Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today I have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment in the area of employment. The employment rates in the small communities such as Fort Resolution and Lutselk’e are in the 40 percent range. This basically means that of people between 15 and 65, less than half of them are working in those communities. The employment rate in Yellowknife is around 80 percent.
I want to ask the Minister what he plans to do about the employment rates and low incomes in small communities, as it appears to be the responsibility of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to thank the Member for asking that important question for small communities. We are looking forward to debating this budget that’s before us. There is a new initiative in there that deals directly with employment in small communities. That will result in outstanding challenges or issues in the small communities of hiring, directly hiring summer students that are going back to school. Definitely, I’m looking forward to more opportunities to discuss the budget that’s in the process and this will surely shed some light into the small communities.
I’m assuming that’s to try to get the people in the small communities prepared for employment. I’m wondering if the staff are fully aware of what the employment possibilities are in the communities they serve, considering that the high school diploma rate in small communities is also in the 40 percent range.
Those logistics are still being worked on as we speak. It’s in the planning stages, but certainly those preferences and priorities will be given to the students that are returning to school. We want every student to succeed in our school system and succeed in life as well. At this point all I can say is it’s in the planning stages and, certainly, those considerations will be taken into effect.
I guess just a little bit more background to put a context of what I’m referring to here. Employment income in a place like Lutselk’e is 2.5 times lower than the average employment income in a place like Yellowknife. Are the staff fully equipped -- actually, and I’m wondering about the staff’s abilities here -- to deal with the employment needs in the small communities?
We will continue to work with employment development officers in the communities; also with the organizations we’ll continue to work with. Whether it be client service officers, employment officers in the communities and the regions we’ll certainly be prepared to deal with the new initiatives that will be before us. We’ll be prepared as much as we can when the time comes.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The cases of income support, on an average basis, are eight times higher in the smaller communities than it is in Yellowknife. Does the department do any work with potential employees to actively try to match people who are seeking employment and to get off income support and go to work in these smaller communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
That is our primary target, to get people off of income support as much as we can, working with different programs that we’ve initiated within our Department of Education, Culture and Employment’s Ready to Work Program and just maximizing opportunities for income support clientele. If they could work, if they’re workable, then we like to fully utilize them in different areas. We do provide training programs for them to deal with the productive choices. So, Mr. Speaker, we can certainly provide the detailed information to the Members so they can share it with their constituents as well. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
