Mr. Speaker, in my Member’s statement I talked about the elders in a parliamentary system that would require further discussions on a constitutional level. I want to talk with the Minister of Education and Culture about education and culture and do it one step at a time. Can the Minister look into a PTR system with our education schools in the Sahtu region in terms of how we involve elders in a system to help youth? Especially, can the Minister consider that as an option to get elders into our education system?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Time for question period has expired; however, I will allow this line of questioning. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. With the Department of Education, Culture and Employment there have been some concerns in areas of delivery for funding allocation to enhance or promote aboriginal language and cultural areas — the programming. We did issue a Ministerial directive in 2004 to deal specifically with the delivery of these courses where the elders also could be hired in this area. It does highlight specific areas of aboriginal language and instruction programs and also involves our community resource people. Those are the areas we’re focusing on right now.
With respect to the PTR the Member is alluding to, it’s an area we could possibly look at as a long term plan. We need to consult with the communities, as well, on how we could effectively deliver these programs. I think we’re doing that in the communities with the Ministerial directives at the present time, but certainly the PTR issue could be a discussion at a later time as well. We certainly deliver all these programs to the schools.
Mr. Speaker, I would ask the Minister to reconsider and put this as a priority with the PTR for elders and the residents in our schools. As I said earlier, we are losing the elders fast in our regions, in our communities. With them we lose the knowledge and values of our people. I would ask the Minister if he would strongly consider pushing for an initiative on the PTR to be discussed at this Assembly so we could talk about it seriously in the House.
I do appreciate the Minister’s directive in terms of language and culture in our schools, but we need something more permanent to include elders in our education system as teachers and professors to help our education, both academic and cultural.
Mr. Speaker, certainly the elders are important to the educational system, especially in the schools and also at the community level. We will continue to strive toward enhancing and also promoting more of the cultural based programs, enhancing our language at the school level and part of the curriculum development as well.
With respect to the course delivery — the program delivery at the community level — it does highlight the importance of involving the community members, the community elders. We understand that there are quite a number of years of experience and knowledge, and also their language, that could be delivered in the schools.
We will continue to work with what we have right now. We need to improve in that area. We need to hear back from the communities, because we work closely with the local school boards, the regional school boards, the councils. We will continue to do that and also work with the Members. The PTR issue is certainly an item of discussion to be taking place as well, but we need more discussion or consultation on the PTR if that’s the case.
Mr. Speaker, would the Minister commit that PTR discussions could possibly be brought up in the preliminary discussions and business plans for the upcoming years? I know it’s a lot of work. I would ask the Minister if we could possibly bring some discussion to the business plans — have a PTR for elders that would be included in further discussions, that would identify funds to have elders brought into our schools.
Mr. Speaker, currently the business plans are in process right now, and with the PTR this is all preliminary. We need to do more groundwork in this area, because we do have PTRs in different areas as well. As I indicated earlier, we need to work with the community educators, the school boards, the councils at the community level and our government department to move forward on that matter. We need more time to deal with the PTR issues. But, certainly, we do provide program delivery in the community at the current time, and I think it has been successful. We’ll continue to deliver that program
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Mr. Speaker, I’m advocating strongly for the elders in terms of doing the right thing for our people in communities. How long have we been trying to get elders into our education system? There have been so many doors closed in their faces.
Mr. Speaker, I want again to say to the Minister that you have an opportunity and the Assembly here has an opportunity to do the right thing and get the elders into our schools. The doors have been slammed in their faces by the federal government, the territorial government. The PTR system might be an avenue that would say: yes, we will have elders in the residences. They are dying out fast.
I would ask the Minister again: would he strongly push this department to have elders in our school system? It’s long overdue, and it should be done as soon as possible. Not more years to study. Would the Minister commit — hopefully within the life of this government or sooner — to implement a PTR into our education system for elders?
One of the areas we’re looking at for the elders is…. They are currently being penalized for working in the schools, because of their pension being deducted. We’re doing what we can as a department of the GNWT to remedy the situation. We need to utilize their service. That’s what we’ve been hearing when we visit the schools and the communities.
At the same time, we do hire quite a number of elders in the schools as required to conduct on-the-land programs. We’ll continue to do that as well. With the PTR, like I said, Mr. Speaker, we’ll have that discussion at the departmental level. In order to proceed forward, we need more discussion in that respect.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Before I go on to the next item of Orders of the Day, the Chair is going to call a short break.
The House took a short recess.
The House resumed.
We’ll return to Orders of the Day. Item 8, written questions. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to go back to item 5.
The Member is requesting unanimous consent to return to recognition of visitors in the gallery.
Unanimous consent granted.
