Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I spoke about the need for a full-time student counsellor in the community of Fort Liard. So I’d like to ask the Minister of Education, as I laid out the case clearly that there’s a need for a full-time counsellor in Fort Liard.
What formula is used by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to determine whether a community merits a full-time school counsellor, and does the community have to meet a particular threshold?
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Minister of Education, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, there is a school funding framework that we follow through with and it does consist of various categories for individual school boards to qualify for. Some of the areas for counselling, obviously, the funding would be for school community counsellors, inclusive schooling, that there is funding for counsellors and inclusive schooling and funding for counselling and healing. These are just some of the areas that we’ll be capturing what the Member is referring to as community school counsellors. Part of the Dehcho Divisional Education Council, we are contributing up to $537,000 a year to capture the school community counsellor positions, but at the same time, it is at their discretion to hire those individuals as well as from the communities’ perspective.
Of course, a student’s well-being is one of the Education Renewal Initiatives, and I’m pleased that the Minister brought out some other funding areas, so if the Minister can bring that document to me. Also, pooling all this money, does the Minister think that the Dehcho Education Council can translate the resources available into a full-time counsellor for the Fort Liard youth?
That $537,000 to the Dehcho Divisional Education Council, they decide where the money should be expended, whether it be in Kakisa or another small community. It would be up to their discretion to deal with that. These are just some of the positions that have been highlighted, such as Fort Liard, Fort Providence, Fort Simpson, Jean Marie, Kakisa, Nahanni Butte, Trout Lake and Wrigley. Some of them are half-time positions, three-quarter positions based on the funding that has been allocated to them. But again, at the end of the day, it will be up to the district education authority, working with the district education council, to decide how many positions should be hired in their school system.
I continue to reiterate that we certainly need these types of supports for kids with complex needs. Once again, our at-risk youth in all our small communities, we need a wraparound approach that involves school counsellors and teachers working closely with other mental health and social services professionals.
As an MLA who represents some of the smallest and least resourced communities, can the Minister commit to bringing this wraparound approach to Fort Liard?
Within our Government of the Northwest Territories, we’ve been talking about, just recently, the wraparound, the services. That has been in discussion. Obviously, this will be a topic of discussion that the Member alluded to when I meet with interagency and other departments here when we talk about the funding itself. Yes, this will be, obviously, part of the discussion that we’ll be having.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Just for clarity, if he’s working with the Department of Health and Social Services, as well, is he able to work with them to see if there are some resources to help with the need of filling this gap in the Fort Liard school system?
Any funding that Health and Social Services can provide to us is greatly appreciated. At the same time, it is an interagency meeting that we need to have with the Department of Health and Social Services and my department because we talk about the school community counsellors and also counselling and healing. There are separate pots that we provide, as the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, to Fort Liard and other communities. Yes, I did commit to working with the Department of Health and Social Services. They have been our partner along the way and they will continue to do so.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
