Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the things that I'm hearing quite regularly is this concern over closed doors and there's such a struggle to get your name on a list, to get your child in a door to begin with, then to start potentially losing those spaces is very scary for parents. It means that they're not able to go to work, it means they're not able to pay their mortgage, it means they're not able to continue to live; they're not able to support themselves. And so in light of all these concerns and the threat of day cares potentially having to close their doors, what is ECE doing to communicate these viable solutions and the work that they're doing with both child care providers but also parents that are using this sector? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So as I stated, the department has gone out and has been working directly with child care providers. There's always ongoing discussions with the Early Childhood Association. On the website there is a lot of information for parents. We are trying to determine what the wait lists are. You know, a number of parents will put their names on a number of different wait lists. We don't really have a sense of, you know, how many duplicates there are so it's very unclear at this point. So we're trying to get to the bottom of that as well because we want to make sure that we know what the demand is so that we're better able to support it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of ECE. As I've been sitting here this morning, I've been getting messages from residents that people on income assistance being with payments for disabilities have not received their payment yet this week. It's my understanding there's been changes to the process and the form submissions, etcetera, and that has delayed the payment. Can the Minister speak to what is going on? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can look into this issue. I know just as MLA, I often get people in my office looking for their income assistance. We tell them to come to check at 1 o'clock. That's often when they come in, maybe a day later. But once the payments are issued, it can take one to three days for them to be processed by the bank. So it could be an issue with that but I will look into this immediately. And the department is listening right now as well, so I'm sure they're frantically looking into it and will send me some information. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm glad to hear that, and I do appreciate that the Minister is responsive. However, it's my understanding that this delay has been caused by changes to the disability payment and as such, people were submitting documents early this week. And so my question is why would we make changes that are then being done right before the next payment as people don't have their money in their accounts as of Friday and that makes me worry that children aren't going to have food, rents aren't going to be paid. You know, I can survive if I don't have money in my bank account; I have credit cards, I can go into debt, but many others don't have that option, and so can the Minister speak to what's going on there? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I'm not aware of any changes that were made at that operational level, and the staff are getting ready to make changes to the system as a whole as we introduce the new income assistance stream for seniors and persons with disabilities so that change should be happening in the next couple of months, few months. But as for a change that happened in the last couple weeks, I'm not aware of that but, as I said, I will look into this. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I literally have people telling me they were asked to submit new forms at the beginning of this week so I'm not sure what's going on here. And I do appreciate the Minister needs to look into this. Can the Minister tell us is this also affecting the seniors' payments? I know that sitting here a couple of my colleagues have also indicated to me they've had people reaching out they have not received their money this week. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, again, I have to look into it; I don't have that information. But what I will say is that persons with disabilities and seniors, so people who we don't expect to you know, to go back into the workforce, they are often what's called payrolled. So they only have to submit their financial information once every three months, six months, every year perhaps. And so when you don't have to submit, you know, monthly, when it's every 12 months, you know, that could cause issues. People might not be, you know, as familiar with the process if they've only done it, you know, one or two times. So there could be issues with that as well, but I will look into it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do appreciate that this could just be a oneoff but given that I'm hearing from my colleagues they are also getting emails of the same, I think this is a glitch or something is happening in the payment system. Can the Minister commit to ensuring that that money for those people is in their bank accounts by the end of the business day today? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, if the money is issued, that's one thing, but I can't control when it's processed through the banks. So if I could will it to happen, I would, but the Minister of Finance has also informed me that she has her staff looking into this to make sure it's not an issue on their end. So we're taking an allofgovernment approach to deal with this issue. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Tu NedheWiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier in my Member's statement I talked about what's going on in Fort Resolution, and it's a little bit disheartening to witness what's going on there and listen to the hamlet council and also to the deputy mayor. And I also want to just apologize for not getting these questions to the Minister of MACA sooner, but I but anyway, I just wanted to ask the question. MACA, in regards to how did MACA work to assist the community through its challenges since 2019 to implement the work plan with MACA before pulling the trigger about a month ago? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Tu NedheWiilideh. Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Member for asking these questions. I can honestly say the Member for Tu NedheWiilideh has been in constant contact and doing his job as an MLA. In regards to his question, it's going to be a little bit longwinded, but I apologize now.
In March 2019, Municipal and Community Affairs entered into a comanagement agreement with the hamlet that expired in 2020. MACA's regional superintendent remained in regular contact, almost often daily, with the mayor and SAO to provide ongoing support. In fall of 2022, the interim SAO provided quarterly reports showing a million-dollar deficit. Municipal and Community Affairs regional staff visited the community in 2022 and were able to assist with some financial reporting.
In a letter to the mayor on October 13th, 2022, MACA set out concerns and recommendations related to governance, financial reporting, and critical infrastructure, and SAO recruitment. The regional superintendent was in touch almost daily with the mayor and deputy mayor from September to January 2022, urging council to hire a SAO as it was a legislative requirement.
