EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
In this particular activity we're only concerned with the Department of Education and the Teacher Education Program directly here. However, it is my understanding the funding and liaison responsibilities for the Nursing Program could be better addressed to the Minister of Health, because I believe that's where the funding comes through.
It doesn't come through this particular area here, and that's why I can't provide any detail.
At this time, you have no more questions.
Rather, you don’t have any more time for your questions.
Here it mentions the implementation of an assessment of Kindergarten to grade twelve curriculum. Looking at page 9-15, I have a question. Is it just for English instruction for up to grade twelve.
Either one of you can reply.
Can I ask the member to clarify his question.
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you. Mr. Iqaqrialu if you could clarify your question.
It states here from kindergarten to grade twelve curriculum, and in here, just on the summary, it's about 7 million 809. That's why I'm asking this question because it's already contained in here, is this curriculum development just for English curriculum.
What page are you on. 9-14.
The reason I’m asking is because you mentioned 9-15 and we are on 9-14.
I did not make myself clear.
My question is on the branch summary on page 9-15 under 1 million 398, aboriginal language and culture programs.
I assume that it would be just for Inuktitut curriculum and when I go back to page 9-14 at the branch summary it mentions the development and implementation of an assessment of kindergarten to grade 12 curricula.
So that's why I was wondering if this was going to be used for English curriculum only.
Chairperson (interpretation): Now we understand where you are coming from.
It would be used for both languages.
This was inherited from the divisional boards, they are now under the school services.
On page 9-14 are there any more questions.
Mr. Chairman, another question that I have, here it talks about that this area is responsible for the monitoring and evaluating of student achievements.
I'm just wondering what steps or has the department undergone any type of a process to take a look at and see exactly what levels that our kids who are going through the system are at compared to where they're at in the system and where they're actually at if they've been given an exam.
I remember reading something or hearing something on the radio, at one point where it said that there's a lot of our students that are below the level of which they're at in schools.
Say if they're in grade 8 and I'm just pulling numbers out of a hat, and you know they are actually tested and they're at a grade 4 level.
I'm just wondering if the department has done any research on this and what the results were.
I'm sure that this question involves all the communities of Nunavut.
We agree with the member that this has been an ongoing concern.
In the past the students have actually had a lower grade in Nunavut as compared to other jurisdictions. It's not the case all the time but I'll ask my Deputy Minister to elaborate.
Mr. Moody: Qujannamiik Itsivautaq. I'll offer three comments in response to that question Mr. Chairman.
Nunavut does participate in various national testing that goes on so we can compare ourselves to, for example, mathematics achievement levels across Canada.
So that's something that we've carried on, that's not new.
It was available under the GNWT and we've carried on with that.
The second thing is internally within our policy shop we are developing a student records system, which will allow us to track student achievement data better. It will give us better data on our students.
We didn't inherit any kind of good computer system.
So that's something we are doing and that work is not completed, it's ongoing.
The third and final comment I would offer Mr. Chairman, in response to the member’s question is that this is one area that we have a lot of work to do over many years because one of the challenges in the testing is are we testing our students in their first language.
The testing that goes on across Canada is done either in English or in French, neither one of those languages is the first language of the majority of our students.
So it creates a complication in terms of administering the test and the test results.
So long term and I must emphasize this Mr. Chairman, this is a lot of work and it will take many years to get there but it's something worth doing, is to embark upon testing our students in all the languages of Nunavut and not just English and French.
That would be a long-term goal, but a worthy one.
Mr. Tootoo: Mr. Chairman, I couldn't agree with the Deputy more.
Assessing where our children are at I think is crucial.
We can develop and put all the numbers and people through the system you know, but if they are not obtaining what they should be obtaining after going through that system then there's something wrong there.
I think that's something we have to address.
I know and I understand and I appreciate that this is not the case everywhere all the time.
I recall doing a statement in the House last year congratulating a group of students from the school here that finished one of the top in Canada for a math test.
But the system and the way it works here in Iqaluit or anywhere I guess it varies in the communities, it's different in each community.
We have to find a way to standardize it so that we ensure the same students should be able to come from a grade 6 in any community in Nunavut and go to any other community in Nunavut and be at the same level. Regardless whether it is in English or in Inuktitut and I think that's something that we need to strive for.
Really pinning down some stats and through this evaluating and monitoring where the kids are at is crucial to that.
I think also, we may want to, and I don't know if any testing is done and maybe it's another question that is what level our kids are at when they enter into the system.
The Department of Education also plays a role in early childhood development so do we need to put more of an emphasis on preparing our children to enter the system so that it's not an uphill struggle you know, from day one when they enter the system so that they're ready to be there.
