Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I referenced that the Yellowknife Education District No. 1 is deciding its fate this Thursday on the findings of a commissioned in-house facilities report cleverly orchestrated by the GNWT.
Fact 1: The department has clearly passed on its legal obligation to deal with a constitutional obligation on the back of YK1 board trustees to modify their school programs and/or decommission one of their schools.
Fact 2: Some say GNWT’s actions border on exploitation. Bureaucracy defends this is merely good housekeeping.
My questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. It is a fact the GNWT was to have alternative arrangements between itself and the Commission scolaire francophone be brought forward to the Court of Appeal for consideration by March of 2014, yet the GNWT directed the YK1 to establish the YK1 Facilities Committee after this date.
Can the Minister explain why did the GNWT continued full steam ahead with this sacrificial lamb program, knowing full well that the results had not satisfied the appeal process or deadline? Thank you
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. First and foremost, we did not direct the YK1 to establish a steering committee, or the committee that is looking into the infrastructure in Yellowknife. It was YK1 that decided on that.
When we met with them back in 2013, prior to March, March was the deadline that we needed to act on with the Commission scolaire legal action. So we passed beyond that. Now it’s up to YK1 to decide what to do with their infrastructure. We’re obviously concerned about the low enrollment and the best utilization of those facilities.
Those are discussions that we’ve been having since 2012, 2013 until today. Mahsi.
Thank you. There’s a definite possibility that even with all the disruption and concern, YK1 could offer up the school and the Court of Appeal could still direct the GNWT to honour its original obligation. Can the Minister clearly articulate what steps will be taken should this occur?
There is a proposed public meeting that’s going to be happening tomorrow. Then I believe the decision comes down on December 9th. We are just waiting for the outcome of the parents’ engagement pertaining to these areas that have been brought to our attention. I believe there are four options for the general public to consider, the general public of the schools. At this point in time, we are just awaiting the results of those meetings.
We know that strained enrollment and aging infrastructure plagues YK1. That said, many feel we’ve failed the school board by not living up to the needed capital expenditures over the years. No matter how one views this, this utilization review comes at the beginning of what is the 2,000 population growth strategy from this same Cabinet.
Can the Minister inform the House, how can we be predicting growth and strategy yet somehow justify removing infrastructure for this anticipated population expansion?
Again, the infrastructure that we’re discussing here today, it is the ownership of YK1. They own these schools, aside from Sir John Franklin High School. The decision lies with YK1 to decide what to do with that infrastructure based on the feedback they get from the parents. I realize that enrollment is down. We, as the GNWT, continue to contribute to their O and M costs on an annual basis. We continue to do that.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Range Lake North School has been a neighbourhood K to 8 school of utilization well over 80 percent for many years, and the options before the school and the parents are now significant, changes that I know are flat out not acceptable.
Can the Minister assure the people of Range Lake and the parents that send their kids to Range Lake North School that he will see that status quo remains?
I believe some of the options that I highlighted earlier will be discussed at the public forum and the parents will be raising their concerns to YK1, and then we will be hearing feedback from YK1 with the outcome. We are looking forward to those discussions as we move forward.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