In February 2023, the regional superintendent and assistant superintendent met with the council to highlight some of MACA's concerns. Council members repeatedly asked for administration at that time and we were trying to work with them administration is our last step, and we were trying to work with them to come out there.
The school community government met with the council to discuss the custom training plan. MACA visited staff visited the community to meet with staff and council in March, April, and May of 2023 to discuss and assist with financial and governance issues. The regional office continues to provide ongoing advice and support to the mayor and deputy mayor after the mayor resigned. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for your response. In your response, you talked about in 2020 the agreement comanagement agreement expired. However, in the deputy minister's press release, it talked about MACA withdrew from the comanagement agreement. And so my question is, Mr. Speaker, why did MACA withdraw from the comanagement agreement despite that $640,000 community deficit was not shared with the elected council? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct. In March 2019, as part of the commitment to implement measures intended to improve accountability and efficiency of their programs and services, the hamlet did enter into a comanagement agreement and work plan with Municipal and Community Affairs. The agreement and work plan included recommendation for operational review conducted in months leading up to the agreement. The agreement expired. Again, I wish to stress it expired March 31st, 2020. And while some of the objectives were not fully achieved, the hamlet was demonstrating a commitment to successfully accomplishing these objectives. It was therefore agreed that Municipal and Community Affairs would continue to work closely with the hamlet on the work plan action and planned action items without extending the comanagement agreement. So that was an agreement with the department and the hamlet. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you, Minister, for that. Yeah, I guess the community's been wanting answers for some time, and we had a meeting in May, and we were I attended that meeting in that community and they were still asking the question, you know, where's the Minister, where's the MACA staff, and that kind of thing. So anyways, so Mr. Speaker, it's clear the residents of Fort Resolution are frustrated. Will the Minister go to Fort Resolution and consult with the community members and elected council before taking further action? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just need to clear the air. So mayor and the deputy mayor reached out to me. We had a conversation. They told me that they were going to be on and I believe it was May 10th they were going to have a meeting. I explained that I was travelling already attending an FPT meeting and that however our staff would be available. Our staff we did give them that information and staff was waiting the whole night to get the phone call to be brought in. So we were making ourselves available. I can advise you that I ran into the deputy mayor this week and offered to go into Fort Res and speak to the community leadership as my schedule allows. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Tu NedheWiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Minister. I think now that, you know, it sounds like the administration's going to happen, and there are still concerns with the residents of Fort Resolution in regards to the water rates and sewer rates going up. Can the Minister assure the community that that doesn't happen right now until we have a better hand on what's going to happen in the administration work plan? And I'm hoping that the Minister could probably explain that as he goes into the community once he's notified on the date. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do not have a timeline or implementation plan yet. The Minister hasn't even started the required work to address the deficit and outstanding issues. So that work needs to be done. There may likely be some changes required to the hamlet programs and services, including the water and sewer rates. However, we don't know that until we look at it. Municipal and Community Affairs is aware that several hamlet programs and services are not currently functioning at full capacity, and there will likely be changes needed to ensure that residents are receiving these municipal services.
Again, I would encourage the residents of Fort Res to provide support to the administrator as he undertakes the work required to help the hamlet to set work on a stable and financial path. This includes discussions, issues, and concerns with the administrator once he starts on March 5th.
But, Mr. Speaker, yesterday I had an opportunity to talk to a former superintendent for Municipal and Community Affairs, and we were having a conversation about administration and what the role is and how it's going to be done. So we are working on that, and I will work with the Member to explain some of the ideas that we're looking at to make sure this administration is a short period of time. We, I, want to make sure we have an elected council in there as soon as possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Teachers need time and training to roll out the new and adjusted BC curriculum here in the Northwest Territories. Teachers may be expected to complete five 2hour courses over the summer. Apparently, these courses aren't ready yet. This information was found on social media, not in formal announcement from the department or their education authorities. So can the Minister tell us when the training materials will be ready and delivered to teachers? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This month, they'll be ready. There is a plan for the training. It was released on May 23rd and so the actual plan is out there. I understand what the Member is saying these materials are not immediately available. There's no expectation that teachers will have to work over the summer. You know, that's the benefit of being a teacher. You get that little bit of time off in the summer there so we're not trying to burden teachers with anything.
I will say that in the upcoming school year, there will be some teachers who will be trialing the new British Columbia curriculum. So teachers of grade 4 to 6 classes as well as grade 9 classes. Schools were given the option of trialing some or all of the curriculum in those years. So some schools are implementing the full curriculum for four to six and nine, and others are just doing certain parts of it. So this is not all teachers in the territory; I just want to make sure that people were aware of that. The information about, you know, the curriculum and the resources, we provide that to the superintendents who then disseminate that among their school staff. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. It's very helpful to get this information on the record and out there.
