Thank you, Member for Thebatcha. Motions and order to the motion. Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Any abstentions? Motion is carried.
Carried.
Thank you. Reports of Standing and Special Committees. Member for Thebatcha.
Committee Report 15-19(2):
Mr. Speaker, your Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its report on the review of the 2020 report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly Early Childhood to Grade 12 Education and commends it to the House.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations report on the Review of the Auditor General's 2020 audit of early childhood to Grade 12 education in the Northwest Territories.
The Auditor General of Canada is also the auditor for the Government of the Northwest Territories as set out in the federal Northwest Territories Act.
The AG is a statutory officer of the Legislative Assembly. This means their responsibilities are set out in legislation. The Office of the Auditor General operates independently from the Government of the Northwest Territories. The OAG conducts an annual performance audit of one of the government's departments, boards, or agencies. A performance audit looks at how well a department has met its own policies and legislation while delivering a particular program or service. These audits are paid for by the federal government and the subject is chosen by the OAG. This ensures the OAG's independence.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations reviews the reports of all statutory officers. When the committee reviews a compliance audit report, it holds a public hearing with representatives of the OAG who explain their audit findings. Representatives of the audited department also attend and explain their response to the audit. The committee's main focus is how the department has responded to the audit findings and how it intends to address problems identified in the audit report. The Speaker tables the report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly 2020.
Audit of the early childhood to Grade 12 education in the Northwest Territories, Department of Education, Culture and Employment on February 6th, 2020. Normally the committee tries to hold its review a soon as possible after the OAG's report is tabled; however, like many things, this review is delayed due to COVID19.
The committee held its review remotely on November 6, 2020. This is the Committee's report on that review.
The acknowledgements for their appearance before the committee, Members thank Auditor General Karen Hogan, Principal Glen Wheeler and Director Maria Pooley, from the OAG. The committee also thanks Deputy Minister Rita Mueller, Assistant Deputy Ministers John MacDonald and Sam Shannon, and Director Katy Pollock from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment for their appearance before the Committee.
I will now turn the report over to MLA Bonnetrouge.
Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
ECE is responsible for the Northwest Territories’ education system from Junior Kindergarten through Grade 12. The system is made up of the department and 10 regional education bodies. These are similar to school boards.
The regional education bodies deliver services directly to students. The Education Act requires that NWT students have access to education programs that meet the highest possible standards and are based on the cultures of the Northwest Territories. Students may receive their education in any of the NWT’s 11 official languages. The act also says that students have a right to access their education programs in a regular instructional setting in their home communities, and to receive the support services they need to do so.
Daycares are also licensed and supported by ECE, but are separate from the education system. Highquality early education programs delivered through daycares can help prepare children for success when they enter the school system.
The purpose of the audit was to find out whether, to improve student outcomes, ECE planned, supported and kept track of the delivery of fair, inclusive education programs and services that reflect Indigenous languages and cultures. The audit covered the period from April 1, 2015 to May 31, 2019.
The OAG looked at whether ECE met key responsibilities related to inclusive schooling, Indigenous languages, and culturebased education. They also looked at fair access to quality education, daycares, planning for and measuring the effectiveness of the education system, and putting in place key elements of the Education Renewal and Innovation Framework.
The audit looked at 10 years of departmental documents and data. The audit also tracked all students who enrolled in Grade 10, in a given year, to assess 3year graduation rates.
During the regular audit process, the OAG works with management of the department under review. They get confirmation of management’s responsibility for the subject being audited, an acknowledgement that they are using suitable criteria to do the assessment, confirmation that the department has provided all relevant information and that they agree the audit is factually accurate For each of the recommendations made by the OAG, the audit report also includes the department’s response. Mr. Speaker, I now hand over to MLA Cleveland. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The OAG found that ECE “took steps to plan, support, and monitor the delivery of equitable, inclusive education programs and services that reflected Indigenous languages and cultures, to support improved student outcomes. However, we concluded that these actions were insufficient for it to fully meet its commitments and obligations. Providing sufficient support in key areas, such as Indigenous language and culturebased education, and monitoring the outcomes of its education programs, is necessary to help ensure that students in the territory are being given the best chance for success.”.
The OAG made 9 recommendations as a result of this audit. ECE has agreed with all of them.
