Mahsi, Madam Chair. That’s correct. It is part of the grants and contributions. Mahsi.
I know the Minister is aware of their work to seek to expand their programs based on the tremendous success they’ve enjoyed. I know the Minister’s heard those statements and questions in the House and so on. Is there a plan to increase the funding for Dechinta in this budget?
Madam Chair, as I stated in the House, we are working with the Dechinta stakeholders. Obviously, we need a proposal from Dechinta to move forward on as part of their business case scenario. We haven’t received that at this point yet. Again, I have to work with the college across the Northwest Territories as well. It is a process that we have to follow. We’ve been in touch with Dechinta and vice versa. We’re working with them. Mahsi.
I can confirm that I’ve heard the same thing from Dechinta. They really appreciate the Minister’s support. I think it’s been critical for their work to date. They’re very anxious to move onwards and work with the Minister for that extra support.
In fact, I’d say Dechinta has proven itself to be cost effective. The students love it and First Nations support it. It can support local economies, and of course, Dechinta supports the communities it works out of. Everyone associated with the Dechinta model wins.
But GNWT recognition of them as an accredited educational institution and financial support is now critical to building on the demonstrated success that they have achieved and to provide for the expansions to the regions that we’ve just spoken of. There’s a high regional demand, I think, as the Minister knows. Students are from all over, but they’re demanding their own programs in their own region. There’s a desire by Dechinta to meet those interests.
With support, every regional program will provide six full-time and 32 part-time positions in each region for elders and local residents and provide strong support, as mentioned, for community economies. The interesting thing about the Dechinta model is that there’s no need for costly infrastructure. Dechinta, in fact, is a model that supports existing private infrastructure such as lodges and camps that we know from time to time go through financial bottlenecks, so it’s a beautiful merging of interests in a way that serves our communities.
The Dechinta, I know the Minister is aware, is five years old now. Their five-year pilot is coming to an end. It’s now time, of course, to move to an operational basis. During that time they’ve enjoyed the success of 250-plus course graduates, all of which have become either employed or gone on to additional post-secondary education. The students universally praise the program. There’s a strong record of progressively engaging students on northern issues, keeping the northern graduates in the North because of that engagement and, in fact, repatriating students that have left the North and moved south. I have a constituent who has just returned and wrote me a letter saying that the Dechinta programs were so instrumental in her doing that.
In my region where they exist right now, there’s strong support by First Nation governments like the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. They, of course, have partnered very progressively right from day one with the University of Alberta and McGill University for university-accredited courses and they are now, this year, working on a master’s level course.
I know that the Minister is also aware, from statements in the House and so on from my colleagues, that applications have soared beyond the 30 spaces that are available now and I believe there were 97 applications as of some weeks ago to date so far this year.
Again, I know the department has been supportive and is appreciated by Dechinta. They say they have a very good working relationship with the Minister’s staff. They also have other major funders in McConnell Foundation, Counselling Foundation of Canada and Tides Foundation. However, there are limits to what they can without being incorporated in the GNWT fold of accredited educational institutions.
Since 2008 Dechinta has brought millions of dollars in education and research funding into the NWT, but they have a dilemma. They cannot grant degrees without legislated recognition by ECE. As a consequence, they cannot hold grants that they successfully have competed for and therefore the grants must be held by southern degree-granting institutions. Being recognized, of course, would also attract considerably more foundation money that they’re able to achieve right now under these limitations, enable them to carry their own grants instead of having to funnel them through another southern institution and pay admin fees down there, employ people down there and so on and enable them, of course, to grant Dechinta/U of A or McGill degrees in concert as Yukon College does with the University of Alberta.
All of this is a long way of saying they are now at a critical juncture, the end of a very impressive five-year pilot study, pilot project where they have tested things. They have developed a very unique model and they are set to go and have a very keen bunch of students in regions who are interested in those programs that also bring a lot of employment along with the program. I know the Minister is aware that they work hard to make sure it’s a land-based program that draws on the elders’ knowledge and gives them professor status, rightfully so, in the delivery of their programs as well as the academic side.
I appreciate that the Minister is waiting for a proposal from Dechinta and that he has appreciated their work and is standing ready to consider that proposal seriously. At this point in time, I would like to propose a motion to support the Minister in another aspect of this, and that is the aspect of getting them recognized. Madam Chair, may I go ahead with the motion?
Yes, we may have a timing issue here as we are obligated to recognize the clock in about three minutes. I don’t know how many Members want to speak to this. I don’t know how far beyond the six o’clock it would go if we introduce the motion now. Do the motion now? Is that the wish of the committee?
Agreed.
Okay. Please proceed with your motion, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Madam Chair. It’s a short motion. I move that this committee strongly recommends that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment work with representatives of the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning on the legislative steps necessary for Dechinta to become an accredited post-secondary education provider with the potential to become a degree-granting institution. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question is being called.
---Carried
Committee, at this time I am going to recognize the clock and rise and report progress. When we resume tomorrow, we will be back on this page with Education, Culture and Employment. I would like to ask the Sergeant-at-Arms to please escort the witnesses from the table and thank Minister Lafferty for his appearance here today. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee has been considering Tabled Document 188-17(5), Northwest Territories Main Estimates 2015-2016, with one motion being adopted, and would like to report progress. I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Do I have a seconder? Mr. Menicoche.
---Carried
Orders of the day for Friday, March 6, 2015, at 10:00 a.m.:
Prayer
Ministers’ Statements
Members’ Statements
Returns to Oral Questions
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Acknowledgements
Oral Questions
Written Questions
Returns to Written Questions
Replies to Opening Address
Petitions
Reports of Standing and Special Committees
Reports of Committees on the Review of Bills
Tabling of Documents
Notices of Motion
Notices of Motion for First Reading of Bills
Motions
First Reading of Bills
Bill 48, An Act to Amend the Mental Health Act
Second Reading of Bills
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Bill 12, Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan Act
Bill 36, Health and Social Services Professions Act
Committee Report 10-17(5), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the 2013-2014 Annual Report of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories
Tabled Document 188-17(5), NWT Main Estimates 2015-2016
Tabled Document 205-17(5), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 5, 2014-2015
Tabled Document 206-17(5), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 3, 2014-2015
Tabled Document 207-17(5), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2015-2016
Report of Committee of the Whole
Third Reading of Bills
Orders of the Day
Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until Friday, March 6th, at 10:00 a.m.
---ADJOURNMENT
The House adjourned at 6:01 p.m.
