Caitlin Cleveland

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can confirm to the Member that this is a holding topic at meetings with the education bodies, with the chairs, across the territory and is frequently discussed. Mr. Speaker, I can also confirm for the Member that this is something that is very important to me because we can it doesn't matter how much money we invest in education, if students around attending school then we cannot improve our education outcomes as a territory. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, attendance has long been a concern for education bodies across the territory and have put in different mechanisms to try to address attendance over the years, but as the Member stated in her statement today, there is definitely a huge concern for attendance across the territory in today's world as well. And so this is really a situation and a challenge that is going to have to be addressed not only by teachers, principals, education bodies, but by communities as a whole and by a territory as a whole. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, art is powerful, and art is beautiful, but it is far more than a thing of beauty. Art is a personal, local, and global connector. It connects people to themselves, to one another, and to people living across the world. Further, it connects us to culture, land, and elders and it is critical to our wellbeing and to our shared and individual histories. Art is a conduit of healing. Art is foundational to how we educate our children, preserve traditions, feed community wellness, and build a strong and independent territory.

The arts sector plays a valuable role in the NWT, not only for...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I commit to working with education bodies to understand how I can support their needs to improve attendance across the territory. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, different education bodies have used different tactics because they see their challenges as being unique in communities across the territory. Many of our well, all of our schools have food programs to try and incentivize youth to come to school for that reason. Some education bodies send busses around the communities to pick students up from their home and bring them to the school. And, of course, teachers have come up with unique ways to try and incentivize attendance in schools and that could be anything from choosing subjects that are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was 22 years old when I learned I would soon welcome my first child. I was excited, anxious, eager for the journey to come, but was also terrified because I couldn't keep a plant alive and would soon be trusted to raise a human. And so on the 6th day of the 6th month of the 6th year at 6 minutes to 9:00, I met Action Jackson. I was in awe of him. He was fiercely independent, terrifyingly fearless, relentlessly curious, and oh so sweet. This past weekend, that baby graduated high school.

As we stood for a family photo, him in his cap and gown, he stretched...

That is correct, Mr. Chair. Students who currently access northern distance learning will still be able to access northern distance learning. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, 3 million of those dollars were focused on small communities, and 1 million of those dollars were focused on regional centres. And so the change in that reduction would signal a desire to kind of change the policy work behind that funding to ensure that funding is directed at communities with the highest unemployment rates. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I'd like to pass to the deputy minister to be able to speak to this. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, my role would be to provide political direction. So for the operational detail, I'd like to pass to the deputy minister.