R.J. Simpson

The type of board that the Member is describing is exactly what will complete this transformation. Right now, based on the foundational review and the government's response to the foundational review, we have moved to a public administrator instead of a board, and that is to ensure that this process is streamlined, so that everyone is on the same page and that we're moving in the same direction while we strengthen the foundation, because that's what's going on right now, is we're strengthening the foundation. We're identifying the issues that occurred in the past, that I spoke about in the...

Mr. Speaker, I stand in this House today to celebrate the nine official Indigenous languages of the Northwest Territories. How incredible that we have nine official Indigenous languages, unlike any other jurisdiction in Canada. Our languages are gifts to be protected, strengthened, valued, and promoted.

Mr. Speaker, it is our responsibility to keep our languages alive, to ensure we are a territory where Indigenous languages are supported, respected, and where they thrive. This is the vision that gives me hope, that gives us the energy and the drive to revitalize our languages, and that will...

Last week, the Premier and I sat with the Regular Members in confidence, just the elected Members, the Regular Members, the Premier, and I, and we discussed this issue in detail. We took questions from the Regular Members. That is where it is going to stay because this is an HR issue.

I will speak with the department, and I will find out how they go about doing these surveys. This is relatively new, the service standards. It's an exciting initiative to post in a government office that: this is what you can expect; we are going to treat you this way, and, if not, then, there is recourse for it.

If the Member has issues with income assistance, if there are service issues, I am always happy to hear them. I have gone to the Member's office, and we have put constituents of his on the phone, and I've heard directly from them. I am happy to do that. If there are enough concerns...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Client service officers undergo quite a bit of training. They participate in statutory training which includes review of the legislation, regulations, policies, code of ethics for income security employees, code of conduct, and service management. They are also trained in certified service professional, mental health, first aid, motivational interviewing, verbal judo, non-violent crisis intervention, and, starting in May 2020, all CSOs and managers will be training in trauma-informed practices. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This is why I'm excited to get the information out there, because, right now, that's the plan. I don't like to say we're going to get something done regardless of whether we're ready or not. I've seen, when government tries to do that, things don't work out well. There are also legislative changes that need to happen, and that means the Assembly is involved. Right now, that's the plan, 2022. That's temporary, that's during the life of this Assembly, and that is going to lead us toward the creation of the university.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The transformation of Aurora College into a polytechnic university has been identified as a priority of this Assembly, and we are in the midst of that process. That process calls for the board to be re-established at a point in the near future, a couple of years from now; 2022, right now, is the plan. Before that is going to happen, we'd like to make some changes to the Aurora College Act because, you know, the act isn't quite as arm's-length as one would think. It states that the Minister may give direction to the board respecting the exercise of its powers and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Member bringing this up. It's good to get this type of information out to the public. I know that, when I was a Regular Member, and even now as a Minister, there seems to be difficulty communicating with the people on the ground, with the boards, about the roles and responsibilities and the rights of education authorities.

The policy that the Member is referencing was enacted to ensure that money that is provided by this Assembly for education is spent on education, and it allows for surplus carryover that is either 7 percent of audited revenue or $250...

I thank my colleague. That's why I try and say "colleague" all the time because we're all equal here. There are no promotions. We are all here to represent the public. I am happy to work with the education authorities to find ways to ensure that they can use their funds to deliver education in the best possible way. We also have to look at the fact that the funding from ECE is provided to the education council, and the education council is the one that then distributes it to the education authorities.

There is another level here that we have to look at, and perhaps the way that it's distributed...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What we have done with Income Security is take a continuous improvement approach. I was a Regular Member for four years, and I am still an MLA. I do get concerns from constituents about Income Assistance, but the vast majority of times, things go off without a hitch; there aren't problems. There are going to be hiccups in any system like this, but we are committed to continuously looking at each case, learning from it, and improving our system. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.