Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a follow-up to my Member's statement. I have a few questions for the Minister of Education. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my Member's statement, parents feel the need to -- you know, the decision should be theirs to put their child in any language program that they'd like them to learn. I'd like to ask the Minister how has the department directed education councils and school boards on access to language classes? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the concern from the Member. I know in communities like Inuvik and Aklavik where we have two different Aboriginal groups such as Gwich'in and Inuvialuit, putting your child in a language class is very important. It helps preserve culture languages as I spoke earlier in my Minister's statement; however, at Moose Kerr School I know that the staff work really hard to maintain, protect and revitalize both Inuvialuit and Gwich'in languages.
With the Moose Kerr School, about 10 years ago they went by the healthcare card, what was on the healthcare card, then your student went into either Inuvialuit or Gwich'in. They changed it up a few years ago where the parents decide, and then I just found out that recently this year, 2016-2017 academic year, they went back to the healthcare card system. That's to make sure there's a good balance of students going to both the Inuvialuit and the Gwich'in classes. So right now they're using the health card system to choose how the student takes his class. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I'd also like to ask the Minister what options are available to parents and children who would like to enroll in a different language class?
It was actually up to the parents choosing up until this fiscal year, but moving forward I'd ask the Member if we have families that are concerned in Aklavik to go and speak to the teacher. If it's not resolved with the teacher, to speak with the principal and the last resort is bring it to the superintendent, but we will speak with the Beaufort Delta Education Council about this as it is a concern and we do have two communities, Aklavik and Inuvik, that can run into that issue in years to come.
Mr. Speaker, my constituents have gone to the school and to the local DEA, and they were told that this is a BDEC policy. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister, how will the department work to address parents' concerns, as I've outlined here today?
Yes, the department will follow-up with the Beaufort Delta Education Council, as this has been a concern and it's not the first time that we've had a family from the Member's community that brought this concern forward. Obviously, we want to revitalize our languages in Inuvialuit and Gwich'in, and keep it thriving in especially our smaller communities. So it is a concern and we'll have somebody from the department work with the Beaufort Delta Education Council to look at that policy.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister, can the Minister ensure that this is straightened out by the mid-term of the school year? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As the Member said, the family member has already spoken with the teacher, so we will speak with the superintendent and try to get this addressed as soon as we can.
Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
