Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today, I spoke of the directive for the enrolment of students in French language education programs, which, I would submit, is a hangover from a previous time when Ottawa was calling the shots. This seems to be only present in the three territories. Can the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment give us a compelling reason why this is important public policy that must be maintained? Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With only having a few minutes to think on my feet what the question is, I guess the first thing that pops into my head as a compelling argument is that we only have two schools in the whole of the Northwest Territories that offer French immersion as a language. That is Hay River and in Yellowknife, and we have to make sure that the numbers don't go over 85 percent, otherwise we are looking at new schools, and we don't have enough money to add more schools, other than what we already have in our current plan. I guess, thinking on my feet, the first argument that comes to my head is making sure that it doesn't go over the 85 percent capacity, which is when we have to ensure that we are looking at new builds. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Does the Minister have the current enrolment numbers? Are we close to 85 percent? Is this a live concern that there are students, you know, waiting to flood the francophone schools and completely overwhelm the current capacity?
As stated, I didn't get any of those questions beforehand, so no, I do not have the enrolment of the French schools on hand at this moment. We do have 49 schools in the Northwest Territories. It is impossible for me to try to memorize those all and bring them up with advanced notice. Therefore, I cannot say where we stay close to the 85 percent.
I have some sympathy for what the Minister has just provided to the House, except that there are only two schools, one school board, that requires Ministerial approval of enrolment. I would hope that she is a bit more in touch with the numbers on this file. Will the Minister commit to reviewing this policy again and, this time, to listening with francophone stakeholders, which was not done the last time? There are major concerns left with this policy. Is the Minister open to another review of the enrolment directive?
I do know that there are only two French language schools, but there are also 47 other schools that I am also responsible for, so it is something that I have to make sure that I spread my ability throughout. As for looking at it right now, if that was brought to me, actually, when I first started in April or two years ago, before it was my portfolio, I would have considered it, but we have six months left, and it is in the legislation. It is inappropriate at this time to start looking at that. We just don't have the time in this Assembly.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe the Minister is incorrect. This is government policy; it is not a legislative change that would be required. This is something that she could change right away, so I will ask now if the Minister will consider getting rid of this policy altogether? Thank you.
Again, because we only have six months left, I have a lot of priorities, and I hate to say that. I mean, it is not that I don't want to work with them. I think it is important to build the relationship and work closely with the francophone community. However, I have a polytechnic on my hands right now. I have new initiatives with the secondary school. I have childcare issues. I have income support issues. How far can I stretch myself in six months and make sure that everything is done to the best of my ability? At this point, no. I think that I will continue to maintain the relationship and build on the relationship with the francophone community, but it is something that should be brought forward in the new Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
