Absolutely. On the Department of Finance human resources website, we have a portal there for summer students to put in applications. I am not sure what the status of the number of applications is right now. I will gather that information and I will flip it to the Member. We are always looking. Summer students who are coming back from school know that there are opportunities. They know where they need to apply. Again, I will check on the status of the number of applications we may have received and share the information with the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the Minister of Infrastructure. This is something I have brought up multiple times. It is something that gets brought up to me a lot. It is dredging in the port of Hay River. This is more important than ever, that government has committed to invest millions of dollars in a new fish plant to revitalize the fishery. It now owns Marine Transportation Services, which requires use of those waterways. We are looking to encourage tourism, so we need a safe harbour. The Minister has stated many times that safety is his number one priority. I would like an update: what progress has been made getting the port of Hay River dredged? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are pursuing federal funding through the Ocean Protection Plan. For Members of this House, that is a different pot of money from the bilaterals that we have signed. The federal government has set aside $1.5 billion for the nation for five years moving forward from 2017-2018 on this. Our Department of Infrastructure has been in conversations with different federal agencies because this pot of money has more than one federal minister in charge of it. It has Transport Canada. It has Canadian Coast Guard. I believe the Minister of Environment is also involved in that.
It is funny that the Member asks me this question today, because our staff is actually down in Ottawa today meeting with Canadian Coast Guard and pursuing what kind of opportunities we have through this funding arrangement that is coming forward with the federal government on this project. When I get more information on the exact funding advancements that are possible through this program, I will update the House on that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
That is great information. I realize it is early days for the Minister. Does he have a schedule as to when we might know about the amount of funding and when this work might actually begin?
As I have said, we are in discussions. I believe that the federal government wants to sign off on some of this money moving forward. They have five different programs, I believe, under this with 57 different initiatives for all of Canada.
For the one that they announced in last August for the Northern three territories, I guess that would be us, Nunavut, Nunavik, is the Safety Equipment and Basic Marine Infrastructure program. That is the one we are in discussions with the federal government on this right now. Under this initiative, they want to look at doing something with 30 Northern communities, including all three territories. That is what we are negotiating with them and having discussions on how this is going to move forward.
Once we get something signed up, I will have a better idea of a schedule and the funding opportunities and what that is going to go towards. We have a significant ask around a number of things. The dredging of the port of Hay River is a priority, but it is only one of the things on the list.
Does the Minister have any information about the costs of dredging the port? I know when you are asking for money, you usually have to ask for a specific amount of money. Does the Minister have that information for us?
I don't have that level of detail in front of me. I know that the stuff that we identified under marine priorities comes to about $55 million for our ask. When I said that this pot of money that they are talking about right now for $94 million, I don't know what we are going to get funded. I can get the breakout, what it would be looking to restore the harbour in Hay River for the Member.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I mentioned fishing, marine transportation, tourism. There is also talk of GNWT taking more responsibility from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. We have the new marine training facility, which is a federal facility. There is a lot going on in regards to the port of Hay River. Is the Minister confident that, before the end of this term, given the fact that the feds are more invested now than ever, we will have that port dredged or at least work begun? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My hope is to have the port of Hay River at least started on the dredging. We have to secure funding. We will have to see what the appetite of the federal government is to help partner with us to do this. We know it is a priority for us now that we own MTS. Federal dollars are invested in some of the marine stuff in Hay River; the Canadian Coast Guard also has an investment in it. We are pursuing these dollars as best we can. Yes, I certainly hope we can be able to say we are going to at least start looking after the restoration of the harbour in Hay River. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Earlier today I spoke a little bit about the barriers and some of the challenges that, in particular, Indigenous people have in accessing post-secondary education. Sometimes I think we need to look at what some of the gaps are between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, and I would just like to start, maybe, by asking the Minister if the department has done any work with regard to identifying those gaps that we have here in the North between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children or students. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think we can start off in terms of how we support our post-secondary students, Indigenous or non, with our Student Financial Assistance program. We have made some improvements and enhancements to those over the years, but really, what it comes down to is starting very young, and we have made some very big investments in early childhood.
We are looking at our educational renewal initiatives from the JK-to-12 system. We are looking at creating new pathways to graduation in the high school system. It takes a combination of all of those investments that will see more success in our Indigenous students and families, right from JK up to grade 12. Then, hopefully, they do graduate, and we can get them into a path that they choose to do, whether it's post-secondary education or getting right into the career workforce.
