Thank you Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of ECE. Mr. Speaker, can the ECE Minister explain what her department is doing to support Indigenous languages in the NWT? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from the Deh Cho. Minister for ECE.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Member, first off, for reflecting on the fact that this is the only jurisdiction that has a whole month dedicated to Indigenous Languages Month, and so I very much appreciate that. The theme this month is Say It In Our Language, and I also want to thank the Member for speaking her language in the House here with us on a regular basis.
In addition to Indigenous Languages Month that's celebrated every February, Mr. Speaker, ECE continues to partner with seven Indigenous governments to deliver the mentor apprenticeship program. In 20232024, we had a record 56 pairs participant in the program and I had the honour of speaking with them last week, which I really absolutely appreciated their feedback. In addition, the department offers ten annual $5,000 scholarship for Indigenous languages revitalization, and I think it's worth noting that there was so much interest in this scholarship for 20222023 year that a record number of 18 scholarships were actually awarded to residents interested in that scholarship. And so the department's very dedicated to language revitalization.
Mr. Speaker, in addition, the department is currently exploring future development of a twoyear pilot program for Indigenous languages diploma program, which is another good news story for our territory. And ECE currently leads the implementation of the NWT Indigenous Languages Action Plan. This action plan has two overarching pieces to it. The first is languages revitalization and the second is access to public services from the government in Indigenous languages, which is another key component of language revitalization in the territory.
And then in addition to that, ECE negotiates and administers the CanadaNWT agreement for Indigenous languages on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Minister, for that. Mr. Speaker, with the transformation of Aurora College into a polytechnic university, is the Minister aware of any plans for the new institution to bring back the accredited interpreter training program for Indigenous languages that used to exist in the 1990s? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are in a position now where the Aurora College is at an arm's length relationship from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. That being said, ECE does provide funding for interpreters to support training through the interpretertranslator funding program, and there's also connections with other jurisdictions to explore possible training options for future interpreters. And I think it's also worth noting here the Indigenous language instructor employment plan that is currently a pilot within the Beaufort Delta and the Deh Cho regions as well in the territory. And this pilot focuses on the recruitment of Indigenous languages instructors in the Northwest Territories and provides Indigenous language speakers with the opportunity to stay in their community while they're developing language skills to become successful language instructors. So I think that's another key program. And there's currently five pairs taking part in that program in the territory. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister assure the public that if and when interpreter services are required when accessing government services that interpretation services will be made available and provided in a timely manner? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think this is a really important question, and I can't assure the Member what she is looking for here today from me. But access to services in Indigenous languages are found in section 11(2) of the Official Languages Act, and that guarantees that people have the right to communicate with and access government services in Indigenous languages from their community area and also regional offices. So the Member reflected previously on the disbandment of the languages bureau in 1997. And since then, each Minister is now responsible for the delivery of programs and services of their departments in Indigenous languages, each of us individually and independently, and that that should be done in accordance with both the Official Languages Act and also official languages policies that all government departments are responsible and accountable to.
That being said, Mr. Speaker, Indigenous languages, service standards are currently under development within the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. And this will help employees of government departments understand the service delivery requirements for each of us, for each of our departments, and to provide specific direction, advice, and recommendations on various service scenarios and how that can look in practice across the government. And once that is done, once it's released, ECE will also provide training to government employees on their role within that service delivery model. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member from the Deh Cho.
Member from Mackenzie Delta.
