EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
The standing committee continues to support measures to continue to include culturally and linguistically relevant materials, as well as alternative programs to keep students in school, such as the Young Parents Stay Learning program and the Young Men’s Engagement Project.
However, members have expressed concerns that graduation qualifications earned by Nunavut students do not adequately prepare them to continue their education at recognized Canadian post-secondary institutions, such as universities outside of the territory or even, on occasion, to pursue career training at institutions within Nunavut, such as Nunavut Arctic College.
Members urge the minister and his officials to renew their focus on ensuring that graduates have the core skills necessary to pursue further educational opportunities after graduation.
Mr. Chairman, the standing committee was pleased to note the department’s increased funding for early childhood education.
Committee members recognize that community daycare facilities need to be assured of more consistent support that will not be affected by attendance numbers.
As more and more DEAs undertake projects to deliver early childhood education programs within their community, as provided for within the new Education Act, members look forward to updates in this area.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Education administers a number of programs and resources related to adult learning.
The new Education Act also provides that community DEAs can implement initiatives related to adult learning and the standing committee looks forwards to reports of successes in this area as well.
The Department of Education administers the Financial Assistance for Nunavut Students Program, coordinates partnerships for training in potential fields of employment, such as mining, apprenticeship, and trades programs, as well as delivering adult basic education and literacy programs.
Committee members urge the Minister of Education to work closely with his ministerial colleagues, such as the ministers of Justice, Health and Social Services, and Nunavut Arctic College, to promote and support adult education initiatives.
Committee members have noted with concern that ministers often deflect questions about specific programs to their colleagues with respect to the organization, planning, and delivery of such initiatives as the Akitsiraq Law School program, apprenticeship training, health career programs, and others.
The standing committee urges the government as a whole to renew its focus on interdepartmental communication and cooperation.
Members of the standing committee recognize that it is the Department of Education which has the responsibility for delivering income support programs, which account for millions of dollars in annual government spending.
However, the committee notes that the Department of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs plans to contract consultants to undertake a review of social safety net programs, such as income support, transition-to-work programs, and rent scales.
In addition, the Department of Economic Development and Transportation plans to establish an anti-poverty secretariat.
The standing committee applauds the intent to move forward on objectives that were agreed upon by Full Caucus in October of 2009.
For example, it is important that the public housing rent scale policies do not act as a disincentive for income support clients to seek wage employment.
However, the standing committee cautions the government to avoid duplication of effort in these areas and not to overlook the potentially useful input and recommendations that are available from those who are most familiar with these programs and are responsible for their delivery to Nunavummiut on a daily basis.
Through its Income Support Division, the Department of Education offers a number of programs directed towards assisting families and adult individuals to meet their basic needs.
The standing committee recognizes that the Social Assistance program, which is a component of income support, represents a significant amount of government spending and looks forward to reviewing future proposals for improving the program and its enabling legislation.
The department has invested considerable time and money in the development of a new electronic case management system for income support.
The standing committee looks forward to the successful implementation of the pilot program in order that it may be finally rolled out across all of Nunavut’s communities in due course.
In the meantime, members look forward to receiving regular updates on this initiative’s progress.
Mr. Chairman, the standing committee recognizes that the Department of Education’s delivery of kindergarten to grade 12 school programs is undergoing a significant transition.
The new Education Act and the new Inuit Language Protection Act have both established a number of objectives that will take time to achieve.
Members appreciate that with significant growth come growing pains.
The standing committee continues to look forward to ongoing updates on the department’s progress in these many areas.
Mr. Aupaluktuq is correct that where the main estimates and business plans are located is not quite clear and the notes are here for your benefit.
I suggest to members that wherever possible you ask your questions during the page-by-page review.
Are there any general comments before we start reviewing page-by-page?
On page 4 of the minister’s opening comments, he mentioned, “providing assistance to DEAs so that they can manage students who cannot stay in the classroom with in-school suspensions that allow them to continue learning.”
Usually, when a student is suspended, he or she is sent home for a period of time under the supervision of their parents. However, with an in-school suspension, the students will require supervision from school staff.
Can the minister describe how the in-school suspension program will be implemented in schools?
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): In my opening comments, I stated that in the schools, we will be hiring elders as school counsellors.
When a student does something wrong, they are not going to just be sent home.
The school principal, the parents or guardians, and the school counsellor will have to meet with the student.
They will have to set a policy. The DEAs will set up their policies if they wanted to deal with in-school suspensions. There is a provision in the Education Act where DEAs can make their own policies.
