Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Berna Matto, who is the South Slavey translator. She’ll be here for the duration of the session to provide South Slavey translations. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize of course the students from Aurora College with regard to the social working and nursing programs, in particular Susan Fitzky. She is also a resident of Yellowknife North. Welcome to the House. I would also like to welcome the grade 9 students of St. Pat’s, that is my junior high alma mater, and their teacher, Catherine Coolen. Welcome and thank you for being here.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I also want to take the opportunity to recognize a number of individuals in the gallery today from Aurora College, in particular some residents of the Great Slave riding, first off, Jenifer Makyanzi, Hosai Ayoubi, and Jessica Landry. Welcome to the gallery, Thank you.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Yellowknife South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize two students from Yellowknife South, Julie Loomis and Shania Clark, and also Jordan McLeod. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Welcome, Clarky, a.k.a "Clarky." Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to recognize one of the nursing students in the gallery, a former co-worker, we just slang popcorn together, Ms. Trista Nault.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome Jozeph Carnigarsky, Jimmy Kalinek, Jordan McLeod. I just want to say thank you for all the work that you do up in the Beaufort-Delta region, thank them for their leadership, their community involvement, all the volunteering that you do. I really appreciate it and glad you guys can join us here today. Enjoy the proceedings. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le president. I have a couple of Aurora College students I want to recognize in the gallery. They are Frame Lake residents, Kyle MacPhee and Whitney Fisher. I also would like to recognize Mr. Andy Young. He is a resident of Yellowknife. He organized a successful fundraising hockey game that I got to play in on Saturday this past weekend. The game was for Eugene Roach and his family. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to recognize one of my constituents in the gallery and one of the youngest chairs in the Aklavik community corporation, Jordan McLeod, also, Jimmy Kalinek and Jozeph Carnigarsky. I would also like to thank you all for all the leadership that you do in the communities. It is much appreciated. Mahsi.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to have the nursing and social work students here, in the House, today. I would particularly like to recognize Jordan Erickson, Jody Prince, and Candice Ferdinand who are joining us today. Thank you.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to also welcome all the social worker and nursing students here today, in particular, one of my riding, a constituent, Naila Cazon. Thank you very much. As well, I would like to recognize my CA who makes me look good and does all the great work out there. I would like to thank her very much, Debra Richards.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to recognize all the social worker students and Candice Ferdinand, originally from Deline. Mahsi.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize, as well, Jozeph Carnigarsky, my high school buddy. Joseph is here making amendments to the Wildlife Act, and it's good to see his young leadership with the Gwich'in. He's also a negotiator for the Gwich'in, so I just want to give him a shout-out for all the hard work he is doing. Also, to Jimmy Kalinek. Over the weekend we were in Tuktoyaktuk for Persis Gruben's birthday. Jimmy is a very avid cultural performer, drum dancing, and many aspects of the Inuvialuit culture, so a shout-out to Jimmy, as well to Jordan McLeod who is, as my colleague from the Beaufort Delta says, one of the youngest members of the Inuvialuit Development Regional Corporation. So welcome to Jordan and a shout-out to all the young guys who are working hard. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today the Minister of Culture, Education and Employment did a Minister's statement on renewing the NWT education system, and, on page 3, she spoke about revising the school funding framework to provide resources to ensure no less than two full-time teacher positions are allocated to each school. This is a very important step, and I'd like to thank the Minister and the department for doing this. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister advise why this issue was not addressed before the start of the school year? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Why it wasn't addressed at the start of the school year is because we just had the shuffle in the spring, April, I believe it was, so I had just taken on the portfolio of Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. It wasn't until the summer months, actually, that it was brought to my attention that we're not having more than one teacher in schools.
I do have to recognize the MLA, Shane Thompson, for bringing that to my attention. It was a serious concern of his and a serious concern of mine. Safety is number one. So, it took a little bit of time because it was brought to my attention during the summer, it took a little bit of time to look at the process, to get the approvals that we needed to, but, as soon as I heard about it, it was a priority. I apologize if it wasn't timelier than it could have been, but I am glad that we resolved the situation.
I thank the Minister for doing this. I appreciate her listening to the concerns and then working forward to help the students and the teachers, as well. So, can the Minister advise us when will the changes be implemented to ensure the physical safety and mental health for the students and teachers?