I'm just wondering if there's any testing done at the entry level and any plans and just a suggestion that might be something that is looked at when we are doing this monitoring.
Yes, this has been an ongoing concern in the past and many times, there have been debates about this.
I know that the DEAs do have objectives to become self-reliant and that our department will be working with the district education authorities.
I will ask my Deputy Minister to respond, Mr. Chairman.
Deputy Minister Moody.
Mr. Moody: In terms of general across the board entry level testing in Nunavut, no, we don't have that today.
However, on the other comments or questions by the member in relationship to early childhood education, certainly that is one area that the Department of Education plans to devote more time and resources to, again over time.
It was highlighted in the daycare review the Minister of Education made public last fall in terms of the potential of better programming of our curriculum in our early childhood services.
Not just daycares but other early childhood services.
Thus when our children come to school they would be better prepared.
So that is one area that we are beginning to work on now and will continue to place more emphasis on in the years ahead.
Once again Mr. Chairman, I would emphasize that it is a long term effort to do that.
But, that journey has begun. Qujannamiik.
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you, Deputy Minister.
Every year we are sitting here looking at and reviewing the education budget, and it will be the thing that I raise every year.
Because you know I think it is important that we keep pushing to ensure something is done with it.
It is not just an issue today and after we approve the budget tomorrow we are out of here.
I look forward to the remainder of my term and hopefully to continue to work and see some actual progress being made in these areas.
I realize it is not a quick fix, it is not something we can't fix overnight but we have to be persistent and push as there are some problems with the system and we need to be able to take a good hard look at it and be willing over the long term to address those issues.
I look forward to seeing something solid in next year’s budget relating to those types of things.
Also it says here that this is the area that develops public education and distance learning. We talk about the high cost of delivering programs and things like that.
I am wondering what is being looked at in terms of developing distance learning.
As you know that is an option that we face with today's technology being able to provide quality programming at a minimal cost without having to have the infrastructure, the entire infrastructure and the O&M costs in the community.
I am wondering what things are being looked at in that area.
At this time after you answer there will be another person that wants to ask a question.
I will allow Deputy Minister Moody to answer the question. Mr. Moody.
Mr. Moody: Distance education does have a high potential for Nunavut.
Our curriculum staff in Arviat is looking at options on how various components of our k-12 curriculum can be delivered through distance.
There's nothing concrete that I can share with you today in terms of pilot projects, however it is actively being considered.
We do know for example because of experiences in other rural parts of Canada, that distance education can be highly effective not only as an educational tool but it is also relatively inexpensive.
Particularly relevant in our smaller communities, where there are maybe few, for example, grade twelve high school students, you could have a grade twelve mathematics teacher in Grise Fjord delivering a course and at the same time teaching the students not only in Grise Fjord but also in Igloolik and Arctic Bay and Iqaluit for example.
So it's something we are planning but we haven’t actually started anything to date, Thank you.
The next name on the list is Mr. Havioyak.
Quick question on 9-17.
Professional development, you have ongoing financial support for the development of teachers.
What things are they doing differently from previous years. That is 1 million dollars, it's almost three times more than the previous year, what are they doing.
From my understanding previously whenever the teachers needed professional development programs, it was done.
Right now, they have a curriculum, certain programs to follow, my Deputy Minister will answer at this time.
This is actually quite an exciting development, it is a co-operative effort between the Federation of Nunavut Teachers and the Department of Education.
It is greatly enlarged as a result of the last round of negotiations, the very first negotiations for Nunavut.
There is an advisory committee set up that's made up of various teachers across Nunavut, officials of the Department of Education and representatives of the Federation of Nunavut Teachers.
We actually hired through the agreement, one full time training coordinator, so it's actually someone working full time, an educator, a teacher.
I believe that teacher is based out of Cambridge Bay.
In specific terms on what type of training, let's say that next fall as Department of Education, we introduced a new Language Arts Course for our Junior High School Students, that was made in Nunavut.
One of the things that teachers’ professional training would do, would be to ensure that the teachers are properly in-serviced in the new curriculum coming in, so they would be able to share the new learning experiences with the students quicker and better.
So this is a very exciting opportunity, Mr. Chairman, it gives a lot more emphasis to ongoing professional development and it really encourages our teachers to stay fresh in the field of education so they constantly learn themselves.
Mr. Havioyak: Thank you for your answer.
When I see that title, you know, either the Federation of Nunavut Teachers Association along with other NWTTA, they go down south for meetings for development. I’m not sure if that’s the same thing we are talking about here. When they go out, is that a professional development workshop when the teachers go out, is this part of that too.