We want to support our students to succeed right across the Northwest Territories. It is a combination of a lot of investments, Mr. Speaker, and our productive choices with people who are on income assistance as well, but it takes a lot of factors into consideration to ensure that all of our students succeed in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, I appreciate the Minister's comments, and we are certainly grateful for a lot of the good work that the department does. Student Financial Assistance is something that is in many ways unique to the North, and we benefit greatly as a society for it.
I just want to go back to the gaps again. One thing that we have to identify is that, clearly, we have statistical information that indicates that Indigenous students are behind as it relates to graduation rates, et cetera, moving forward. I just want to, again, ask the Minister: what kind of work have they done to identify those gaps? What kind of measures or statistics are they keeping so that they can be aware of what work still lies ahead to lessen those gaps?
I think a focus for any jurisdiction is how do we identify gaps and challenges and how do we mitigate them so that we have our students succeeding to completion of either their programs or getting the degrees that they need so that they can be part of the working society. Ways that we do that are through counselling; we are also looking at creating better supports within the post-secondary systems, within Aurora College or within our other post-secondary partners that we work with.
It is always a challenge, and we have got to find unique ways to identify those challenges. I know that the Member for Deh Cho had mentioned some around promoting culture and traditions to help succeeding in those areas. We have got to find a way to make sure that we address those barriers so that our students get to succeed in life, really, and like I said, it is a combination of all of the work that we are doing right now, and it starts with early childhood and the work that we are doing around education renewal to set them up for post-secondary.
I also talked about some of the challenges of parents, and sometimes single parents, who are trying to make their way in post-secondary education. Children are obviously the greatest gift that we have, but, of course, they are an expense. Student Financial Assistance is doing good things to help us afford to go to post-secondary education, but can the Minister let us know: are there any additional resources or financial supports that a single parent or parents could apply for to help with childcare while they are working towards getting a post-secondary diploma or degree?
As Members know, we did make some changes when the Canada Child Benefit came into place, as well as changes to our own legislation for the NWT Child Benefit, to help more low-to-moderate-income families on that area. We have been working with the campuses in Fort Smith, Inuvik, and Yellowknife to address those, and we have heard that as a concern that childcare is important for students who are going to school. We are also working on how to create affordable and accessible childcare in the 11 communities that don't have childcare currently. That poses a barrier in itself, and we have to find ways to address those so that single parents or even families have that opportunity to a healthy education.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for identifying what it is that we are trying to accomplish with regard to helping out with childcare here in the North, but can the Minister describe any resources or supports that a young individual who is taking post-secondary in the South might have access to or additional supports that our government might be able to provide to help them with childcare while going to school in the South? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I encourage any of the students who experience any kind of concerns or issues going down to post-secondary education in the South for the first time to possibly call their client service officer at the Student Financial Assistance office. We also have supports through our Indigenous governments and our partnerships, and we work with them on how to identify some of those barriers and challenges.
I also know that a lot of our Indigenous governments take students who are about to graduate on tours of post-secondary institutions down in the South to give them an idea of how it is going to be when they get down there, but anyone who is having trouble, I encourage them to call their client service officers here at the office and get some assistance. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, who is responsible for the minimum wage. As I pointed out earlier today, the latest report on minimum wage is a rehash of the 2014 report that was produced by a committee that is not at arm's length from government, and it contained no preferred recommendation. Is the Minister willing to revise the terms of reference for the Minimum Wage Committee to make it more independent of government and give direction that a preferred recommendation needs to be put forward? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a little information for Members and the public: the Minimum Wage Committee was made in 2013, and its sole purpose was to meet and review relevant information, research, and data to determine suitable options for a change to the minimum wage.
Every two years, they review this area of the minimum wage. They bring options to myself, and we make the decisions on what meets the needs of not only the employees, but also the employers. We have to make sure that there is a fine balance and that we don't put extra hardships on our employers when we do look at increases to the minimum wage. The committee is made up of business individuals as well as non-government organizations, and I think it brings a very good, balanced perspective, and at this time, I do not see a need for change in that area. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Well, I am disappointed to hear that. When you have two reports and they are virtually carbon copies of each other, something is not right, and I have made a suggestion about how the Minister can improve it, but he doesn't seem to want to take that. I will try a different tack here.
Another issue is indexing. Eight other Canadian jurisdictions now index their minimum wage, or intend to begin this practice soon. This is something the Minister could begin to do now without waiting for the next round of review. Will the Minister direct that the NWT minimum wage now be indexed to inflation or cost of living?
Setting the minimum wage to increase with inflation could actually limit our ability to explore other options for adjusting the minimum wage rates. Prior to the forming of the Minimum Wage Committee, they did look at such measures as the Consumer Price Index. At that time, it was felt that having this committee of business, labour organizations, and the community was the best way to go to look at all areas that would help set the options for minimum wage. At this time, the minimum wage will be indexed to inflation. We're not looking at it at this time.
