Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, the Honourable Charles Dent, in regards to the residential schools issue. I want to ask the Minister, is his department taking the lead in terms of coordinating all the other GNWT departments in terms of helping the people who need to look at residential schools as a means to get some work done on their lives and also in their communities? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Education, Culture and Employment has the lead at getting information to the people who are claimants to make sure they can fill out their claims accurately and quickly to get them filed with the Residential Schools Commission. But in terms of the social work that would be necessary, no, that is not something that the department does. Each department has its own field of responsibility. For instance, the Department of Justice handles the legal sides in this jurisdiction. So it would be up to the Department of Health and Social Services to take the lead on counselling services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Supplementary To Question 6-15(5): Residential School Claimants
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister in terms of helping the claimants with the information in regards to the settlements. I’d like to ask the Minister in terms of him taking the initiative of working with the Department of Health and Social Services, Department of Justice, in terms of also working with other agencies, such as the Assembly of First Nations or the Dene Nation or any other agencies out there that, in terms of coordinating a single unit, sort of sharing information and coordinating a project over the next couple years to help the former students of residential schools in all facets of how this federal government initiative will roll out for the Northwest Territories. I think that I’d like to ask the Minister if he would consider that almost an interagency committee. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.
Further Return To Question 6-15(5): Residential School Claimants
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d be happy to ensure that this item gets placed on the agenda for the social envelope Ministers. We have a committee that meets on a regular basis and I will work with my colleagues to ensure that we have a coordinated approach. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Supplementary To Question 6-15(5): Residential School Claimants
Thank you. I look forward to the Minister’s response back from the social envelope committee members on this coordinating effort. I also ask if the Minister would look at inviting the Dene Nation as one part of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation as one agency. Another agency is across the Northwest Territories, the Gwich’in and Sahtu and Dehcho and Tlicho; other communities that are affected by the residential schools in terms of looking at the interagency that would look to help all the communities. So would the Minister look at the possibility of including the other regional or territorial organizations as a territorial, true territorial interagency committee? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.
Further Return To Question 6-15(5): Residential School Claimants
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I’ll make sure that we have that discussion with my colleagues in the social program departments to ensure that we do what we can to coordinate efforts in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Supplementary To Question 6-15(5): Residential School Claimants
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’ll ask the Minister, would it be optimistically ambitious to say if he can get back to us within the life of this, these Assembly days until the 8th of June to give us some kind of good response to the House with a response to my request? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.
Further Return To Question 6-15(5): Residential School Claimants
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Unfortunately, the next scheduled meeting for our committee is after session ends, but it is scheduled for the month of June. So it will be something that we’ll discuss and I’ll ensure that we contact the Member in writing to let him know what the results of that discussion are.