There are some programs that we can access outside of Nunavut and sometimes they can all be sent outside of Nunavut. So with this program, that is possible.
The reason I asked the question was, before doing some new development for the teachers in Nunavut, I think somewhere down the line that we start thinking about doing this type of workshop within Nunavut, instead of having to go down south. I don’t know but I really do feel that closer to our people here is better.
Is there something in that area too that you can have in the future.
Hon. Peter Kilabuk: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. If we could do everything in Nunavut, we would. We are looking to do more in Nunavut and that is in our current plans.
I’d like to ask another short question.
It says here that there are some literacy programs. What is the situation on that, Mr. Chairman.
I didn’t exactly know which page he was talking about.
Chairperson (interpretation): Where are you on this page Mr. Iqaqrialu.
Mr. Iqaqrialu (interpretation): I think we’re still on 9-14.
Are we still on 9-14.
We haven’t moved from the same page in a long time.
We’re still on early childhood education and school services.
Is that what we’re dealing with, 9-14.
Chairperson (interpretation): In the Inuktitut part on the bottom it talks about professional development on 9-14.
Under 9-14, they're responsible for what is being described as an advance summary on the delivery of professional training programs starting from kindergarten to grade 12.
Are there further questions.
The one that I've been asking on every page and I forgot to ask so far on this one is under the compensation and benefits.
I’m just wondering how many again, I assume the amount there is based on 100 percent capacity I'm just wondering the number of PYs there and what level of staffing they’re at right now.
If you can wait for one more minute we're going to look through the information items there.
There are 19.5 positions with 3.5 vacant.
The budget is based on full capacity.
I just want to clarify something before we go on to the next section.
In this area, prior to the devolution of the boards, it points out there that all the funding that went to the schools flowed through this division.
I'm just wondering if all the money that flowed directly to the schools on here are showing zero's in the territorial schools on page 9-17.
The contract services on 9-17.
The administration of school services on 9-16 and I don't know if any of those other ones on 9-15, were those the areas where all the funding that flowed through to the schools came from, prior to the devolution of the boards.
Mr. Chairman, I will get our finance person to answer the question.
Mr. Leohr: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The programs in grants and contributions on page 9-15, 9-16, and 9-17, all of those except the daycare grants, the healthy children initiative on page 9-16 and the teacher development program, they all went to the DEC as a contribution agreement last year or as a contribution.
This year they are all in school ops.
All those lines which are on page 9-20.
On page 9-15, of that roughly 6.5 million dollars there.
That used to flow through there, does that now flow on 9-20 into the schools.
How much of that money would have flowed directly into the schools.
How much would have been used up in the administration.
Mr. Tootoo: What I am looking at out of this area early childhood education and school services.
The whole area that was there before I understand that a lot of it has been shifted to a different area.
Out of the total amount that was there before, it was roughly 80 million dollars.
How much of that went directly into the schools.
That is what I am looking for.
The full 80 million dollars that went over to school operations would have been allocated to schools based on the formula funding.
It allocates funds to regional school services or the old DEC, to schools and to DEAs. Exactly what portion is allocated, I don't have with me here.
That is where the funding formula applies those funds.
I think that much I can provide. I’d have to get some numbers for you to get any further information.
Mr. Tootoo: Just a comment.
Looking at the plans, I know that in the budget address that they are not talking about any savings as a result of dissolution of boards that went back into the classrooms.
What I'd like to try and figure out is how much went into the schools last year as opposed to and compare that to how much is actually going into the schools this year.
I don't know if that would help the staff to be able to provide this information.
Mr. Leohr: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In May of 2000, Cabinet approved this submission to see the results of implementation of the dissolution. The estimate is savings of 1 million dollars, in the first year, which was a two-year phase-in.
The first year, the savings projected were 578 thousand dollars, that was partially 232 thousand from the elimination of two positions at the DEC level, and 346 thousand was elimination of the board, the board support functions, board travel, per-diems, etc.
The rest of the savings of 422 thousand was to be phased in by the end of June 2001.
These savings were retained within the department to provide continued development and support for school operations but not all the savings will be, or had been realized in the last year, certainly the 346 thousand from board support positions was realized, the rest won’t happen until next year.
Once we complete the dissolution process by the end of June 2001, we should have that, we should be able to provide the numbers on the savings and where the money has been moved.
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Leohr.
Total expenditures. 7 million 809 thousand.
Chairperson (interpretation): Page 9-18.
Education branch summary, field operations.
Total operations and maintenance, 32 million 204 thousand.
Any questions, comments.
Mr. Nutarak (interpretation): This question was raised earlier.
