Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member’s statement today, I talked about the children, about needing them to go on a scheduled spring break and take advantage of our annual spring hunts on the land with their parents and elders. Can the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment tell me whether there is a requirement by the department to hold spring breaks at certain times of the year? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.
Return To Question 3-15(4): Spring Break In The Sahtu
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, Mr. Speaker. The only requirement that an education authority has, as stipulated in the Education Act, is that it sets out the number of instructional minutes that the students must receive. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Supplementary To Question 3-15(4): Spring Break In The Sahtu
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Then can the Minister confirm for me that the education authorities can decide on their own when spring breaks will occur in the year?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.
Further Return To Question 3-15(4): Spring Break In The Sahtu
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is absolutely correct. Right now, spring breaks occur at different times of the year for different school district education councils. A lot of councils will take into account what cultural and on-the-land activities they could participate in and will set their spring breaks to reflect those. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Supplementary To Question 3-15(4): Spring Break In The Sahtu
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So if the citizens of the Sahtu region wish to change the dates of the spring break to take advantage of the traditional on-the-land spring hunt activities, they would then have to contact or lobby the Sahtu educational board. Is that correct? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.
Further Return To Question 3-15(4): Spring Break In The Sahtu
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is correct. One of the reasons that we have DEAs and DECs is to allow that sort of local control. We expect that the school year will reflect what the communities and the families in the region want and expect and need to make sure that their cultures and traditions are reflected in the schools. So, yes, the school dates should reflect that. One of the other ways to do it would be not just by setting different dates for spring breaks, but would be, as some communities do, starting the school year close to the end of July or the very beginning of August, and then ending early in May so that the school year for many communities does leave a lot of time in the spring for people to get on the land. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Supplementary To Question 3-15(4): Spring Break In The Sahtu
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment if he would look into having children who may wish to go out on the land during the spring breaks as part of their educational curriculum so that they are not dinged for missing certain days of the school year, so that is maybe an educational social issue or health issue that is part of the curriculum. Would the Minister commit to look into some type of option that would support this initiative? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.
Further Return To Question 3-15(4): Spring Break In The Sahtu
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In fact, Mr. Speaker, I have already talked to the board chairs of all the DECs about this kind of programming. We have had a number of DECs that have implemented on-the-land programming as part of their regular educational program. Lutselk’e, in the last year, has had a very strong program. There have been a number of other ones. I know that there will be more in the coming school year. So that is an approach that is already welcomed and supported by the department. We encourage the Sahtu DEC to work with families and communities to explore the opportunities for doing so in that region, as well.
