contribution.
Training is indeed an important issue and that’s been raised before, the training at Aurora College in the past has not met the national standards. What is being done to improve the Aurora College courses to ensure that our workers do meet those standards? Thank you.
Mahsi. The training program that’s been delivered through Aurora College has been ongoing for a number of years now and it has been very successful to date. We produce so many early childhood workers out of that. When I quoted, the number was based on 2008-2009, 55 successful course completions by students from 14 different communities. That’s just one year. This particular program has been ongoing and certainly there’s always been room for improvement in the program. There’s an accreditation program attached to this, as well, and we’re also partnered up with other institutions and southern institutions as well. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are still so many questions here, but I’d like to ask if the accreditation program is implemented now and does it enable us to produce graduates who will meet those national standards that are set for child care workers? Thank you.
Mahsi. The program that has been offered by Aurora College is recognized, probably not all courses, but most of the courses are recognized by southern institutions so they can continue on to take advanced education, whether it be a diploma or a degree program. So we’re always pushing our northern college and other institutions to have an accreditation program here in the Northwest Territories. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Given that the return to high school is not a very attractive option for many young adults, would the Minister consider changing the policy and legislation to offer student financial assistance to our young people who are doing upgrading in order to qualify for a post-secondary institution?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Our policy currently states that we do sponsor post-secondary students, students that are off to university or colleges, but I think the Member is alluding to upgrading. We need to be very careful on what we do here, because it would have a huge impact in the local district education authorities, and not only that, the divisional education council, because our funding is based on enrolment and provided to those organizations. If we start sponsoring students down south, there’s a number of students that are on a waiting list and we’re not just talking about one student. Just imagine the cost factor that would be taken out of the local education authorities for sponsoring students down south. So those are the areas of great concern to us and it has been stressed to us by board members as well. Mahsi.
The Minister talked about the grave issues and the cost factor and all that. I say to the Minister in terms of this government in terms of the factors of not supporting our children who need to have support for upgrading on some of their courses to get into a post-secondary institution, I think those factors certainly will outweigh the concerns that this government has.
I want to ask the Minister, in terms of support again for this type of issue, would the Minister be willing to sit down with the Sahtu stakeholders to look at an education symposium in the Sahtu to look at solutions, to look at ways that we can deal with this issue in the Sahtu? Thank you.
Mahsi. We are currently supporting those students that are willing to upgrade in the regions, Mr. Speaker. We have to support our students in our home communities. We can’t ship the students down south to get upgraded. Yes, we fully encourage students to go to college and university with the appropriate courses, and those courses are delivered here in the Northwest Territories. We continue to support those individuals that are willing to upgrade or get educated on our home turf in the Northwest Territories. Not only that, Mr. Speaker, but when we talk about the policies in place, we certainly work with all communities. If we need to change let’s say a policy to support those individuals, there’s going to be a lot of consultation that will take place likely. Certainly, I’d like to hear from the district education authorities, the divisional board of education. Those are the contributors that support the students as well. Mahsi.
For the record, this young gentleman that I’m talking about, the education did not contribute one cent to him being enrolled in a southern institution in Alberta. This individual paid for his education through washing dishes, attending Aurora College in the Sahtu region. This individual, when he found out that he was unable to enter into a post-secondary institution, it’s going to cost him $32,000 just to get in there, Mr. Speaker. Again, I ask the Minister of Education, is he willing to sit down with the Sahtu leadership, Sahtu stakeholders and look at engaging in a Sahtu educational symposium to find solutions on how we start improving and really get the real education into our region and into our communities and have a solid investment in our children? Would the Minister be willing to commit to an education symposium in the Sahtu?
Mahsi. If there is such an education symposium being conducted in the Sahtu region by Sahtu residents, then if there’s an invitation, I’m certainly willing to attend, but there are other sources of funding that those individual students can certainly access. There’s INAC funding, there’s upgrading funding that’s available, but this is an upgrading program that the Member is referring to, Mr. Speaker, not a college or university program. With our SFA program, we solely contribute towards post-secondary students. So, Mr. Speaker, those are the areas that we continue to focus on and I’m willing to meet with whoever is interested in advancing our students, how we can partner up and move forward. So certainly those are the areas that we continue to focus on, improving our student progress and we want every student to be successful, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Your final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The parents of the Sahtu also want every child of theirs who enters into our education system to be successful and come back and contribute to the people of the Northwest Territories and, more importantly, into the community. After all is said and done, Mr. Speaker, I have a 19-year-old man in Edmonton with a Grade 9 Alberta education who was prepared to go into a post-secondary institution. However, he needs help. It’s $32,000 he needs in terms of getting into a post-secondary institution. Again, I ask the Minister if he would work with me, work with this young man in terms of how can we offer assistance to this man. This man -- I’m very proud of him -- is determined to go into a post-secondary institution; however, he needs some financial support. Would the Minister be able to commit to working with me in how do we support this person?
Mahsi. We are willing to support the students that are entering college or university, but if they’re at, say, a Grade 9 level, then there’s an education factor in the Northwest Territories. They are more than willing to assist these students enter into our school system. We have beautiful schools in the regions, we have a new school in Tulita. Those are the areas that we continue to improve on. So we continue to strive for that, Mr. Speaker. We have to make clear that the SFA funding is specifically for post-secondary college or university students, but I’m willing to work with the Member on a going forward basis if they could assist the student to get at least into the college area. By all means, SFA money will kick in from there. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Transportation.
Can the Minister provide me the status of the proposed Bear River bridge?
Can the Minister provide me with the GNWT options that can be examined to financially back step the construction of the Bear River bridge?
Will the Minister provide a breakdown of the cost of construction on the Bear River bridge?
