Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer my condolences and pay tribute to Cece Hodgson-McCauley, who passed away last Sunday at the age of 95.
The Northwest Territories is built on the legacy of those who come before us and paved a way for the next generation, the people who stood tall and were the outspoken voices in the crowds when change was needed most. These people and their legacy are part of what makes the North strong and unique, and Cece Hodgson-McCauley is one of these people.
Born on the shores of Great Bear Lake in 1922, Cece lived her life as a proud Indigenous Northerner. At an early age, Cece attended Sacred Heart Mission School in Fort Providence after the loss of her mother. She always had the best interest of others at heart and was continually encouraging others to stand up for what they believed in and reminding them to always be truthful and do the right thing.
Mr. Speaker, Cece was a pioneer and inspiration for all people, but especially Indigenous women in leadership. She was the first female chief in the NWT and the founding chief of the Inuvik Band. She was also a former president of the Norman Wells Land Corporation. A fierce "Woman Warrior of the Sahtu," Cece worked until the very end writing her outspoken column for News North.
In her column and in life, Cece always spoke her mind and wasn't afraid to be herself. Throughout her life and career, she touched many people and
communities across the North and Canada. She was a supporter, and often a critic, of government and encouraged Northerners to get involved in causes that mattered to them. She is a reminder that sometimes to see change, you need to make your voice heard and showed us this first-hand as a strong voice for the Mackenzie Valley highway. Cece was a leader in all respects. In 2017 she received an Indspire Award for Politics.
Cece recently wrote her final editorial for News North. In it, she acknowledged that she had a wonderful life and felt blessed for her family and the things she was able to do with her time on Earth. We are all grateful to have known Cece and know that even though she may be gone, her memory and impressions she has left on this Territory will forever remain.
Mr. Speaker, the Premier, along with some of his colleagues from this House, are in Norman Wells today to attend Cece's memorial service. On behalf of him and the Government of the Northwest Territories, I would like to pass along our sincere condolences to the family of Cece Hodgson-McCauley. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Our condolences to the family, as well. Ministers' statements. Deputy Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Premier and the Minister responsible for the Status of Women will be absent from the House today to attend a funeral in Norman Wells. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in May and June of 2017, a series of meetings were held to solidify feedback from age groups in Fort Simpson regarding community wellness. Information was gathered, compiled, and a community wellness plan was completed in July 2017 that addressed some of the concerns of the community Members. They were:
bullying and cyber bullying;
not enough activities for youth and families offered;
unresolved grief and trauma associated with residential schools;
not enough mental health services and counsellors available in the community, and information about these services were not disseminated effectively; and
drug and alcohol abuse;
to name a number of them, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, on April 1, 2017, to date, I would like to highlight some of these things that the community has been doing.
Interagency meetings were reinstated to improve communication between community agencies and service providers between ourselves and the community.
A 10-day youth-on-the-land camp was held at the Culture Camp from July 31 to August 9, 2017, and another one is planned this year,
A three-day on-the-land camp. A workshop for adults, Grieving to Self-Healing, was held in July.
Liidlii Kue in the Village of Fort Simpson hosted the week long regional youth Dene Games in August.
The Reel Youth anti-bullying and film workshop was undertaken in October. All students from grades 7 through 12 were given the opportunity to participate, and several films were created.
The Lights On program started in October. Paid supervisors and adult volunteers kept the high school open on Friday and Saturday night from 8:00 to 12:00 midnight for students from grades 7 to 12. Between 25 and 50 youth attended each night.
An Elders' Appreciation Dinner was held in December where elders were honoured, received gifts, and were served by a group of volunteer high school students.
LFKN assisted with planning, presentation, and delivering evening programs for the youth mental health conference that was held at the high school February 2018. I will be doing a Member's statement tomorrow on this.
A group of 10 students and two chaperones travelled to the Wisdom to Action Youth-Led Suicide Prevention Program conference in Vancouver. I will be doing a Member's statement later on this next sitting.
An elders and youth film making project is beginning in March. Northern studies students will be creating films of their interviews with the community elders.
LKFN will operate a four-plex unit that will host four people who have been ---
Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks, colleagues. As I said, LKFN will be operating a four-plex housing unit that will be housing four people who have been homeless for 180 days in the past year. The program is called Pathways to Housing, and it is a solid beginning to solve our homeless issue. The project will be fully under way by April 1st.
I would like to thank the various departments that help with these projects; Municipal and Community Affairs, Education, Culture and Employment, Health and Social Services, Housing, and Environment and Natural Resources. If I missed any other departments, I thank them for helping this community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have spent a lot of time in the 18th Assembly talking about the importance of a diversified economy. We want to rely less on one big sector, so we are supporting other sectors like tourism, agriculture, and the creative arts. We will continue to nurture and grow these areas so that they become sustainable sources of jobs and wealth.
