Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, on languages. Mr. Speaker, the action plan on languages commits to supporting NWT schools and early childhood programs to offer Indigenous language instruction and programs. Mr. Speaker, my question is: what is this going to look like in practical terms, and to what extent does it include language-immersion curricula? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am actually glad to speak about our languages because, as the MLA stated, our languages are in danger and they need to be preserved. I also want to recognize that, within the Northwest Territories, we still have a fair amount of speakers, and we need to preserve that. We need to promote that and revitalize.
We did do the action plan in May of 2018, but, in honesty, we have been working on this before last year. We have been working on this for many years. Our curriculum is being piloted right now in 40 of our schools across the territories. We have 40 out of 49. When I have gone into the schools, I have heard nothing but good news. They are bringing in elders. They have got language teachers in there. We are developing resources for them. Once this pilot is finished, then we will be compiling all of the results. We will be making a firm curriculum, and that curriculum will be implemented throughout the Northwest Territories.
I should also mention, though, that in our schools is one thing, but we also provide monies to Aboriginal governments to do their own language revitalization. It's important. We need to put our efforts into it.
It is good to see that elders are being recognized. Earlier I was at the Dene Nation Assembly and they recognized all of the interpreters and language-holders, so kudos to that, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the plan also commits to supporting professional development for language instructors and offering language-instructor training. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us more about these, and any other actions that the department is willing to do to build capacity in current language speakers and to ensure our traditional languages are kept alive into future generations?
Yes, it is important that we reach out and train as many people in developing language revitalization teaching. It is actually an embarrassment, being a Metis woman and not being able to speak a word of my language, except perhaps "mahsi," which is common. I am not the only one that is Indigenous and can't speak their language, so we need to put a lot of effort.
Last year alone, approximately 75 of the Indigenous language teachers and support staff came together for the very first training in our new languages curriculum. That included training on learning how to use the new curriculum and how to use the resources and the assessment tools. It is important that we evaluate this as well. We also trained our regional Indigenous language education coordinators to support the teachers, as well as offering video conferencing training and in-class training throughout the year. As well, we have trained the principals, and we are starting to work closely with our program support teachers so that they have the skills to support the development of Indigenous languages.
Finally, as well, we are partnering with the University of Alberta and the University of Victoria to offer training and capacity-building opportunities to current language speakers. We need as many as possible. This is a serious effort, and we need to pay a lot of attention to it.
It is good to hear that the department is allowing Indigenous governments to work at their pace. Mr. Speaker, I know that the department is currently hard at work with stakeholders, working on improving curricula for the Northwest Territories education system. Mr. Speaker, I would like the Minister to seriously consider incorporating a heightened focus on language immersion in this work. Mr. Speaker, can I get the Minister's opinion on this proposal?
I think it is no secret that I think, like I have said many times, that this is really important, and it is critical. Language is culture, and culture, in my opinion, is health. It's about wellness and making people feel good about themselves, and that is critical in making good choices. That's from my social work background. For the full immersion programs, ideally, all activities and learning would be done in their Indigenous language. That is the ideal. Currently, now, we have two communities that are doing immersion programs, one in Fort Providence and one in Behchoko. Those communities will provide some leadership and hopefully some support as other immersion programs begin.
Unfortunately, the reality is that not all schools in our communities have the capacity to offer a full immersion program, but that is not okay. We need to work towards fixing that. We need to work with the Indigenous language speakers to help them so that they can become teachers in our communities. We need to support Northern language speakers to become teachers so that they can pass on the knowledge.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the response, and I see the reality of the issue of the capacity across the territory, seeing the residential school impacts have had a great impact, negative impacts, on all Indigenous peoples.