We will have staff working with the students.
Instead of suspending students, we will have parents and counsellors also working with the students, Mr. Chairman.
My next question is: on page 6 of your opening comments, you talked about increasing funding towards licensed daycare facilities.
At present, daycares seem operate based on the school year, which means some daycares are closed during the summer months.
This poses a challenge for students and others who work during the summer because of the lack of daycare services.
Are daycares’ hours regulated by the Department of Education or are daycare committees responsible for daycares?
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): Yes, there is a daycare association or society.
The Department of Education would use this fund to pay for the operation of the child care facilities, but the societies have committees and the committees or the boards set up their own policies for daycare facilities.
It is up to them, but what we are saying is that we want to increase funding for their core operations, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Rumbolt spoke to part of this matter, but I would like to make additional comments with regard to the opening comments on page 4.
I would just like to comment that when the department is making future plans to implement the legislation under the mandate of the Minister of Education, it looks appealing to me.
When students are just sent home for misbehaviour without assistance, this can lead to more problems in their personal lives, as we have seen in our history.
That is why I like the idea of providing more assistance to students and this allows me to envision how the future will unfold with further assistance. So I add my support to this idea as more students will be productively engaged and not just sitting around.
Further down on page 4, during the opening comments, he spoke to new training programs as well as reference to school service staff. I would like to comment briefly on this.
Our chairman also spoke briefly about this in his opening comments, as he spoke about how our graduates from high school here in Nunavut are usually unable to meet the requirements to enrol in post-secondary institutions in the south.
I think that we are all aware of that shortcoming.
Further, I wish to state that, Mr. Chairman, this coming summer, my daughter will be graduating from grade 12. My wish is that my daughter’s graduation is only a first step towards greater things and that she can succeed with that beginning if she would like to continue her education in any particular career she chooses.
That is why I wanted to ask this question. With the curriculum under review, I would like to note that in the past, we used the Alberta curriculum and most of the students were unable to pass those exams in the past.
When can we expect education in Nunavut to reach to a point where our students are graduating with sufficient marks in order to attend post-secondary institutions in the south?
Minister Tapardjuk, if you could respond, please.
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): Yes, the member is totally correct in his assessment.
When using the Alberta curriculum, if you are to graduate, then you have to be able to pass these two courses, English and math, and these are compulsory if you are to graduate from grade 12 under this curriculum.
You have to pass English and math.
At this time, the entire system is currently undergoing a comprehensive review because we are aware of this problem and due to numerous members expressing their concerns about the lackadaisical approach towards education in Nunavut when we have graduates who cannot be accepted into southern educational institutions because of low standards.
We recognize our challenges and acknowledge the problems we are facing, especially in the pivotal grades, such as grade 10 and 12, specifically with the addition of Inuktitut, English, and French language classes into these areas to see if this will assist our students.
With respect to curricula appropriate for Nunavut students, they canvassed many universities. I believe it’s 25 of them.
Is that right? A questionnaire was sent to these universities asking if the addition of these courses would allow Nunavut students to qualify for any of their programs.
For example, if they respond that they could accept Nunavut students with the addition of these classes, then that questionnaire would help us improve our curriculum. Once we have received their responses and based on the Aulajaaqtut program, which is geared towards life skills, we should be able to find a middle ground between what the universities require and what should be included in the curricula.
All of these issues are currently being reviewed and are part of our deliberations on improving our curricula.
Required classes, such as science, I am unsure of the proper Inuktitut term, but if this was a compulsory class, then that would be of use.
What I am trying to state is that we are reviewing this because it is creating problems. Our officials will continue their efforts to improve our levels of education so that we arrive at the best levels required to enable our students to meet the minimum levels anywhere in Nunavut.
I’m very glad that it’s going to be completed.
I want to go back to Mr. Rumbolt’s comments.
It’s not a question, but it’s in regard to the consideration that was going to be given.
It’s my intent not to complicate this issue any further.
As the minister knows, we provide funding for the O&M of daycare centres.
Communities that don’t have daycare centres run into stumbling blocks and even some communities that have daycares are faced with facilities aging to the point where we need to replace them.
When the communities request for daycare space, they have few options.
As well, our government has not provided any new money for the establishment of new daycares in the communities.
I know that the minister is aware of this, but I wanted to add some comments to that. Perhaps in the near future, our government can provide some funding not just for the core operation of daycare centres but to construct and establish new daycare centres.
