Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister of Education some questions on the Member’s statement I provided earlier today on the students of Wrigley on the concerns of their parents about not accessing proper education for their children in Fort Simpson.
The issue is, Mr. Speaker, there is a residence in Fort Simpson that is exactly designed for out-of-town students but, for whatever reason, they’re not able to attend there. There’s no option to provide education to our small, remote communities if we do not access that residence. There must be alternate solutions. So I’d like to ask the Minister what can be done about this situation. Mahsi cho.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Obviously there’s a reason why these students are not in a residence and we need to get that confirmation from the DEA or DEC, probably the DEA. I will be following up on this particular matter with the DEA. There are various options. The students and the parents in the community can work with the DEA, if they can meet with the local DEA and erase those concerns. We will do our part as well.
When I spoke with the parents and the members of the DEA in Wrigley, they asked that... It’s a long way to travel. The DEA and the Dehcho Divisional Education Council have the resources for them to come to Wrigley, meet with the parents and discuss some of the solutions and issues around their children not being able to attend school in Fort Simpson. As I indicated in my Member’s statement, we have an obligation for Aboriginal education and we must find solutions no matter how tough they are.
Obviously there is a solution we need to find within the system. This is an area we need to work closely with the district education authority on. We allocate funding based on the operations and maintenance of the school board and they work closely with the students and the parents in identifying where issues arise. We need to find out the situation that the Member is referring to. What is the real issue? Why aren’t the students in their residence? I’m sure there’s a reason. We need to find that reason. As the Member alluded, there’s a solution to this, so let’s work on that.
I’m pleased that the Minister and I are of the same mind. I think if we take it one step further, of course the Dehcho Divisional Education Council must meet with the parents in Wrigley, sit them all down in the same place and find out some of the issues. I think the next step is to also get an independent evaluation of the residence system that’s there to see how it can better fit for the smaller communities and students in the post-secondary education from the smaller communities. I’d like to ask the Minister if we could work towards that for the time being.
I will work with the DEA on having those Wrigley students attend Simpson with regard to the residence. Also the independent evaluation would have to come from the DEA if they wish to do that.
We as a department will work closely with them. Maybe this is a concern that we can bring forward to the DEA. The Member raised that issue. It’s a concern to the Member and to the community. We’ll follow through with that.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The first step I always believe is communication. I’m glad the Minister is willing to work towards that and work with the Dehcho Divisional Education Council. I would also ask the Minister to bear in mind that other communities are having the same issue, like Nahanni Butte, Trout Lake and Jean Marie River. Please bear in mind and ask them to get involved at some point. It’s an issue that concerns all the small, remote communities in my riding.
I agree with the Member. It is across the board in the Northwest Territories, not just in Nahendeh. It is in Beaufort-Delta and other places. This is an area that has been brought to our attention and we are working within our department and the DECs and DEAs.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
