I'll take that as a comment. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm quite frustrated with the responses from the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment about the social work program. Mr. Speaker, it was a political decision to cut that program based on the government's decision that we needed to have extensive budget cuts in the first two years of our mandate. On that basis, Aurora College was told to cut programs. They cut the social work program. Now, the Minister is not making a political decision to reinstate it. She's hiding behind the bureaucracy and saying that it's up to them to restore it. So my question for the Minister is: this is a question of political will. Do you have the political will to reinstate the social work program? Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have the political will to make sure that we have quality programming for our students based on the credited standards. I have the political will to know that the social work program and the Bachelor of Education program are in our top 10 needed skills within the Territories in the next 15 years. I have the political will, Mr. Speaker, therefore, to tell the person who takes the position, as I've stated many times in the House, that the first programs to be reviewed within the context of the Aurora College is the social work and the degree in education. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I wonder what the Minister thinks will be left of that social work program by the time she hires her expert and the expert comes up with a plan and an evaluation that has already done is redone. What will be left of the program that is there today?
What I'm hoping will be left when this is done is that we will keep the strengths that are offered within the social work program currently and also address the weaknesses that have been identified in both reports.
The thing that I find difficult to understand is: what of those strengths will be left in a year from now? For sure, it's going to take a year. Things move very slowly in government, I've learned. So what will be left of the strengths of this program to preserve by the time the new person gets around to working on the social work program?
One of the greatest strengths within the program that was identified in the internal review was that it takes a northern context; taking people on the land, bringing others, et cetera. That will be there because, Mr. Speaker, thanks to a previous Minister of Education who was really focused on language and culture, we have language and culture programming throughout our education system, including our post-secondary. So I can't take credit for that. I do have to give credit where it was deserved. That was a previous Minister, Minister Lafferty, I believe, at the time, and so we will make sure that the strongest component, that it is culturally based, will remain.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Minister for her response. Of course, it's not what I want to hear because it lacks the specificity of telling students who are interested in social work and instructors who are teaching social work that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Ever since this upheaval was created by the previous Minister by implementing cuts at Aurora College, the goal posts just keep moving and moving. We have to wait for the review; we have to wait for the management response; now, we're waiting for an expert. So I really encourage the Minister to expedite the response to the program evaluation and the retooling of the social work program as soon as possible. Will it happen in the life of this Assembly? Thank you.
Yes, like I said many times, as soon as that person is in place, the first priority of all the evaluations is to be the social work program and the degree in education; that will be a priority. So, yes, that evaluation had better happen in the life of this Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to follow up with some more questions to the Minister of Lands. When he talked about going into Nahendeh to consult and talk to the people, he's talking about October 22nd and the 25th. There are six communities in the Nahendeh riding, so can the Minister please explain where they are meeting, and with whom they are meeting? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Lands.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am aware of the dates and the fact that they are going to meet with IGOs on the 22nd and 25th. I'm not certain as to who they are meeting with and in which locations, but I can certainly get that information for the Member opposite. Thank you.
I appreciate the Minister undertaking to get that information to us. My big question, again, is: there are six communities, and if we're only going to be meeting X number of them, is the government going to pay to have these people come in? Or are they going to the communities?
I believe that staff is going to the Nahendeh riding. As I say, I'm not certain which communities they're going to, but again, we'll supply that information to the Member opposite.
I thank the Minister and the staff for getting out there and talking to the IGOs. I think that is what he says he is calling it. I'm not too sure what that is, but I thank him for that. I guess my next question is in regard to this information sheet. Why wasn't this information sheet done before they started posting up? Why wasn't this information shared out there to the general public until now when they are asking for it?
I'm not sure of the content or context of the information sheet referred to by the Member opposite, so it makes it a little difficult to answer the question, but I will look into it.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and if the Minister is confused, now I'm going to get confused, because he's the one who told me they were going to do this information sheet. So if he doesn't know what it is, we are in real deep trouble here. So will the Minister tell me exactly when that information sheet is going to be out, given to us, so we can share it with our constituents? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I don't think I made an undertaking regarding the information sheet. I think I said that would provide more information to the Members opposite. As I mentioned earlier, the initial contact and communication will be with the IGOs in the various communities, quite an extensive list of IGOs, to which we have sent letters. So that will be the initial step, and certainly, I will provide the Member or Members opposite with more information as to the steps and process and procedure. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for recognizing me again. This time my questions are for the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation. In an exchange last week with my colleague from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh, I was left somewhat confused about whether the every-five-year community housing survey would be completed in 2019. So my question is: will that community housing survey take place in 2019? Thank you.