For example, in Chesterfield Inlet, the facility currently in use as a daycare is quite an old unit. It was a private home prior to its conversion into a daycare.
This unit suffers from a lack of space and it’s aging, thusly requiring more maintenance.
I have even reported the situation to the fire marshal as well as the electrical inspector that due to the age of the wiring, it may actually constitute a fire hazard. All facilities should be inspected for safety hazards.
This was going to be looked into, but I’m just delving into that example in order to provide some background for the minister.
Can the minister look at not just our territorial coffers but also at federal programs and services to try and supply new facilities that this government could then administer?
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Ningeongan. That was just a comment. Someone has their hand up.
Mr. Arvaluk, you may proceed.
I would like to note, based on the minister’s opening comments, that the Education portfolio has not become any easier since my time.
Once you have quit smoking, it seems harder to clear your throat.
Seriously, I am pleased and even immensely proud of how much the minister has accomplished as his implementation plan is progressing nicely.
When we first started in 1999, it seemed impossible to deal with such a challenging plate and now the end of the tunnel seems to be in sight as the legal foundations are being laid down to accomplish our goals.
For that accomplishment alone, I am very proud of how far we have come in the field of education, but yet, some challenges remain to be met. We see some examples I would like to speak to.
In our communities, we are sometimes asked to come to the schools to observe classes in action.
I was recently invited by a principal along with the chair of the DEA and we toured the school, entering different classrooms in progress.
In one of the classes, I noticed that one student, who happened to be in the middle of the group, was sound asleep while the classmates were taking their lesson. It seemed that no one was perturbed by that situation, especially the officials.
If that had occurred when I first started going to school, the immediate reaction of the teacher would have been to brandish a yardstick.
Boy, just the memory of that yardstick stings!
Yet, here was a student sleeping away and no one seemed to notice.
Sorry I got off on a tangent here, but what I was trying to lead up to was on one of the pages of the minister’s opening comments, on page 2, I believe, yes, page 2.
The third paragraph in particular states that school counsellor positions will be filled.
Yes, we do have counsellors, but if the teacher doesn’t report a matter, then the counsellor cannot resolve the issue.
The counsellor is not mandated to go amongst the classes to see which student requires assistance.
I would like to see an approach whereby the students that exhibit the most problems, such as the case that I alluded to, where a student was unable to sleep during the night at home and falls asleep during classes, should be resolved by a counsellor.
The teacher is the one who is most intimate with their classroom students and because they are aware of the problems at home with that particular student, they tend to let things pass when they ought to be working with the counsellor.
That is why I would like to ask about this issue to the minister.
Shouldn’t counsellors in high schools be required to undergo further training or even post-secondary education in order to fulfill their duties?
This did not seem to be the case in our community, as the individual I witnessed was neither a teacher nor seemed to possess any post-secondary education. I cannot ascertain that just by that one visit, but it seems to me that the counsellor was only called in when a teacher reported an issue.
That is why I would ask that as part of your plans to fill these positions of school counsellors, should you not be looking for people who can properly assist the students and who have the proper levels of education?
They should either be teachers or have post-secondary education, should be able to properly encourage students to continue their educational careers after their graduation, and know of all of the opportunities available to these students.
We’re trying to get school counsellors in all of the DEAs and what they require.
The school counsellors should have the knowledge of culture and the ability to provide support to students with problems.
I would like my deputy minister to supplement my response.
The school counsellors are part of the staff in the schools.
If you don’t mind, Mr. Chairman, with your indulgence, I would like my deputy minister to respond and clarify the matter, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman (interpretation): Ms. Okpik, if you can respond.
With respect to community school counsellors, we are now planning to start an in-house training program for the school counsellor trainees so that they could get the proper qualifications while on the job. These trainees will have to know Inuit culture, speak Inuktitut, and know their community.
After the new Education Act first appeared, the roles and responsibilities were outlined in there for the school team.
They work together to provide support to student counsellors.
The student counsellor would work in partnership with parents and the teacher as outlined in the Education Act, which speaks to the duties of the school counsellors in the schools.
Mr. Chairman (interpretation): Thank you, Ms. Okpik.
Mr. Arvaluk (interpretation): On the bottom of page 4 and at the top of page 5 of the minister’s opening comments… on page 4, it states, (interpretation ends) “As always, we will work in conjunction with educators and DEAs to provide ongoing training and supports to implement these new initiatives.”
(interpretation) I need clarification. The DEAs don’t have any staff except for their secretary.