It was going to be raised when we got to 9-18, regarding compensation and benefits.
If I could raise a question that was raised earlier regarding income support.
We talked earlier when a question was raised regarding income support recipients.
Whenever they make extra money from carving and other projects that money is taken off the amount that is to be taken home by the recipient.
So will that be dealt with.
The recommendations about income support, the review has been done.
His question touches upon the review that is being done under income support.
It is one of the items being reviewed.
Before I get back to you, I'd like to ask the minister if he could introduce the person on his right, the new witness so we are able to know who the person is.
I would like to introduce Sandy Teiman who heads up the income support section.
She will be able to respond to questions on that subject.
Did you get your response.
The minister responded earlier but he started talking about getting a review done.
When will the report be available, once the review is done.
Mr. Minister would you like to respond or direct your officials.
Hon. Peter Kilabuk (interpretation): Yes, Mr. Chairman, the review that was being done of the income support program is completed and it is being translated.
The Cabinet will have to approve the review.
Once that is done, we will be tabling it.
I expect that maybe in March we will be able to table the document.
Under 9-18, 22 million 210 thousand fees and payments. Last year it was similar. Is it the same as last year.
Yes, that would be what it's used for.
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you, Minister. Mr. Nutarak.
Last year it decreased a bit.
Why would that be.
What's the reason, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
The reduction was 95 thousand, a reallocation of funds from, or 12 thousand was reallocation to travel and transportation and 105 thousand was a reallocation to cover the increases in staffing and corporate services that was on page 9-10 and increases in staffing in policy and staffing on page 9-9.
There was an increase, which was a transfer from salaries, from a reduction in salary costs.
That was moved into the fees and payments section.
I don't believe any of those figures were for the actual income support, it was income support but not the fees but the income support payments within the administration costs.
Mr. Nutarak (interpretation): When we're reviewing the budget we look at how it's being planned and put together and I think looking at 25 years there was supposed to be a gradual reduction.
Is that why it’s reduced.
It's grandfathered from the GNWT and it hasn't been changed since we inherited it.
The plans that were put together. I wonder if they are going to be used in Nunavut.
The way I understood it, he was asking whether the decrease was because of a plan to do so, and I said it was not.
I was counting the members.
It is going to be increased as time goes on.
My next question is about the population growth in Nunavut.
There are 40 births in Pond Inlet per year.
What does the government think about the growing population in Nunavut.
Are they working towards slowing it down or what is the government doing.
The income support recipients are increasing.
With that, we are working towards trying to encourage people to work.
We will continue to provide that program.
My question is regarding the three offices located in Pangnirtung, Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay.
How much money is being spent in those offices.
How much money is allocated to run those offices.
I apologize Mr. Chairman, could he clarify his question.
Chairperson (interpretation): Could you clarify your question.
Maybe I should raise my voice a bit.
On page 9-18, it states that the Department of Education programs are delivered through the support of three field offices.
The offices are located in Pangnirtung, Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay.
But it doesn't show how much money is being used in those offices.
I am wondering if you could tell us how much money is being spent in the three offices.
Just so that the minister will respond appropriately, I’ll give you a minute go through your papers. Mr. Minister.
To respond to his question, it’s on page 9-18.
Mr. Iqaqrialu (interpretation): I’m just wondering, how much money is spent in each of those three communities.
I don’t need the answer today but I would like get that response.
Mr. Kilabuk he said that you could give him that information when it is available.
I can respond.
In the Baffin, 1 million 542 thousand, the Keewatin, 1 million 206, and in Kitikmeot, 668 thousand allocated for those offices.
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you. 9-18 Any other questions under 9-18.
Just one question I have, why would the administration of the income support be back on page 9-10 and then you have the rest of it on 9-18. Is there a reason for that.
Hon. Peter Kilabuk (interpretation): The reason is that headquarters is responsible for the policy whereas the field operations do the programs.
Mr. McLean: On the income support, I want to ask a couple questions on assessment.
I received a letter, we received a letter, the Standing Committee received a letter regarding program earnings and exemptions for a client.
In the last paragraph, I don’t know if you know the letter I’m talking about, dated to Jobie Nutarak, February 23rd.
It says here there are also many sources of income that an applicant may receives from outside sources that are not deducted at all.
When an applicant has an assessment completed such as a child tax benefit payment, which is a federal payment, the goods and services tax rebate, which is another federal payment, child welfare payments, I’m not familiar with that. The value of essential equipment to carry out harvesting activities, daycare subsidies payment, the value of property used as a resident unless the property is in excess of reasonable needs of the applicant, to name a few.