Independently of the audit, ECE evaluated the Education Renewal and Innovation Framework. They also identified recommendations for improvement. ECE drafted an Action Plan to Improve JK12 Student Outcomes in the NWT from 2021/22 to 2023/24. This Action Plan responds to both the audit and the evaluation recommendations. There are 30 specific actions grouped under seven themes: Quality Early Learning and Child Care; Workforce Development and Capacity Building; Curriculum and Student Assessment; Student Supports; Training, Developing and Support for School Employees; Governance; and Monitoring and Evaluation.
The Action Plan identifies which recommendations from the OAG and evaluation framework are addressed by each theme. Mr. Speaker, I would like to pass it over to the MLA for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
A key finding of the audit is that while ECE took steps to support student outcomes, the department did not know whether these efforts were improving student outcomes. ECE did not determine what was needed in small communities to improve access to education, and did not make enough of an effort to collect and use data to learn what changes might be needed to address the ongoing gaps in student outcomes.
Therefore, the Committee recommends,
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment develop performance measures for each area highlighted in the compliance audit and the corresponding ECE action plan to achieve specific outcomes, and to report annually on these measures.
The use of Indigenous languages and the ability of residents to speak in the official languages of the NWT has declined over the last 30 years. The Committee hopes to see progress through the Our Languages curriculum, the pilot project for the Indigenous language revitalization, and the assessment tool to measure student use of Indigenous languages. While the Committee supports these initiatives, regular reporting is needed to be able to ensure progress is being made. Therefore, the committee recommends,
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment report annually on each action related to revitalizing official languages, including on the oral proficiency assessment tools, the Indigenous Language revitalization certification program and the mentorapprentice program.
Members have also heard concerns that the division leading the work on Indigenous language revitalization does not list the ability to speak an Indigenous language as a priority. Therefore, the Committee recommends,
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment include Indigenous language proficiency when hiring positions in the Indigenous Languages and Education Secretariat. I will now hand it over to MLA for Yellowknife North. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Member for Yellowknife North.
In 2016, ECE issued a Ministerial Directive on Inclusive Schooling. Its vision: To ensure access to quality education for all students by effectively meeting their diverse needs in a way that is responsive, accepting, respectful and supportive.
A key principle is that learning is individualized, meaning “education programs and decisions focus on the individual student's strengths and needs, and are based on the student's best interests.” It also means that students have access to education programs, and supports, in their home community.
The audit found ECE's 2015 action plan ambitious, and that the department did not have a way to track progress on implementing the plan. There were not enough efforts to track whether schools were creating, monitoring and updating individualized learning plans. The monitoring that did take place did not allow ECE to know whether students with individualized learning plans were receiving the supports they needed, nor whether there were improved outcomes.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment conduct greater oversight on inclusive schooling practices, including through spot checks on individualized learning plans, and report annually on the outcomeoriented performance measures.
The audit confirmed that students in small communities are less likely to graduate from high school. Department information shows that graduation rates in small communities is less than 40 percent for Indigenous students. The committee supports the Northern Distance Learning Program, but is concerned with the finding that even students with a normally good rate of attendance could miss up to 30 percent of classes due to differences in school calendars.
Schools in small communities face numerous challenges, with multigrade classrooms, limited opportunities for professional development, higher costs and the need for greater supports for teachers and principals.
Therefore, the Committee recommends:
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment bring forward a plan to better support schools in small communities, to ensure students across the territory have an equitable learning experience. The Committee further recommends that the department work with the District Education Authorities to minimize the impacts of differing school calendars on Northern Distance Learning.
I will now hand it over to the chair, MLA Martselos.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Member for Thebacha.
This concludes the Standing Committee on Government Operations report on the Review of the 2020 Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly Early Childhood to Grade 12 Education.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a response to the recommendations contained in this report within 120 days.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Reports of Standing and Special Committees. Member for Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Committee Report 1519(2), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the Auditor General's 2020 Audit of the Early Childhood to Grade 12 Education in the Northwest Territories, be received by the Assembly and moved into Committee of the Whole for further consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Motions in order to the motion. Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Any abstentions? Motion is carried. The report will be moved into the Committee of the Whole.
Carried.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have four simple questions for the Minister of MACA and the "yes" answer works out to 72 cents per day per person.
