Jane Weyallon Armstrong

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, previously I spoke in this House on inflation and the rising cost of living in the Tlicho region. The increasing cost of fuel is part of the problem.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this month the government announced significant increases to the fuel resupply program prices in ten communities. Three communities in the Tlicho region will be affected by this increase. Mr. Speaker, this upcoming resupply season, Gameti, Wekweeti, and Whati, will see an average increase of 44 cents per litre, or 28 percent increase for heating fuel; 45 cents per litre, or 25 percent...

For.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I do feel the same, and I do support the motion as well. And I know that it is about time, Mr. Speaker, that we start paying attention to small communities, give them some recognition that they do lack lot of services, especially in health care. It needs attention. It needs to be improved.

We have some communities with no nurses or some do not have any health centre. So that needs to be so we need to recognize those communities as well. There are people living in those communities. And people that are living in the communities are mostly Indigenous. So that's what...

Thank you. Will the Minister commit to look in to further subsidies to stabilize the rising costs of living in small communities or programs to ensure people can get out on the land? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recognizing that global gas price increases due to the UkraineRussian war are creating staggering impacts for our communities, what steps, if any, can the GNWT take to soften the tremendous blow of these increases on our citizens? Thank you.

Thank you. I like this where it says it's going to go towards home repair, emergency repair, fuel tank, and all you know, elders, seniors aging in place. I just want to make sure that, you know, some of this gets spent in communities. And I hope this fund that we're going to be approving will not be used to hire more people to do more planning, studies, etcetera, as mentioned before. So I hope it will get spent in the communities. I would like to see it get spent in communities, in small communities or larger centre outside of Yellowknife, that's what I'm saying. So I would like to see this...

In favour.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Delivering Equitable Education Services to Small Communities in the Northwest Territories.

In response to the Office of the Auditor General 2020 report on Early Childhood to Grade 12 Education in the Northwest Territories, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment committed to actions toward improving student outcomes in the NWT. It has been two years since ECE responded to the auditor general's recommendations and committed to take action to support schools in small communities and ensure students in the territory have an equitable learning experience. I...

Thank you. Another example is in 2020 in 2020 and 2021 school that did not align their calendars saw some of their NDL students missing up to 25 percent of NDL class periods for some courses during the academic year.

What has been the progress in working with educators, administrators, and district education authorities in aligning the calendars of schools offering northern business learning programming? Thank you.

Will the Minister commit to providing more flexibility on how funds can be spent so communities and staff can be more creative on program delivery?