How can the DEAs provide ongoing training and support to make sure these new initiatives are followed through?
Why is the DEA included in there?
Does any one of you wish to respond to that question?
Chairman (interpretation): Ms. Okpik, can you try and answer the question?
The DEAs are very important and crucial and they have to be involved.
The new Act contains many provisions where we have to implement, such as in-school suspensions.
They should come up with how those should be dealt with, as well as the roles and responsibilities of DEAs on, for example, attendance policies, in-school suspension policies, and positive school environments.
These are various policies that need to be established.
The new funding for elders need to be identified as to how they should be utilized.
We provide support such as on elders’ policies, how they can support DEAs, and how the various funds could be used. The DEAs will have to make their decisions on these various policy issues where we provide funding.
On page 6 of the minister’s opening comments at the bottom, it says that there are 9,038 students enrolled.
Are these figures from 2009 and do they also include early childhood education students who may be in daycare?
What does this really mean?
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): Yes, the figures that we have from the 2009-2010 school calendar year are for kindergarten to grade 12.
Mr. Arvaluk (interpretation): My last question is on page 10.
In the second paragraph, it states, “As we move forward with the implementation of the Education Act, we continue to produce new Nunavut-relevant curriculum…” I have heard that the Nunavut Sivuniksavut curriculum was going to be adapted to the appropriate grade levels.
Minister Tapardjuk, if you would respond.
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): With regard to the curriculum, I believe you are referring to “Staking The Claim.”
We are looking at the possibility of including that educational resource from Nunavut Sivuniksavut in Nunavut schools and they are already being implemented, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Arvaluk, you had said that you were asking your last question, but maybe this one will be your last. Mr. Arvaluk.
Mr. Arvaluk (interpretation): Well, it’s just a supplementary to my last question.
On two occasions, I went to go see the Nunavut Sivuniksavut program, the first time after being invited and the last time when I was asked to appear at twelve o’clock.
It’s very obvious that when students go to the Nunavut Sivuniksavut program, they learn things that they never learned in high school, such as learning traditional Ajaajaa songs, drum dancing, making traditional clothing, and learning about Inuit in general.
They become proud of who they are and proudly showcase the Inuit culture to the world out there.
Are you also going to be including those types of programs when you’re putting together the Nunavut relevant curricula? I believe I am talking about “Staking The Claim,” but are you going to be including a culturally relevant curriculum?
Mr. Chairman, I know that there are Inuit teachers who teach Inuit culture. I believe they are called COP, cultural program or something.
Unfortunately, they’ve had to fend for themselves and make their own curriculum materials.
Will these culturally relevant resources be fully prepared and ready to be used, particularly in high schools?
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): Yes, we are currently working on the curriculum and we have already implemented the culturally oriented aspects. Aulajaaqtut, as it is called, has cultural programs that are already implemented in the schools.
We are also requesting $800,000 to enhance curriculum development this year.
I know that it’s going to be quite challenging, but I will be tabling relevant information in the House as they come around.
If our budget request for $800,000 is approved, then we will be able to enhance the culturally relevant curriculum as well as teach students to be proud of being an Inuk and their elders.
Those are the things we will work on, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Ningark (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank the minister, his deputy minister and officials. Perhaps just to let them know and to welcome them, I don’t come from the moon.
On page 3, the Department of Education will be increasing the funds for district education authorities. On behalf of the people of Kugaaruk and Repulse Bay, I would like to thank you.
Of course, we have to recognize the people, including the elders, as holders of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and in language programs.
With regard to the Nunavut Sivuniksavut program, I believe it’s in preparation for the students’ future without going through the same mistakes again.
On page 6, in regard to daycare facilities, Mr. Chairman, they are heavily utilized in the communities.
We do know, however, that they do need financial staff, especially if they are formed as a society and have to conform to the Society Act and be in good standing.
Daycare facilities are especially utilized by women, from what I know in Kugaaruk, and it’s a great benefit to the community.
We hope that they are fully supported by this government and that their finances are administered properly.
I have been a member of the DEA and they need proper support in order to function properly.
We miss having the daycare when it has to be closed for various reasons and also when they shut down for the summer.
We hope to see them operate on a year-round basis, Mr. Chairman.
They are being very well utilized not only by the teachers but also by other individuals.
Mr. Chairman, Inuktitut should be used adequately in daycare facilities. There are some of us who went to residential school and we had a tendency to speak to our children in English.