Mr. Speaker, over the past year, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has implemented new initiatives and improved existing programs and services to help meet our mandate commitments to address the cost of living for NWT residents.

We all understand the importance of reducing poverty and providing our residents with the tools necessary to achieve their goals and live healthy, productive lives. The work underway at the Department supports those goals.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to provide clarification on the implementation of Junior Kindergarten in the Northwest Territories.  I think we can all agree that we want to give NWT children the support they need to thrive and be successful, Mr. Speaker.

YELLOWKNIFE (January 23, 2017) – The Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE), the Northwest Territories Teachers’ Association (NWTTA) and the Northwest Territories Superintendents’ Association (NWTSA) today announced their collaboration on strengthening teacher instructional practices (STIP) across the NWT.

YELLOWKNIFE (5 December, 2016) - Education, Culture and Employment (ECE) Minister Alfred Moses met with Education Board Chairs on Friday to discuss matters of mutual interest and to plan for future actions.  The Minister and Board Chairs typically meet every six months.

YELLOWKNIFE (November 17, 2016) – Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Alfred Moses tabled the Skills 4 Success 4-Year Action Plan 2016-2020 on November 4, targeting actions to improve employment success for the people of the Northwest Territories.

YELLOWKNIFE (November 16, 2016) – As part of their ongoing collaboration, the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) and the Fédération franco-ténoise (FFT) Consultation and Cooperation Committee met yesterday to review progress on the implementation of the GNWT Strategic Plan on French Language Communications and Services.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment in its mandate to take steps to close the skills gap using the Skills 4 Success Strategic Framework. I am pleased to advise Members that later today I will be tabling the Skills 4 Success 4-Year Action Plan 2016-2020, which outlines what we will do to improve employment success for the people of the Northwest Territories. This is an important milestone in meeting our mandate commitment.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment in its mandate to strengthen culture and heritage in the NWT by working with stakeholders to update the 2010 NWT Aboriginal Languages Plan: A Shared Responsibility.

Mr. Speaker, this Government is committed to finding new ways to make it easier for NWT residents to acquire the skills and training they need to get good jobs and to connect employers to trained and qualified employees. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment plays a key role in this by focusing on fostering lifelong learning, skills development, training, and employability. That includes expanding opportunities for trades-oriented learning, while also enhancing our communications, service delivery, and way of doing business.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, I committed to reviewing the 2008 Ministerial Directive – Enrolment of Students in French First Language Programs. In conducting our review, we undertook a comprehensive engagement process targeting the rights holder population in the North. A total of 140 people responded either to our survey, attended a session in Hay River, or attended a session in Yellowknife. We reviewed legislation, current GNWT policies, and the responses from the stakeholder engagements and survey and conducted a jurisdictional scan.