Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that Committee Report 21-20(1), Standing Committee on Procedure and Privileges Report on the Review of the Chief Electoral Officer's Report on the Administration of the 2023 Territorial General Election - Lowering Voting Age to 16, be received and adopted by the Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? Opposed? Abstention? Motion has been carried. So the motion has been carried. Committee report has been received and adopted by the Assembly. Thank you.
---Carried
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member's statement today I talked about trying to find ways to empower people to -- actually, you know what, Mr. Speaker, I'll redirect my question if you give me the moment to leave. I would like to now point my question to the Minister of housing, and my question was a year ago I had asked her about how we could uplift housing opportunities, such as the Rockhill Apartment, and work with private industry to find new ways and innovative ways to provide social housing for people, innovative for business, and get people living a much healthier lifestyle.
Mr. Speaker, would the Minister of housing be able to update me on the potential partnership or idea I proposed to her a year ago about getting private industry involved in the Rockhill property that's been sitting empty for years. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. The Minister responsible for Housing NWT.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Rockhill properties, we do have an agreement with a local NGO to develop Rockhill properties. The agreement is in force until the end of March 2025, so we still have a bit of time with the local NGO. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Has there been any movement or indication that something's actually going to be done on that property; and if so, can the Minister update the House? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No movement yet. I did ask Housing NWT for some information, and we don't have any updated information at this time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister responsible for Housing NWT. Member from Yellowknife Centre. Last supplementary.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think I believe the Minister sent me a draft version or some type of copy of the agreement. She nodded, and I remember going through it. I asked, or I'm curious, on cancellation provisions knowing -- my question's going towards cancellation provisions. So in other words, is there a way that the Minister can cancel this initiative so we can actually go out and find a partner who can actually bring real opportunity to support housing for much needed people and families. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And as noted, meeting with the MLA last August, I believe, of 2024, we did discuss cancellation provisions. So the local NGO does have to come up with funding for their program or their proposal, and they have until the end of March 2025 to provide that and then the clause in terms of cancellation provisions will be in effect. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Housing NWT. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a parent with young children, daycare is very important in my life, very important for many Northerners. In speaking with day home providers, which are their own industry, it seems like there's some pretty significant issues that are challenging their ability to operate. I've spoken with the Minister about this. I'm hoping she can give some answers to the public now. There seems to be a dispute around pay. Day home operators maintain, at least the ones I've been speaking to, that they make less than minimum wage grid that is being developed for centre operators. So can the Minister explain how the $3.5 million that ECE has for early learning childcare is going to benefit day home operators. Thank you.
Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when we sat in this room back when that first came up when we were reviewing the main estimates, it was discussed that there was a desire to seek wage parity between centre-based providers and people who were working as classroom assistants in our JK to 12 education system. As it stands, our home-based educators have already achieved that parity based on their higher aftertax income that they do have. However, our centre-based providers still do make less than our education assistants. And so the goal there is to use that $3.5 million that, thank you, was secured by Regular Members in order to increase that amount and bring them to parity with classroom assistants.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, day homes are also required to complete a mandatory 80-hour course, the Alberta essentials course, but they don't get any time off to do this. It doesn't count as a training day. They're being told they have to use their vacation days to do this training. Why is the department not allowing these to be counted as training days and why are they not -- and let's just leave it there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's a 54-hour course that people without post-secondary education are required to complete in order to be considered certified under the new system and the new regulations. And so those 54 hours, if somebody works for a centre-based system, their operator determines if they are able to use centre-based time to do that. There is no difference in the amount that is paid to the centre. And then in addition for people who are day home operators, they receive two training days, and they're able to use that time to complete the course should they wish, and that does not have an impact to their pay at all. So you've heard it here. People can use their two training days to complete that 54-hour course. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Last supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I mean, that's a lot to cram into two days but it is better news than they've had before, so I look forward to speaking to them and see if that works.
The other thing that's not being provided is inclusive childcare for kids with special needs and learning disabilities. There's no funding available to them. I've spoken to the Minister about the SKIP program; it doesn't apply to day homes. They can't hire their own staff. They're sole operators. So how are we providing care for inclusive early childcare and education for these kids? Because they need it. They have doctors' notes, they can prove it to the department, but they're not getting help. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member's absolutely right. The SKIP program is for centre-based learning. Home-based operators who have preschool aged children with specialized or individual needs are able to receive $5,200, annually while the child is enrolled in the program, and that is the additional supports that ECE currently provides to day homes. Thank you.
Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last week the Premier tabled a document that was a return to an oral question that expands on the conversation question that I had with the Deputy Premier last October. The commitment was to provide a more detailed timeline on the work towards establishing functional zero goals for all communities. I got a reply but limited information on timelines.