How do we get there, Mr. Speaker? We need to have more post-secondary choices available here in the North. We also need to make sure that our students who choose to go to school elsewhere are well-equipped to face those challenges. In particular, we need to encourage Indigenous students to pursue post-secondary programs.
A study from the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation finds that there are barriers to post-secondary education for Indigenous students. Those barriers include a lack of financial resources and a lack of academic preparation. Indigenous students feel unwelcome on post-secondary campuses, plus more Indigenous students are already married and raising children, or are single and raising children at the age when they are eligible for post-secondary programs.
Mr. Speaker, the common phrase is that "our young people are our future." If that's true, and we imagine a future full of possibility and growth, we need to remove these barriers to allow our young people to follow their dreams.
Our post-secondary programs that succeed, such as Aurora College and Dechinta Bush University, offer students the chance to achieve the skills needed to build their lives and careers without leaving the North. That is a capacity that we must build and grow, Mr. Speaker, and we can build on it on our terms.
That is also the lesson of the Dechinta Bush University, which takes a unique, northern approach to higher learning. It incorporates the knowledge of Dene elders and knowledge holders. Instead of bringing students inside a classroom, it takes education onto the land. It provides full daycare services focused on Dene language and traditions, so young families don't have to choose between education and the wage economy. Significantly, Dechinta has a dropout rate of zero.
Mr. Speaker, I see unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you.
---Unanimous consent granted.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, our students who choose to leave the North to pursue their educational dreams must be well-equipped. Our generous Student Financial Assistance program ensures that financial factors should not be a barrier to their success. Our system must focus on producing students who are well-rounded, confident, and capable as any in the world.
Mr. Speaker, we need to continue to build an education system that reduces barriers to success. Our young people may choose to stay home or to venture beyond our borders. Either way, our system must make sure that they are ready to face those challenges, to build the future that they dream is possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment recently released a discussion paper on Governance of Post-Secondary Education in the Northwest Territories, a discussion paper that I've been eagerly awaiting for some time given my commitment to accountable and relevant post-secondary education in the Northwest Territories.
The mandate of our Government states that the GNWT will begin to "expand opportunities for post-secondary education, trades-oriented learning, and northern education institutions." This discussion paper contains some important statements. The discussion paper focuses on the need for quality assurance to ensure that, if students study in the NWT, then their qualifications will stand up anywhere in the world.
What this discussion paper lays out explicitly is that quality assurance is critical to sound fiscal investment in post-secondary education. However, there is currently no quality assurance for Aurora College Programs that are not rented from other jurisdictions. As I understand it, it is the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment who approves these programs.
How is it then fiscally and socially responsible, as suggested by this discussion paper, that Aurora College will not be subject to the rigors of the changes to the Education Act? Further to the discussion paper, Mr. Speaker, how is it that Aurora College, with the vast majority of its programs unaccredited, will remain the only public-funded body that can provide adult-learning in the Northwest Territories?
We need to lead as a jurisdiction to implement evidence-based best practices for all of our financial investments.
Given what little data on success rates and success outcomes are at the college, how can this government continue to support a post-secondary governance position where the future of NWT post-secondary education will be monopolized by a failing arm of Education, Culture and Employment when Indigenous self-governments and student-focused success stories like Dechinta are relegated to private Indigenous institutions that can only be privately funded, with only the possibility of small and uncertain government grants?
The situation of accreditation at the college is even more curious when you consider that a post-secondary institution in the NWT already has a form of quality assurance for its courses without a need for legislative change or a foundational review. That's Dechinta Bush University, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, sound and accountable investment in post-secondary education is the cornerstone of future labour market success. We need to do this now, we need to move on, and we need to make sure we are supporting all of our institutions, not just those that are run by this government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. This government's mandate calls for expanded post-secondary education for our students and to act on the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Right in the mandate, it is stated that 83 per cent of our people with post-secondary education have a job.
Despite pressure from standing committees, Regular Members, and the public, we have seen course offerings from Aurora College cut, not expanded, even in areas where future demand will be high.
Neither have we seen expansion of post-secondary opportunities at other institutions. There is still no practical pathway to establish colleges or universities. We are still waiting for this legislation, Mr. Speaker.
Where is the government's vision? There are tremendous opportunities for Indigenous education and research that could benefit our territory for generations.
This summer, for example, students from Dechinta Bush University travelled up to Deh Cho for a semester. Their learning was led by such professors as Sam Gargan, Jim Antione, and Ethel Lamothe, partnered with the Dene Zhati Language program. Students learned Dene place names, family history, and the history of colonization.
