Jane Weyallon Armstrong

Okay, thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, if our education outcome is improved in small communities, we would enjoy -- we would have -- our Indigenous students are going to -- that's the same -- that's what we want for our Indigenous students as well, if our education is improved in our small communities then they will have the same access and we will have a lot of our students in that field, in the doctorate, in a Master's program, you know, undergraduate degree. But in the meantime, I know what I'm doing here so -- okay, so I -- I'm going to get back to the report, yes.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I support this motion because it is clear that significant disparities exist between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students when it comes to educational outcomes at all levels in the education systems. We have seen this time and again through reports on outcomes, and we see it in our communities directly. The GNWT must study this problem properly. There's so many studies that exist regarding this already, and it's getting to be too much.

The Standing Committee on Social Development believes that students in small communities who show desire to pursue...

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I support this motion because a public commitment to guarantee continued reconciliation efforts like the removal of semester limits and increase access to student funding under the basic grant, it will help improve education outcome for Indigenous students. These commitments should be made in the same spirit as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's Calls to Action number 10 which highlights the need to:

Provide sufficient funding to close identified educational achievement gaps within one generation;

Improve education attainment levels and success...

Yes, Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories make a public commitment -- okay.

Mr. Chair, I would like to speak to the Motion 1.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Student Financial Assistance Act, was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development on June 12th, 2024. Throughout the committee's review, the committee received positive feedback from students on this proposed change to the student loan. The committee also heard caution from the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment to make sure decisions were being made from an evidence-based perspective but ultimately informed the committee that the loan element increase would be something that the department could support. However, when...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one school in Tlicho region says 80 percent of its students need speech and language pathology services. So with that in mind, I want to ask the Minister how many children in Tlicho region are on the waitlist for speech-language pathology as compared to the whole of the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Yes, please.

Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Student Financial Assistance Act, received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on June 12th, 2024, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review. The committee received written submissions from 11 students eagerly welcoming this bill as well as a student's oral submission at the committee's public hearing held on August 20, 2024.

On October 8, 2024, the standing committee held its clause-by-clause review of the bill with the bill's sponsor, the Member for Yellowknife Centre, where the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier in this sitting I shared concerns about early childhood education. Mr. Speaker, I have seen firsthand in my riding that many children are entering the school system on an uneven level. This limits their chances for long-term achievement and success. One of the issues I hear from constituents is about the need for speech-language pathology services for their child or children.

Speech-language pathology, or SLP, is a rehabilitation service that provides speech and language therapy to people with communication disorders. In the past, these services were...