Debates of June 4, 2021 (day 80)

Thank you, committee. We will  we'll take a short recess and resume with the first item.

Short recess

I call the committee back in order. And committee, we have agreed to Committee Report 1519(2), Report on the Review of the Auditor General's 2020 Audit of Early Childhood to Grade 12 Education in the Northwest Territories. I will go to the chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations for any opening comments. Member for Thebacha.

Mr. Chair, our report was read into the record so I do not have any substantive comments to add. But I would like to thank the committee for their work on this report and individual Members may have comments on the report and its recommendations. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Member. I will now open the floor to general comments on Report 1519(2) Report on the Review of the Auditor General's 2020 Audit of Early Childhood to Grade 12 Education in the Northwest Territories. Do any Members have general comments? I see no comments. Member for Thebacha.

Mr. Chair, I will go ahead with the committee motions. Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment develop performance measures for each area highlighted in the compliance audit and the corresponding Department of Education, Culture and Employment action plan to achieve specific outcomes and to report annually on these measures. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Member. The motion is in order. To the motion. Question's been called. All those in favour? Opposed? Abstentions? Motion carried.

Carried

Member.

Mr. Chair, I move that this committee 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 mentor apprentice program. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Member. Do any Members have general comments? I see no comments. Comments, Member for Thebacha.

We have to vote on it.

I apologize for that. The motion is in order. To the motion. The motion is ordered. To the motion. All those in favour? Opposed? Abstentions? Motion carried.

Carried

Member for Thebacha.

Mr. Chair, I move this committee recommends that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment include Indigenous language proficiency when hiring positions in the Indigenous Language and Education Secretariat. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Member. The motion is in order. To the motion?

Question.

Member for YK North.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. To my knowledge, there are very few, if any, bilingualrequired positions in the GNWT where the bilingual is an Indigenous language. There are a number of bilingualrequired HR positions that are French. And I know there is a bilingual bonus for people who speak one of our official languages but I think, really, in the HR hiring process, especially for an area such as the Indigenous Languages and Education Secretariat, those Members who speak an Indigenous language are not getting the appropriate credit and additional scoring on priority on their applications within hiring. So that's what this motion intends to do. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Member. To the motion?

Question.

Question's been called. All those in favour? Opposed? Abstentions? Motion carried.

Carried

Member for Thebacha.

Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment conduct greater oversight on inclusive schooling practices, including thorough spot checks on individualized learning plans and report annually on the outcome oriented performance measures. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Member. To the motion?

Question.

Question's been called. All those in favour? Opposed? Abstentions? Motion carried.

Carried

Member for Thebacha.

Mr. Chair, I move that this committee 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 territories have an equitable learning experience, and, further, that the department work with district education authorities to minimize the impacts of differing school calendars on northern distance learning. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Member. The motion is in order. To the motion?

Question.

Question's been called. All those in favour? Opposed? Abstentions? Motion carried.

Carried

Member for Thebacha.

Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a response to the recommendations contained in this report within 120 days. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Member. The motion is in order. To the motion?

Question.

Question's been called. All those in favour? Opposed? Abstentions? Motion carried.

Carried

Thank you, committee. Do you agree that you have concluded consideration of Committee Report 1519(2)?

Agreed.

Thank you, committee. We have concluded consideration of Committee Report 1519(2) Report on the Review of the Auditor General's 2020 Audit of Early Childhood to Grade 12 Education in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Committee, we have agreed to consider Committee Report 1619(2) Standing Committee on Social Development Report on Housing Phase One: Needs For NWT Homeowners and Private Landlords. I will go to the chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development for any opening  any opening comments. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Our report was read into the record so I do not have any substantial comments to add. But I would like to thank committee for their work on this report, and individual Members may have comments on the report and its recommendations. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Member. I will now open the floor to general comments on Committee Report 1619(2). Member for Frame Lake.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I just want to say very quickly that the committee  I want to thank the committee for allowing me to sit in on a number of presentations that were conducted over about a twoweek very intense period. So the committee's, in my opinion, done a very thorough job caring for members of the public on solutions to home ownership, and I want to compliment them on their hard work. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Member. Seeing no further comment. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories increase access to titled land to help homeowners and landlords meet financing and insurance obligations in the NWT communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Member. The motion is in order. To the motion? Member for YK North.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think we all recognize that my tenure in the GNWT is a bit of a Gordian Knot and given the competing Indigenous land rights, it is a  one of the most difficult areas for our government to navigate. But the Housing Corp has requested all of its leases from the Department of Lands in fee simple. We've had problems where we have brought units into communities, and we can't actually find any land to put them to on. So the units just kind of sit there. And I know multiple people in communities who have wanted to build houses and finding land to build a house on can be extremely difficult. And I guess there's a lot of different ways that this can work, but I think specifically one of the barriers that people found was with having leases, it wasn't as easy to get mortgages; it wasn't as easy to get insurance. And I think the Department of Lands in having lots of leases to administer within community boundaries has really stepped into an area of best dealt with at the community level, land use regulations that, you know, administer things like bylaws or setbacks on properties are best dealt with by communities, and this is really an area I would like to see the GNWT get out of and give to communities.

Now, that's not always easy – it's easier said than done because different communities have different views of how they want land title to look. And, you know, I know a number of Indigenous communities have looked to things such as 99year leases or different creative ways to get their communities access to land. But I guess to me, this motion is really speaking to that the current method is not working and we need to increase access to land to put houses on because our people cannot find land to live right now, Mr. Chair.

So I'm happy to see this motion. I know  I think every single municipal election in Enterprise, they ask for their land. I know the City of Yellowknife, every single election asks for its land within municipal boundaries. There's a lot of people asking for access to land to put houses on in this territory, and if we can make some progress on that in the life of this Assembly, we can make some progress on housing. Thank you.

Thank you, Member. To the motion?

Question.

Question's been called. All those in favour? Opposed? Abstentions? Motion carried.

Carried

Member for Kam Lake.