Both Dene and non-Indigenous students were immersed in Dene culture and heritage. This is how we build a future, Mr. Speaker. In addition, I am told this program brought more than $600,000 of outside investment to the Deh Cho, Sahtu, and Beaufort Delta regions. This is the knowledge economy in action.
Dechinta has the potential to expand this economy and offer new and exciting opportunities to our students. It is highly regarded, with programs open to all and accredited by three Canadian universities. Half of our population is Indigenous, our traditional knowledge is strong, and we could be leaders in Indigenous education in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, it has taken this government two years to do a discussion paper on the future of post-secondary education, and yet, there is no detail of best practices in Indigenous education, just a mention of private Indigenous institutes. There is no mention of the TRC's calls to action in education.
Indigenous education represents our greatest opportunity, but I am sorry to note that there was a similar lack of vision for other growing post-secondary institutions, including College nordique. I will have questions for the Education Minister. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, about a year ago, the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment announced that the Social Work Program and the Teacher Education Program offered at Aurora College would be phased out. He said that he made the decision on the basis of low graduation rates from both programs. When I questioned him at the time, he was unsure why the rates were so low or what barriers students faced in completing the programs. The lingering question is whether the Minister was willing to invest any effort into improving the programs before axing them.
Mr. Speaker, Aurora College decided to find answers to these questions themselves by launching a review of the Social Work Program under the leadership of the vice president of education and training. The review is to gauge how to improve student retention and success, to document barriers, recommend the best approach to achieve the objectives of the program, and to assess the quality of the program offered. This is the work that should have been done before the Minister made the decision to phase out the program.
Mr. Speaker, the Social Work Program has been around in different forms since 1982, and it has been reviewed and revamped several times, most recently 20 years ago. Students who finish the current program earn a certificate in social work and have the option to continue on to complete a degree.
Mr. Speaker, as of the year 2000, there were over 100 Social Work Diploma graduates in the NWT, so the number today is obviously much greater. Demand for social workers in the NWT is strong. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment estimates the NWT will need an additional 158 social workers between 2015 and 2030. These are good jobs that pay an average of $69,000 a year. These are also jobs that are typically filled by women.
Mr. Speaker, social workers are the primary drivers of community development in the places that they work. They are an indispensable support for community wellness. Having northern social workers driver northern community development is obviously a good idea. Training northern residents to be social workers in the North also makes sense, with a record of success stretching back two decades. The program review under way now will help improve the program, but only if the Minister accepts its recommendations. I will have questions. Mahsi.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. [No English translation provided.]
Mr. Speaker, in recent years, this government has truly begun to prioritize summer students, whether by enhancing our summer student financial assistance or helping them find employment within the graduate internship or summer student employment programs. The success of the GNWT's efforts in this regard is demonstrated by our government consistently winning accolades as one of Canada's Top Employers, specifically as one of Canada's Top Employers for young people in Canada and a Best Diversity Employer.
Mr. Speaker, it is great that our achievements can be recognized, and we should all be proud of that. However, we cannot lose the momentum that we have gained in helping our students. We must continue to work diligently in providing fruitful opportunities for our students because, quite simply, they are our future.
Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to bring forth some new ideas that can help expand opportunities for summer students in the NWT. While I strongly support employing as many students as possible, I believe our government can go beyond only trying to employ students within the GNWT, as there are other ways to widen the job pool for students.
Mr. Speaker, in Alberta, there is a wage subsidy program that provides funding to eligible employees as a way to financially incentivize the hiring of high school and post-secondary students into summer jobs. In essence, the provincial government pays for a part of the student's salary while they work during the summer.
Another idea, Mr. Speaker, is to create a new tax credit that would be conducive for northern employers in helping to offset the costs of hiring summer students. With this idea, businesses would be allowed to claim the cost on their tax returns. Mr. Speaker, our students should have a diverse selection of job opportunities that spans across all economic sectors. I urge our government to consider these investments in the future in order to best serve our future leaders of the territory, our students. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. The NWT's minimum wage is increasing April 1st from $12.50 to $13.46 per hour. It is good news that more money is going into the pockets of our underemployed workers, but in the end, the minimum wage is a blunt instrument for addressing poverty. We need to stop tinkering and take a more comprehensive approach.
As the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment says, his decision to raise the minimum wage follows recommendations of the Minimum Wage Committee report, which is itself not a very satisfactory or independent process. The committee has two government representatives, one of whom chairs; two employee representatives; two from employers; and one from a social agency. Two other government employees with Finance served as consultants. This is the committee's second report, which is almost verbatim the same as the report produced in 2014.
Both reports presented three options for a minimum wage rate, linking it to the Average Industrial Hourly Wage. This year, the committee recommended three options: no change; or an increase to $13.46 or $14.96 per hour. The report observes raising the minimum wage rate will have "little bearing" on many Northerners living in poverty because fewer than 1,100 of the 21,000 workers in the NWT make less than $15 an hour. The additional fact that the minimum wage isn't even indexed adds to this problem.