Well, I'm getting some straight answers from the Minister today, which is a little unusual. I have described the living wage, which is a defensible figure calculated through a nationally recognized procedure. Our territorial data does not allow for detailed calculation of a living wage for each of our communities. Will the Minister commit to working with his colleague the Minister of Finance and, where necessary, Statistics Canada to expand the range of data collection in our communities to enable calculation of a local living wage?
Currently, there is no jurisdiction in all of Canada that has legislated living wage as part of minimum wage policy. I feel that, the way we look at our minimum wage and review that minimum wage every two years, we are doing what is best for not only the employees, but as I mentioned earlier, what's best for the employers. I can bring this to Cabinet and have those discussions. At this time, we are going to continue with the process of how we develop and determine what a minimum wage is every two years.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I guess what I am hearing from the Minister is the status quo is okay, and when Alberta has a higher minimum wage than we do this fall, people should just move to Alberta. Currently, recipients of income support receive allowances that are adjusted according to where a person lives, and that reflects a difference in cost of living. If this principle applies to income support, why don't we apply it to the minimum wage? Will the Minister commit to beginning the work to develop a methodology to calculate a local living wage for all of our communities, and move the minimum wage to a living wage? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Just to give you a little information here. When we increase the minimum wage come April 1st of this year, about 700 people in the Northwest Territories will be affected, will be getting an increase. Having a living wage, as I mentioned, would possibly have some impacts on our employers. We all know that a lot of our businesses and people who do business in the Northwest Territories don't even pay the minimum wage; they pay a lot higher than that. In the tax-based communities, it gets even higher. You won't be looking at a living wage, and we will continue the same route that we are on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Members on this side of the House have received variable answers about the future of the Social Work Program. We have heard both that the program is phased out, and will continue to be phased out; and we've also heard that the results of the foundational review are important to the future of the program. Mr. Speaker, my question for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment is: which one is it? Thank you.
Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The foundational review was a process that we took on as a government, and we are looking at a whole bunch of different areas, and it's not all focused on programs. There's governance. There's operations and administration. There's recruitment, retention, just give a direction of where the college is going. We are going to use that information to help set the long-term strategic plan for Aurora College. That review, the internal review that Aurora College is doing on their own, that will also possibly help us set the direction moving forward. The main focus right now is to get that foundational review complete with the management response, and help us move forward with other supporting documents such as the Skills 4 Success, as well as our labour markets needs assessment and information that we have that data will all help us plan a good direction for Aurora College going to the future.
The Minister has given me another and/or answer. He said that the results of the social work program review will possibly figure into what happens to the program there. For the second time, I'm asking: how is the Minister approaching the results of the foundational review and the Social Work Program review with respect to the future of this program? Does it have a future?
We don't know what's going to be in the internal review of the Social Work Program. We don't know what's in the final report of the foundational review. Once we get those, we are going to develop a management response, as I've mentioned in this House, that's going to work on looking at the recommendations. It's going to give us an opportunity to consider the feasibility of each of the recommendations. It also is going to talk about the analysis of the recommendations, and how we implement them so that all our stakeholders, that all Members of this House can make evidence-based decisions. Until we know what those are, we can't really make a decision here, and everything will be taken into consideration. As I mentioned, the main priority right now is to get this foundational review complete.
I'm going to ask the simplest question possible: is the Minister committed to phasing out the Social Work Program?
With the current budget and the current steps we've taken, we are looking at phasing this current program that is currently at the college out after this year. That's why there are no intakes. What comes out of the foundational review, the direction of the college, we will use that information to make evidence-based decisions, and whether or not they will have the degree granting program, or whether they are going to change direction and do other types of degree granting bachelor programs, but we'll have to get that foundational review complete first.
Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if I was one of the students in this program, I would be very confused about what the future held for me in September at Aurora College. The Minister is trying to have it both ways; that it's phased out, but the foundational review is going to be important to its future. I'll just ask this from another direction. The Minister says he's all about the evidence, which is great. What evidence does the Minister need to reinstate the Social Work Program?
Mr. Speaker, the students who are currently in the Social Work Program were given all the information that they needed in terms of moving forward. They are also getting the supports they need to graduate and to complete their program. Once the whole discussion started about the Social Work Program, they understood it, the staff understood it, and Aurora College senior management understood it. The kind of data that we need to look at is evidence-based decisions that are coming out of this foundational review. We'll look at the recommendations. I said, that's the most important piece of work that needs to be completed first. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