So, Mr. Speaker, can the Deputy Premier tell me if we are on track to meet the homelessness strategy's goal outcome of goals set for each community to reduce homelessness by their own target of the end of 2025? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Madam Deputy Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this point there certainly has been some slippage in that timeline but it's owing, in part, due to some of the unanticipated challenges of truly working with the partners in this space. So I understand that there's significant efforts underway to work with NGOs and with Indigenous governments, community governments, others who are working collaboratively to ensure that the individual targets are appropriate to their communities so wanting to ensure that the ultimate timeline is aligned with the work that is happening on the ground. And so with that, it's now clear that there may not be targets for every community in place by 2025. Work does continue towards that ultimate goal. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, I would hope that when updated timelines are available, they could be shared.
Mr. Speaker, I've heard that we need more data to support our applications for funding future transitional housing. Can the Deputy Speaker -- Deputy Premier please tell me if we have sufficient data to be seeking dollars both within Yellowknife and in our regions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that actually hits on what really is the biggest barrier right now in terms of being able to move this forward and with some timelines. Data is a challenge in this space.
I can say, Mr. Speaker, that there is support now flowing to non-government partners with respect to having a client management software system. So it's an actual system that can be used to better track and understand the challenge that is faced and how it's moving forward. So, again, there is significant work happening in this space, and it's collaborative work that's happening in this space. So hopefully with that, and as that moves forward, the data and then the timelines and the targets will continue to be advanced. And I'm pretty confident in saying that we can make sure that Members are updated accordingly. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Deputy Premier. Final supplementary. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I'm wondering then, too I understand that there's work being done to get that data here in Yellowknife. There's work that is anticipated to get that data here in Inuvik this year. But with our smaller communities, our regional centres, I am curious is the Deputy Premier or the Premier, she's speaking for today, planning to bring these conversations forward with Council of Leaders to get that data from Indigenous governments? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, there is -- there's some very specific efforts already underway. Larger centres already had, in some cases, the capacity to move this forward. I will certainly be more than happy to bring back the suggestion that this go back to Council of Leaders if it hasn't already.
Mr. Speaker, there is some work, indeed, underway already in Fort Simpson and in Inuvik as well as Hay River. So, you know, again, happy to take this back and suggest that Council of Leaders be engaged, again, if they're not and to ensure that report is brought back to Members on that work. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Deputy Premier. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
So the GNWT's multi-year funding agreement with Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning is set to expire in March 2025. So while most of Dechinta's funding has come from the federal level as well as private sources, GNWT funding is critical to show other donors and funders that the institution is critical to this territory, and a multi-year funding commitment is necessary to ensure Dechinta can actually secure its faculty staffing because professors would not agree to work on a month's notice year to year. So is the Minister working with Dechinta to set up a new multi-year funding agreement? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, we are working to achieve a new multi-year funding agreement before the end of this current fiscal year. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment has had a great working relationship with Dechinta over the last decade, includes currently the two-year contribution agreement which the Member is talking about which concludes at the end of this fiscal year. Thank you.
Thank you, that's great news from the Minister.
Dechinta is also well placed to lead community-based research on both social and environmental themes but because it doesn't have official status as a private college, it's currently excluded from being eligible for research grants. So how is ECE supporting Dechinta's efforts to become a private college and be able to access those research grants? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to start out with a huge shout out to Kelsey Wrightson, who is the executive director of Dechinta and is very active, and we have great meetings, and I love hearing about her vision. So the Post-secondary Education Act came into force in 2022, and this provides the foundation to build the new system. So through the act, a quality assurance system for the accreditation of certificate, diploma, and degree programs and institutions was created, and this includes the opportunity for designation as a private college. So staff with education, culture and employment meet with Dechinta on a regular basis and recurring basis to ensure they can pursue the appropriate recognition under that piece of legislation, and this work is currently underway. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So can the Minister clarify whether the establishment of Dechinta as a private college would require new legislation; and if so, how long would that take or what would be the timeline for that Act being introduced in this House? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can say that, yes, operating as a college requires that the institution be established in legislation. And as far as timelines, it really depends on how that work progresses and so I would love to report back on that progress to the Member. But currently, there is a quality assurance process that must be undertaken, and ECE is working closely with Dechinta through this process. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my questions are to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. What is the Department of ECE's preparations to retain the nine positions lost in the Sahtu because of the community learning centres' closures? Thank you.
From the Sahtu. Minister for Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to start off by recognizing that there is absolutely an impact to communities across the Northwest Territories and specifically the staff of the community learning centres across the Northwest Territories. However, under the Aurora College Act, Mr. Speaker, the board of governors is responsible for operations decisions of the college. I know that Aurora College is working closely with Department of Finance to support staff through the process and that elements of the staff retention process and policy have been communicated to potentially affected staff, and work is underway to find potential placements for those staff. Thank you.