Masi. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In terms of the work that the NWT Housing Corporation has done over the last few years, as the Minister responsible, I feel that it is important to try to get that work done and completed and put all our resources and efforts into the programs I had mentioned since session has started, to get it done. We can go ahead with the survey, but I feel that, with the questions that I have been answering in the House here, priorities also should be put on getting some of these people into housing rather than getting a survey completed; but we'll work with the Members and work with the department to come up with a plan moving forward.
We are also going through a strategic renewal within the NWT Housing Corporation, and want to keep Members updated on that. I feel where we are right now, and the work that we're doing and building of our partnerships with different stakeholders across the Northwest Territories, we are on the right track. The previous survey did give us a lot of information that has set us in the right direction. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I just want to make sure that we're doing an apples-to-apples comparison. So on the Stats NWT website, there is a list of NWT community surveys that have taken place back to 2000, and what happens is the NWT Bureau of Statistics staff collects the information about housing conditions and produces this report every five years. Is this report going to be completed in 2019?
I will ensure that our NWT Housing Corporation President-CEO does get in touch with the Bureau of Statistics to determine whether that survey is going to be completed this year or not. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I will get back to the Member on that question.
This isn't an esoteric point. If we don't measure core housing need and determine which communities need which segments of core housing addressed, then we're going to jeopardize our federal funding. This is the baseline measure used across the country for determining core housing need, and so I appreciate the Minister's commitment to get back to me. I want to underline how important it is to have this proper statistical survey done next year. That was a comment.
I will take that as a comment. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions again are for the Minister of Lands, here. As you can see, it's a very important issue, especially when it comes to IGOs. I am assuming that's Indigenous government organizations and, depending on another department, it's designated authorities, so can the Minister advise if the department is contacting the municipal governments or the designated authorities or the regional organizations? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Lands.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can advise that, on September 5, 2018, a large number of letters were sent out dealing with this very important issue of the untenured occupancy of public land. As I say, it's absolutely necessary that we resolve this issue to determine which cabins and camps are rights-based and which are not. It went out to many organizations, and I know that at least several of them are at or in or near the Member opposite's riding. So we have engaged by sending out letters with a large number of IGOs.
I thank the Minister for that answer. My understanding is he is going to get a list to us, to myself, anyway, to show me whom he has been talking to in the Nahendeh riding. I must apologize to the Minister; the information sheet. Well, I guess it's the information. So will the Minister be willing to provide that information to us so we can share it with the residents of the Northwest Territories?
The Member opposite has referred several times to an information sheet. I am not sure, as I mentioned earlier, that such a sheet actually exists. Certainly, I would be willing to share additional information with the Member opposite and perhaps could have a conversation later today with respect to what information he actually needs.
I corrected myself, and I said that I said "information sheet" but you said "information." That is exactly what it was. What I am asking you for is, when you share that information with us, can we share it out to the residents of the Northwest Territories? Because, when we share stuff, sometimes it's confidential, and I don't want to get myself into trouble. So will the Minister provide us with clarity that we can actually share this information that we asked for?
I certainly would not want the Member opposite to get into any trouble over this. I will go back to the department and see what information we can share and will share that information with the Member opposite.
Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the Minister taking my well-being into account, and I appreciate that. I thank him very much. So, when we talk about unauthorized occupancy, traditional cabins are not unauthorized occupancy. That is a right. So is the government looking at asking them to actually get leases after it's all said and done?
The first step in this matter is, of course, to determine which of these cabins and camps are rights-based and which are not, because we are not sure at this time. So that is the first step, and then we will be engaging, as we are already, with IGOs with respect to the whole matter of rights-based cabins. Thank you.