Can the I'd ask the Minister what or if she can confirm the amount of lottery funds received from Hay River retailers goes to the Hay River sports clubs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department is currently completing the accountability requirements for physical activity and sports recreation fund. To date, with the three retailers in Hay River, they generated approximately 660,000 in that revenue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I guess I use that 72 cents because, you know, we're look for the last five years, the Hay River Ski Club has received $33,655 per year, and they got roughly 260 members, and they run about 180 days. So, you know and that's what it costs, 72 cents a day. Yet if we do nothing with sports, we're going to just to give you an idea of what incarceration costs, $75 to $200 a day, where a hospital stay might be $2,000 a day. So, you know, for a minimum amount of money, we can give youth the chance to, you know, to evolve and to, you know, pursue their dreams. So I would ask the can the Minister confirm, I guess, if the legacy funding agreement between the Hay River Ski Club and the NWT Sports and Recreation Council is to be renewed as it expired in March of this year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Legacy Retail Grant Program was created by the Northwest Territories Recreation Council to mitigate the loss of revenue to sport organizations because of the possible tax implication. The program was provided funding for five years and in those five years, they were to create a transitional plan. And we at this time, we notified the ski club that we would no longer be renewing the funding for the ski club. But we do have a onetime contribution for the ski club under our volunteer organization development program that is available to the ski club since the agreement has now been discontinued. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And can the Minister confirm the amount of that one time, I guess, contribution or is are they required to is the ski club required to actually apply for it and possibly get turned down? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is an applicationbased program for the Legacy Retail grants. But they are eligible I just want to say that, you know, the eligibility, it is a it is an application based program, but there is the Western Canada Lotteries program that we do have. But I don't want to discourage the ski club from discontinuing what services that they have provided in the community, and that MACA is available to look at different programming that would best suit the ski club since the elimination of the fiveyear agreement between the ski club and MACA. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, you know, the ski club, they're really concerned that they might not be able to operate this year, and if a funding arrangement of the GNWT is not forthcoming, I guess I'd ask the Minister if she's just willing to let the Hay River Ski Club cease to operate?
But before she answers that, I would offer her a solution. I would ask her to seek funds from Health and Justice because some of the because without options, that's where some of our youth are headed, if we don't get that support. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would not like to see the ski club close their doors, but, you know, through the department, we have you know, we do operate, and we do look at the revenues for the Western Canada Lotteries. So through that program and also the additional program fundings we do have for nonprofit organizations and youth, I would like to follow up with the member to provide those funding opportunities that may be able to provide additional support to the ski club in Hay River. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my questions, Member statements on Arctic Council. The concerns I do have going forward. Can the Premier give the House an update on what her government has done to allow the NWT to take full control of our Beaufort and Arctic Ocean? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So it's important that I'm not so sure if I'd want the GNWT to take full control of everything within our Arctic lands and waters. I mean, there is a benefit to having many parties at the table. With the Arctic Circle, we're a member of the Canadian delegation, and I think there's power in having Canada at the table with the offshore. I mean, we're partners with the IRC and the Yukon government. So I think it's important. There is strength in partnerships, Mr. Speaker. So at this point, I haven't contemplated taking it all on the NWT. I think it's important to work in partnership. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, we do have a Pacific Northwest economic group that we do work with with our territorial government, that we work with Yukon and Alaska and Nunavut with our panterritorial I guess working together. Can the Premier advise, you know, for the offshore resources that we do have, can the Premier advise that if she or her official concerns with Canada and about the Russian claim in the Arctic seabed. Is our government worried about that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the federal government is responsible for international relationships. We work closely with the federal government. I think, in fairness, Mr. Speaker, that all nations that have that are in the circumpolar are looking at the ocean and the opening of the waters and have concerns. So, yes, Mr. Speaker, all of us have concerns about the opening of the Arctic. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, honourable Premier. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Premier for that. Mr. Speaker, the federal government, has the Premier been invited to take part in any Arctic Council meetings coming up or invited from our federal counterparts. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Unfortunately, within the last year with Iceland being the chair and COVID, all of the meetings were put on hold. There was one just the other day and, unfortunately, it was at three in the morning and I had prior commitments in the morning and in the evening so we did send officials. It was the inaugural one for the Russian Russia taking over the chair. So it was more of an identifying the priorities, et cetera. But I do have we had officials at that meeting. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, honourable Premier. Final supplementary. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, our oil and gas in Beaufort Delta, we have a lot of it. And it's quite concerning when you have another country trying to claim it. I guess, with the Arctic Council and stuff, we have to start discussions with Canada, with our Prime Minister in regarding in investing in the North, investing in the Western Arctic to have a port, a deep sea port, or able to bring in their ice breakers that they're building right now for the Arctic. We have two icebreakers that are that's happening. And, you know, getting our military more to the west with and it's not everything's in the east. We have nothing in the Western Arctic. We don't have no port, no nothing. We have the Rangers. That's it. We need to start looking at investment, Mr. Speaker, and I would like the Premier to bring that up with the Prime Minister and to work with our IRC and Yukon and to try to make something like that happen, because with the oil and gas jobs that we're not going to be Ottawa to ask them for handouts anymore, we'd be able to pay our own way. And people would have jobs. And we need jobs, Mr. Speaker. We're going through tough times. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to be able to say yes to the Member, that I will begin discussions with Ottawa but unfortunately, I can't. And the reason I can't, Mr. Speaker, is because I've begun those conversations over a year ago when we started. So those are conversations regularly at the federal table, and other governments as well are very conscious of it. It is a common theme throughout the northern jurisdictions that we often ask for this, and we are hopeful that we know that the Prime Minister is hearing us. So, Mr. Speaker, we're already doing that work so I can't say that we'll begin it because but we will carry forward with that work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, honourable Premier. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. In my statement, I did mention that, you know, it is the Minister's responsibility to extend the public health emergency. And so my first question for the Minister is what criteria information is the Minister using to measure risk of a public health emergency to be to extend the order? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's a process laid out in the Public Health Act. The CPHO is an independent health official, a medical doctor. That person evaluates the situation and determines the risk of the disease to the public. That person then creates public health orders that would mitigate that risk. And that advice comes to me, and I declare a state of emergency to give force to the orders that the Chief Public Health Officer has made. So I am taking advice from the Chief Public Health Officer who is looking at the technical risk assessments, which I do not have a level of training to assess myself. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for that answer. And I'm sure it's very technical. I'm sure even myself, I wouldn't be able to understand a lot of the information without support. So I'm just wondering, also, my next question is, is this decision just the decision of the sole Minister with this information, or is it a group Cabinet decision to extend this public health emergency? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yeah, thank you. I would anticipate consulting my Cabinet colleagues on declaring the state of emergency in the first place. But the extensions that happen every two weeks, I make that decision alone. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, I know in this jurisdiction, like in the Northwest Territories, our act is different than the Yukon; it's different than other provinces. And some of them, they work collaboratively to come up with decisions. But we, as in Northwest Territories residents, we need to know what risks are left. We were told like, in my Member statement the other day, we were told you know, we crushed the curve, like I said. You know, we've got vaccinations now. We've got you know, we've got public health contact tracing for an outbreak. We've got many things in place now. So I, we as Northwest Territories residents, my constituents, probably many of your constituents need and want to know what more do we have to do? What are the measures that need to be reached in order for us to come out of this public health emergency? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Member's frustration but what we learned in Yellowknife in the month of May is that everything can change overnight, where one case at a school ultimately became 71 cases with a thousand contacts and 43 households in isolation. The key thing there was we had a large unvaccinated group who are not eligible for vaccines because of their age, and we had 40 percent of the people there, the youth, were asymptomatic. So they didn't know they had COVID. They had no symptoms of it. And another something like 20 percent had only one symptom, and a minor symptom like a runny nose, not a major symptom like problems breathing. And so I think what's really important to know is that we are still at risk for the importation of COVID from travellers in particular. And as long as the cases continue to be high in Alberta, that will be a consideration. The vaccine rates will be a consideration as well. So the end goal here is not to frustrate people but to ensure that our effective public health measures continue to be effective to keep us safe. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So my last question will be will the Minister commit to providing some type of information or working with her Cabinet and with the CPHO to come up with a list or something for us as residents in the Northwest Territories to know how much longer we're going to be in this public health emergency, what needs to happen to get out of the public health emergency, because we all know that we could live with this forever and we may never reach immunization rates that want to be reached, you know. So I would like to know some kind of documentation, some information for us to know what we need to meet before we get out of this public health emergency? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