The work done on a living wage in Yellowknife highlights the problems with our low minimum wage. Twice now, rigorously researched reports have set a living wage for Yellowknife, according to a nationally recognized calculation of the actual expenses for an extremely basic standard of living. It sets the necessary income for a family of four with a child in school and a child in daycare at almost $9 per hour higher than the minimum wage; and that's Yellowknife, not the much more costly smaller communities.
Recommendations from the living wage report point out that, by readjusting income thresholds for government programs, a lower living wage is possible, if wealth were being progressively redistributed. In the end, a minimum wage is a little more than a statement of political acceptability. If you start with the premise that someone who is working for a minimum wage should be out of poverty, a living wage is what we should be aiming for. I'll have questions for the Minister later today. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Gallery, I would like to turn your attention to visitors in the gallery. We have with us Mr. Sam Gargan, former Speaker, former Member, and also former chief as well, and I'd like to recognize Chief Eddie Sangris, Chief of Detah. Welcome to our Assembly. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I, too, would like to recognize Chief Eddie Sangris, Chief of YK Dene First Nations, and also I'd like to recognize Catherine Lafferty, Director of Operations at Dechinta University.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize my youngest grandson, Ezra James Whelly, first time in the Legislative Assembly, with his mother Jaqueline Whelly, and her father-in-law, Sean Whelly, who is a Council Member for the Village of Fort Simpson. Welcome to the Legislative Assembly.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I, too, would like to recognize the representatives from Dechinta, in particular, Catherine Lafferty, who is here as the director of operations. Also Elder Sam Gargan, and I also would like to recognize Chief Eddie Sangris at this time. Welcome to the House. Thank you for being here.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Deh Cho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I, too, would like to recognize Chief Eddie Sangris. Also, at the same time, Sam Gargan, a constituent of mine from Fort Providence, and also, I did recognize him as a professor, I recognize him as an elder, of course, a former Speaker from the Assembly, so I'd like to recognize him. And plus, from the Dechinta University, Catherine Lafferty. Marci.
Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to also welcome and recognize Catherine Lafferty, Director of Community Development and Indigenous Education for Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning, as well her little entourage of supporters and people that do the work in the organization. Welcome. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment about the future of post-secondary in the Northwest Territories. I want to be crystal clear; I appreciate the hard work that happens at Aurora College, and I think if there are any issues that need to be addressed, it needs to be addressed by this government. Aurora college is unique in Canada and perhaps the world in how it is funded, how it is operated, and we see a lot of involvement from this department in the day-to-day operations, program course offerings, all those kinds of things. We need to cut the strings on this, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to ask the Minister if he envisions a future for Aurora College where it will become an independent university or post-secondary institution that is research-driven and has the academic freedom to be accountable to government funding but completely separate from the GNWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Currently at this time, no. We do have public funds that fund the Aurora college, and we partner with them to look at their program services that they provide to residents of the Northwest Territories. What I can let the Member know is that we are working currently on an over-arching legislation that will bring other possibilities of post-secondary institutes here to the Northwest Territories as well working with Dechinta Research and Learning Centre, College nordique, that will offer those opportunities. So we are on the right path. Right now, we're going to work with Aurora College. We do fund them through public dollars to do those programs and services for the people of the North, but I think as we move forward, after the foundation review is complete as well the legislation, working on developing that, we'll start to see that this government is moving in that direction. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I'm not advocating that the public funding for the Aurora College be cut; far from it. There are other universities in Canada that receive public funding, but are independent academic institutions. So can the Minister reassure me and others that, for the nearly $30 million we invest in Aurora College's operations, we are delivering the highest-quality programs that can stand up in other jurisdictions, without proper accreditation? Can the Minister confirm that what the students are learning at Aurora College can be used elsewhere in Canada?
Yes, I know one of our best programs that we do have at Aurora College is the Nursing Degree Program, and we're also working on this foundational review that's going to address some of the accreditation quality assurance concerns that Members have brought up on numerous occasions. That foundational review, we should have that to me by the end of this month, and we'll be taking a look at those recommendations that are going to be in that final report moving forward. I hear what the Member is saying, and moving forward, we want to make sure that anyone who takes any programs with any of our post-secondary institutions will be able to have that opportunity to go and practice their career and their training elsewhere throughout Canada.
I heard one program involved. So out of all of the program offerings at Aurora College, can the Minister give me a percentage of how many of those meet accreditation standards outside the Northwest Territories?
I don't have that detail of the percentage of programs that are being currently run throughout any of our three campuses in the Northwest Territories at the moment, but I can look at getting that information for the Member and sharing it with him.
