Check against delivery

Mr. Speaker, the health and prosperity of our territory begins with how well we prepare our children and youth to succeed in life. Making sure that every student from every background and region in the Northwest Territories, or NWT, has equitable access to relevant, culturally appropriate and quality education will ultimately lead to improved well-being across the North and within all our communities.

The findings from both the Office of the Auditor General and the Education Renewal and Innovation Evaluation from 2020 are clear in outlining the main challenge we face: key achievement gaps especially for Indigenous students and students in small communities.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to share some of the priority actions that are underway to make the required changes to improve education outcomes for all NWT students to the same level as the rest of Canada.

Since March 2021, the Department has been engaging Indigenous government partners, education leaders, the Northwest Territories Teachers’ Association, parents, and the public on what will be one of our government’s most significant undertakings to date: modernizing the NWT Education Act.

The goal of modernizing the Education Act is to ensure there are system-wide improvements to meet the needs of students across the territory.  To date, we have received nearly 600 responses to our surveys, and held more than 25 meetings with Indigenous governments, partners and stakeholders and held seven public virtual town hall meetings.

I encourage everyone to take part in this engagement, whether by participating in a virtual meeting, taking a survey, providing a written submission, or calling the Department before June 30^th. Hearing from NWT residents is crucial for ensuring a modernized education system that reflects the values, needs, goals and aspirations of all NWT residents.

Another area of active engagement is our discussion regarding Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 curriculum. Our curriculum needs renewal to ensure that it continues to meet the needs and interests of our Northern students and our communities and aligns with the vision of helping all our students become capable people.    

I am happy to share that to date the Department has held over 30 engagement sessions, which have included Indigenous governments, education bodies, the NWT Teachers’ Association, and the NWT Association of Communities.  We have also been collecting input from the public online.  All this feedback will be reflected in a “What We Heard Report,” which will help inform the decision on how to move forward to meet the expectations of the residents of the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, access to quality early learning and childcare opportunities is crucial to improving educational outcomes for our students across the entire education continuum. The Department is meeting with licensed early learning and childcare programs, Indigenous governments, and other partners in the development of a 2030 Early Learning and Child Care Strategy for the NWT.

The development of the strategy will focus on improving the availability and affordability of early learning and childcare throughout the NWT, and highlight the elements needed to advance universal childcare in our territory by exploring solutions for reducing the costs while ensuring quality child care for families.  

Mr. Speaker, there is more.  In a continued effort to offer quality high school education to our small communities, the expansion of Northern Distance Learning is almost complete.  

We are excited to welcome the communities of Gamètı̀, Wekweètı̀, Norman Wells and Colville Lake to Northern Distance Learning, bringing the total number of participating small community schools to 19.

As well, the Indigenous Our Languages Curriculum has been approved and is being taught in all NWT schools that offer Indigenous language instruction.  Ongoing teacher training is happening remotely, and resources continue to be developed to support this exciting new Indigenous language curriculum with a goal of revitalizing the traditional languages of our residents.

Addressing gaps in student outcomes requires supports beyond the scope of education.  Because of this, the Department continues to work closely with the Department of Health and Social Services on initiatives that actively support the well-being and mental health of our students and their families.  This includes the planning for the final phase of the role out of the Child and Youth Community Counsellor programs into the South Slave Region this upcoming 2021-2022 school year.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to improving the education system and the outcomes for all our students.  We are committed to effective and collaborative engagement on these critical initiatives so that together we will succeed in revitalizing our education system, achieving equitable access to education, and helping our children and youth have the knowledge and skills they need to become capable people.

Masi, Mr. Speaker.