Mr. Speaker, my final question to the Minister is: in the long run, as we build our five-year or 10-year or 25-year plan, I think I would like to see more of a commitment since language is not in this Assembly but into the next Assembly, working towards bringing Indigenous language into grade five, grade six, and grade seven. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I totally agree. I would like to see it expanded. I am hoping within the next Legislative Assembly that we will get more programs, more schools that are doing the full immersion. However, I recognize also the reality is that this will take years. We need to train people to be able to provide that service. At least, I am hoping that within the next Assembly there will be couple of more schools jump on board with the full immersion, and my goal is that every single, at least every couple, of years more will help in, until we are doing it across the North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to visitors in the gallery. We have with us Michael McLeod, former Member, former Minister of the Legislative Assembly, and also a current Member of Parliament for the Northwest Territories. He just came back from working hard with Dene Nation just now. Welcome.
Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have some of the most unique ways to travel across the Northwest Territories. Depending on where you live, you can travel by air, water, trails, roads, or combined of winter roads and ice bridges. People from across the world are amazed at how we transport ourselves across this great country.
Mr. Speaker, I have been asked questions from our constituents about our transportation infrastructure and the challenges they have been facing with the roadside assistance program. My questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure: can the Minister confirm if the ice bridges across the Mackenzie, Liard, Peel, and Great Bear Lake are part of the government's infrastructure? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the department construction maintains ice bridges at the Mackenzie, Liard, and the Peel River system. We also do the ferries on those three systems, and we also look after the lake crossing at Deline. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. They are part of the public road system.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister confirm if the department has a system in place to guarantee that the ice bridges are safe to travel?
Yes, the Department of Infrastructure follows the guidelines for safe ice construction that was developed with expertise from within and outside of the Government of the Northwest Territories. Other jurisdictions actually use our guidelines, and so does private industry.
Mr. Speaker, we heard from my constituents that sometimes these companies down south are having concerns about what happens should a vehicle fall through. Can the Minister advise us: does the GNWT have insurance should a vehicle, whether it is going across or is on a flatbed, fall through ice? Do we have insurance to cover that?
All public roads are insured for liability risk under the government's commercial general liability insurance. When we hire contractors that also do some of this work, they have to have the exact same coverage. The short answer, Mr. Speaker, is yes.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Minister for his answers. I have one more question. Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that four or five years ago, and I'm not exactly sure of the time frame, the Minister of Transportation and the Premier had to write a letter to these companies explaining the Mackenzie Valley Highway was a winter road and maintained by the GNWT. Will the Minister be willing to send a similar letter to these manufacturers who provide roadside assistance to clarify the use of ice bridges?
Yes, it was about five years ago that the department had this same exact situation come up, and they actually wrote letters to all the manufacturers, stating that this was part of the public road system, supplied them with that and maps of the Northwest Territories and asked them to reach out to all of their call centres and share this with local service providers that they actually contract this to. To the Member's point, I will actually ask the department to do this. We will step in and write the same letters and reassure the manufacturers that this is part of the public system. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Following up to my statement earlier, my first question to the Minister of Finance is that the recent approval for the licensing for the operators for the Inuvik Satellite Station was good news. This has taken some time. Can the Minister explain why the approval has taken so long? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the licensing for the satellite operators requires licensing through the federal government. GNWT is not directly involved, and there is a rigorous application and review process. We believe that needs to be looked at in the future. Part of it may be because their legislation is outdated and needs to be updated a bit. We continue to work with them on that.
Thanks for the reply here. My next question to the Minister is: what is the GNWT doing to work with the federal government to ensure this process is improved?
Mr. Speaker, in the Member's statement before, he talked about the fact that this has taken almost three years to get this done. We are concerned with that. We do continue to raise it at the federal government's tables that we go to. I recently raised it in December at the Finance Minister's table and our MP, who is working extremely hard in Ottawa, raising it with his counterparts, as well. Our Minister of ITI has sent a letter. Our Premier, I believe, has brought it up to the table that he is involved in. I think Ottawa realizes now that this is something that they need to have a look at. I have made the comment that we do not want to see a lot of our investment not being utilized and have the satellite companies going to Alaska, for example, if their process is not as rigorous as ours. This is something that is new, and I do believe that we are going to take steps along with Ottawa to rectify this and have the process go a little smoother.
