R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Further to my statement today about Ecole Boreale and the ministerial directive, I will be directing my questions to the honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Will the Minister commit to conducting review in good faith of the ministerial directive related to the enrolment of students in French first-language language education programs before the end of this school year? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, your committee would like to report progress. I move that the report of the Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is all good news and I appreciate the Minister's response. Finally, I'd just like to ask the Minister, is it the department's working assumption that Ecole Boreale is viable in the long term as a French language school in Hay River? Thank you.

That's good to hear that a review is underway. I'd like to know what impediments or roadblocks that the government perceives stand in the way of loosening these strict admission requirements that are stopping the GNWT from bringing its admissions policy more in line with the rest of the country.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights of people whose first language is French or whose primary school education was in French to have their children educated in that language if they reside in a province or territory where that is the linguistic minority. In Hay River, Ecole Boreale services this right. In 2008, the Minister of Education issued a directive stating that admissions to French language programs shall be restricted only to those students who qualify according to a strict interpretation of section 23 and have the...

I now call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

WHEREAS it is required by rule 89(2) that the Legislative Assembly shall appoint a Striking Committee of five Members to report and recommend, with all convenient speed, Members to comprise the Standing Committees;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, that Mr. Beaulieu, Mr. Nakimayak, Mr. O’Reilly, Mr. Testart, and Mr. Thompson be appointed to the Striking Committee of this Assembly.

WHEREAS there is requirement for the naming of two Members to hold the positions of Deputy Chairpersons of the Committee of the Whole;

AND WHEREAS it is desirable to appoint two Members;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave that the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Frederick Blake, Jr., and the honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Danny McNeely, be appointed as Deputy Chairpersons of the Committee of the Whole.

I give notice that on Monday, February 22, 2016, I will move the following motion.

Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, that Mr. Beaulieu, Mr. Nakimayak, Mr. O'Reilly, Mr. Testart, and Mr. Thompson be appointed to the Striking Committee of this Assembly.

At the appropriate time, I will be seeking unanimous consent to deal with this motion today.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Through conversation with other Members, I have come to realize the economic realities we’re facing in Hay River, the territory's second largest community, aren't well known outside of the town. Even though this Assembly is in its infancy, the decisions we make in the coming months will have both immediate and lasting effects. Because we need to make informed decisions, I want to provide all of my colleagues with some context regarding the fragile state of Hay River's economy. The economic downturn is evident all over the territory. However, there are certain...