The decision just came through. It was around a month ago, actually, that I was allowed to make this decision. So, we phoned all of the education bodies. We notified them verbally. We're in the process now of doing written letters to them all advising and then reinstating the funding so that they'll have the full-year funding for the year.
I'm looking forward to seeing the positive impact it will have on the students, the teachers, and the communities. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister be able to tell us will this change be a new policy moving forward, or is this just a one-time shot for this year?
We used internal funding for this year because I needed it done and I wanted it done now. However, we have talked, and so, we are putting together a proposal at this moment, and we'll be bringing it through the Financial Management Board for a decision for future funding.
Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hope that the Financial Management Board will continue to support that because I think this is a very important initiative being brought forth by the Minister. So, can the Minister advise us: will this have an impact on the support staff, like the classroom assistants and language specialists?
Yes, it will have an impact. It's going to mean better support for the students within the schools. So, schools are still funded for a half-time position for a language instructor and also for program support. This is actually on top, this is actually more support for students, and it's about safety for our students. So it's a good thing, and I will do my best to make sure it's maintained. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have questions for the Minister of Justice on my Member's statement on family violence. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister a question on the 2007 needs survey which was conducted by the GNWT and the Coalition Against Family Violence, entitled "NWT Family Violence Attitudinal Survey." I'm wondering if the Department of Justice, in conjunction with other departments, is planning to conduct another family violence survey like the one that was done in 2007? Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member opposite for his questions. At this time, we're not aware of any plans for another attitudinal survey. The survey of 2007, some 11 years ago, was helpful in confirming the prevalence of this problem in the Northwest Territories, and we know that the problem has continued through the use of shelters, the rates of emergency protection orders, EPOs, crime statistics, and other measures. Now, I can advise that the GNWT is developing a comprehensive approach to addressing family violence. The goal of this work is to identify best practices, align existing GNWT work, and identify priority areas for investment over the coming decade.
Mr. Speaker, did the results of the 2007 family-violence survey have an impact on policies of the Department of Justice? If so, what specific measures or policies to date are a direct result of this survey?
I can appreciate the question, and I know that the Member appreciates that I wasn't here in 2007. However, I can point to certain improvements that have been made since that time. As Members will know, the DVTO Court is very active, and we have such programs as A New Day, so there have been improvements in the system which are being utilized. DVTO, I'm not sure when it started, but it has been in existence for some time, and the A New Day program is newer, I believe, but also has been a success. We believe that these types of programs will reduce the amount of family violence. I mentioned that these programs are successful. Clearly, we need greater success to reduce the terrible level of family violence in the Northwest Territories, but we have taken steps.
Mr. Speaker, since the completion of that previously mentioned 2007 family violence survey, has the perception of the Department of Justice changed regarding the way it handles cases relating to family violence?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the department fully realized the seriousness of this item, and it is of course a shared priority amongst several departments. I mentioned that we are developing a comprehensive approach to addressing family violence, and maybe I can talk a little bit about the first steps that we are taking. The first phase will be focused on research and analysis and will result in a comprehensive strategy recommendation based on evidence and interjurisdictional analysis of best practices, consultation with northern researchers is in progress, and we hope to have preliminary results in early 2019.
In the second phase, we will be dealing directly with stakeholders and consulting with them on the results of the research so that we can receive meaningful guidance as to where we should proceed in the future. As I mentioned, we have certain programs in place. Clearly, those can be improved, and we're always looking for new ideas.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Justice has some role in the agreement between the RCMP and the Department of Justice. I would like to ask the Minister if that department, or him specifically, meets regularly with RCMP to talk about ways to address the combatting of family violence?
I thank the Member opposite for his question. I meet regularly with the RCMP and will certainly bring up this specific issue. There are many issues that we do discuss, but, clearly, crime reduction is very important amongst them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. The report I mentioned in my statement today reported to a Ministerial committee on spousal assault in the Assembly of the day in 1985. This committee brought together a wide range of service providers, officials from government departments, the Status of Women, and others whose work included family violence. What would it take for this Minister to treat this crisis as a crisis and re-establish this coordinated approach to the issue? Mahsi.