Thanks for that reply there. I am glad to hear there are efficiencies from the process, that we are learning and benefiting. My question is: what is our government doing to take full advantage of the Inuvik Satellite Station Facility?
Mr. Speaker, it was a significant investment into the fibre optic link down the Mackenzie Valley. One of the things that they built into the link right away was the number of strands that they had in the fibre line that was going down. We are well-positioned in the future if there was a demand for more services out of that. We try to make the international community aware of our investment and they have been fairly receptive. We have an annual Inuvik Satellite Station Facility AGM, where we have a number of people that come in every June, and they check out our facilities and the area and the connection, just to see if there is an opportunity for them to make an investment into satellites there. Now that work is happening to speed up the regulatory process or the application process, they may be more receptive to adding more dishes to the Inuvik Satellite Station Facility.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My last question to the Minister is: with the experiences to date on reviews of engagement or monitoring, is the Minister of Finance of the opinion that this is a good investment, with the experiences to date and the cash flow to date and the signed customers on the system?
We think it is an excellent investment, and it is one that was needed. It is one that we may be able to build on. I think there are communities down the valley that are taking advantage of the new technology, which is welcome and would help with a number of things down the valley, but we think it is a good investment.
Again, with the application process possibly streamlined, that may send a message out to a lot of those out there who were considering investing into the Satellite Station Facility in Inuvik. They might come on board a little sooner now. We think it is a good investment, and we think it is the way of the future. With the number of strands that were built in the fibre line, I think we are well-positioned if there is an increase in the demand for our service. It was a good investment, and I think we are well-positioned. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Justice. The Standing Committee on Social Development met with the commander of the RCMP's "G" Division at the end of October to be briefed on current policing issues. In my response to my questions about enabling third-party reporting of sexual assaults, the commander said that a joint RCMP-Department of Justice working group was looking at options. I would like to ask the Minister what the status of this work is. Mahsi.
Masi. Minister of Justice.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Department officials and the RCMP are exploring alternative options for victims to report sexual assault, such as third-party reporting, as well as the potential for external review committees. This will require a collaborative effort between GNWT, NGOs, and the RCMP. This is an important matter, and I realize that considerable progress has been made in this area in other jurisdictions. Thank you.
Thank you to the Minister. I'm going to be really happy when you report that we are making considerable progress in this jurisdiction on this issue. I would like a little more detail around how often the working group is meeting and how it is engaging service providers who have front-line experience with people who have experienced sexual assault.
I do know, obviously, that there are many partners in this important work. I am not certain as to when the last meetings took place or what level of engagement has been made, but I will look into that and get back to the Member opposite.
I appreciate the Minister's commitment to obtain more information. Is there any kind of, I don't want to say "deadline," but is there any thought that there will be recommendations and an implementation plan focused on the most promising options within the remaining life of this Assembly?
I can certainly look into that and get back to the Member opposite. I know this is important work, and as I mentioned earlier, other jurisdictions have moved ahead, particularly in the area of third-party reporting. I think the Yukon and British Columbia, if I have that right, have moved ahead on this. I do realize it is an important issue, but I can't really give a timeline at this point. I will check with the parties involved and get back to the Member opposite.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am hopeful that this issue will come to completion in the life of this Assembly and that we don't have to start over with it again. I am also hopeful that this initiative will produce a definite ask of any additional resources that would be required to facilitate third-party reporting and third-party review. Can the Minister commit to providing this information when this information will be available when he is rounding up the other information?
I am not certain about the question, whether the question had to do with financial resources that were going to be provided. I will again talk to the parties, involve the RCMP and, of course, the Department of Justice, and get as much information as I can as to timelines, certainly. As to financial commitments, I will have to look into that. Thank you.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
