Mr. Speaker, I rise today to advise this House that the government has listened to the feedback we have received to date from Members about Junior Kindergarten.

In an effort to respond to what Members have told us, while at the same time not wanting to disrupt parents and schools that are in the midst of delivering Junior Kindergarten we have made the following decision.

YELLOWKNIFE (October 29, 2014) – Northerners were recognized for promoting and preserving NWT culture and heritage atthe 2014 Minister’s Culture and Heritage Circle awards ceremony hosted by Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Jackson Lafferty today.

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment’s work to promote and preserve the culture, heritage and languages of the NWT.

As a northern people, our culture is rooted in the land and created in the places where we live and practice our daily lives. Northern culture is unique, woven together from our diverse experiences and incorporates our heritage, stories, spirituality, traditional knowledge, languages and creativity.

YELLOWKNIFE (October 28, 2014) – The Government of the Northwest Territories is responding to numbers released by Yellowknife Catholic Schools (YCS) and the Yellowknife Education District No. 1 (YK1) last week showing the apparent cost of Junior Kindergarten (JK) and its impact on their schools. The boards’ press release contained critical factual errors that risk adding to the existing confusion about the implementation of JK in Yellowknife.

Mr. Speaker, I want to assure you that I have been listening carefully to Members during the recent debate around Junior Kindergarten. I also want to assure you that the Government of the Northwest Territories remains committed to the principle that focused, targeted support during their first years of life will help our children reach their full potential and become healthy, educated, successful adults. Our government has introduced Junior Kindergarten, a program designed to achieve just this result, Mr. Speaker, and have already rolled it out successfully to 23 communities.

YELLOWKNIFE (October 6, 2014) – Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Jackson Lafferty met with Northwest Territories Aboriginal leaders last week to talk about the future of our youth, school readiness and wellness, and how children’s education will determine their success.  Minister of Health and Social Services Glen Abernethy joined the meeting in the afternoon to present the results of a recent assessment of children who entered school in the fall of 2014.

YELLOWKNIFE (October 2, 2014) – Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Jackson Lafferty spoke to delegates at the Northwest Territories’ Teachers’ Association conference this week about the importance of renewing the approach to education in the Northwest Territories to ensure student achievement is improved and teachers are supported to do their jobs.

Yellowknife (Le 29 septembre 2014) – Dans la continuité des efforts de collaboration, le Comité de consultation et de coopération du gouvernement des Territoires du Nord-Ouest (GTNO) et de la Fédération franco-ténoise (FFT) s’est réuni hier pour passer en revue les progrès réalisés sur la mise en oeuvre du Plan stratégique du GTNO sur les communications et les services en français.

YELLOWKNIFE (September 26, 2014) – Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Jackson Lafferty met with stakeholders from across the Northwest Territories (NWT) this week to discuss labour market needs and new initiatives.

Aboriginal governments and organizations, mining and exploration, non-governmental organizations and industry representatives met to hear about the new Canada Job Fund and Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDA) and to discuss labour market needs throughout the NWT.

Federation Literacy Award and the Ministerial Literacy Awards were honoured yesterday during the annual Adult Learners’ Luncheon in Yellowknife.

These awards were created by the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment in 2002 and the Council of the Federation in 2005 to recognize adult learners that have overcome learning and literacy challenges or championed literacy to learners of all ages.