Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I say it numerous times throughout this Assembly that Fort Smith is home to some of the oldest school infrastructure in the territory, and it is also home to some of the last remaining former residential school and indian day school buildings that are still in active use in the country. The buildings I'm referring to are PWK High School and JBT Elementary School.
Mr. Speaker, JBT School is 65 years old and was originally a federal Indian Day School until the building was purchased by the Government of the Northwest Territories and was converted into an elementary school which is still being used for that purpose today. In addition, the former Grandin College used to be run by the Catholic Church as a residential school until the Government of the Northwest Territories bought it and converted it to PWK High School. Since then, it has continued to be used as the former residential school building as PWK High School in Fort Smith.
Mr. Speaker, Fort Smith is the centre for education in the NWT. It always has been and always will be, and I want to stress that we have excellent staff all around. Fort Smith has some extremely caring and devoted educators so I do not want to knock them at all in talking about the historical legacy of JBT or PWK schools.
So my point is the links between federal Indian Day Schools and residential school is undeniable. They are extensions of the same systems of colonialism, oppression, and assimilation towards Indigenous people. Therefore, I believe it is totally inappropriate and unacceptable for these buildings to continue being used as schools for our youth of today. If the young people of Fort Smith knew and understood the history of those buildings, I am sure they would feel unsure of the school they attend because I know that most, if not all the staff there, know of the history as do the parents and grandparents of the students who attend there today. Does our curriculum even teach or acknowledge this residential school and Indian Day School legacy that still remains in Fort Smith and the NWT? Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
Unanimous consent granted
In closing, Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge the statement by the Minister today on acknowledging what I was trying to say.
Mr. Speaker, both these schools are 65 and 61 years old so it's high time that they are decommissioned and replaced with brand new schools for the people of Fort Smith. It doesn't matter if either school has been maintained well and can still be used longer; the bottom line is these schools carry a heavy legacy and the youth of the future deserve better. Fort Smith needs a brand new stateoftheartschool for both elementary and high school students so I am going to once again ask our government to follow their own capital needs assessment and replace the aging schools in Fort Smith. I will have questions for the Minister of ECE at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Members' statements. Member for Hay River South.