Another issue is that the department says transition must happen before the contract with Alberta Education ends for the administration of diploma exams. But, Mr. Speaker, this really shouldn't matter. Students did not write diploma exams while learning remotely during the pandemic. So will the Minister look at revising the timeline for this exam's requirement or eliminate it? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I think there might have been some miscommunication. There is no expectation that we need to fully transition to British Columbia's curriculum before the contract with Alberta Education ends. The contract ends in 20252026, marking the last year of diploma exams and the last year that students in grade 12 will use the Alberta curriculum. Implementation of the BC curriculum in all grades is anticipated for the 20272028 school year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister again for that. It's helpful to get this information out there. It's not clear, though, how colleges and universities that still base their entry requirements on percentage grades will treat NWT students applying for admission when we start to switch to a proficiency scale. So it's also not clear how this proficiency scale grading will impact scholarships and it's not clear how parents are going to be informed about the new assessment scale either.
So can the Minister tell us what implementation measures ECE has developed to make sure students can continue to apply and be competitive for entrance into colleges and universities? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. One of the nice things about partnering with a large jurisdiction like British Columbia is that colleges and universities recognize that the way that BC does its curriculum and its grading, and so BC does use percentage grades for grades 10, 11, and 12. It's up to grade 9 where there is the proficiency scale that the Member is talking about. So there will be percentages for grades 10, 11, 12. As for grades 1 to 9, we're still working on what that might look like, whether or not we're going to fully adopt British Columbia's scale. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thanks the Minister again for that. It's really helpful to get this information out there because clearly there's different views out there or whatever. So professional teachers, though, on the frontline are telling me that they're not ready for this rollout and they're not prepared.
So how is the Minister going to act now to address these concerns and determine whether an implementation delay on the new BC curriculum is needed? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I've heard these concerns directly from the teachers. I met with the NWT Teachers Association a few weeks ago, maybe a month ago now, and, you know, they were expressed directly to me, so I have been asking conversations with the department who was very alive to this. You know, most of them are teachers themselves so they understand this. We have been working on the online courses, which teachers will be able to access at their leisure.
There are professional development days. ECE is providing facetoface seminars. So there's a number of ways that we are working with the education bodies and the teachers to ensure that teachers are prepared. I do understand the trepidation; it is a big change. I'll note that this has been delayed. You know, I believe the initial plan was to roll this out maybe last year, and we've been pushing it back and now it is a much longer roll out, understanding that there is the need for training.
And I will say that some teachers are already using this as well. You know, the Northern Studies 30 curriculum, which is being piloted this year, does use the BC curricular framework and some other teachers just like to use competencybased curriculum, and so they have been doing it on their own as well. So I understand there is I mean, there are some people who are very well prepared and excited, and there's others who feel like they need more training and time for training. And so we are working hard with the teachers’ association and the education bodies to ensure that teachers do get that time they need. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for Minister of Justice.
Mr. Speaker, I know that there are 21 RCMP detachments in the NWT. And the smallest NWT community with a population of 104 has a RCMP detachment so therefore I have a question for the Minister. This week we have been reviewing the supplementary estimates. There is $1.5 million to expand the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program. That's good. But, Mr. Speaker, I want to know does that funding include any new officers for Gameti or Wekweeti? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister responsible for Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We've added quite a few new RCMP positions since I've become Minister. I sometimes have difficulty keeping them straight, which year we've added them, but I do know that we have added a number of positions in the Member's regions for those communities. And if not this year, the past couple years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. Yes, I am aware of that but I'm just asking for Gameti or Wekweeti, and they were not included in there. So, Mr. Speaker, we really need a stronger police presence in Gameti and Wekweeti. There's no detachment or even permanent officers, only visiting officers from time to time. Can the Minister explore opportunities to increase the police presence in Gameti and Wekweeti? Thank you.
Thank you, and I will amend what I said. Those officers are dedicated to those communities, but they are not stationed in those communities. As the Member points out, they don't have detachments. Like I said, we've added a number of positions. We're always working with the RCMP to enhance their ability to do their job, and we will continue to do that. We are exploring options through the First Nation and Inuit Policing Program with the federal government. So we recognize these concerns, and we are looking at ways to address them. There's also, you know, other ways to address some of these issues as well. Community safety officers are one option that we recently gotten into and perhaps that's a path forward to either, you know, put resources in communities where there are none or free up resources from other communities so we can distribute them other ways. So we are always looking at this. Thank you
Mr. Speaker, thank you. I believe yearround police presence in Gameti and Wekweeti is needed. Every time the visiting officers come, the community becomes quiet, and when they leave it becomes lively. The situation is especially hard on elders, you know. I just visited the community over there and the leaders have they expressed you know, they really want an RCMP station in Gameti and also the elders are having a hard time. It's having an impact on them. So therefore, can the Minister convey to the RCMP the desire for a stronger police presence in the Tlicho communities? Thank you.
Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I just mentioned with the population of 104 has a police station. So, Mr. Speaker, small communities should not be denied policing even if we are small, small community, we need law and order in order to keep our residents safe. I realize there are only so many resources but our small community need to be safe. Can the Minister encourage the RCMP to work more closely with leaders in Gameti and Wekweeti to meet their policing needs? Thank you.
