EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
There are two main headquarters offices, one in Arviat and Iqaluit and in the three regional centres have an office and they deal with income support and adult education.
In adult education and the others, the reason why there are an additional 14 positions added is because they have more responsibilities, the addition of the income support employees and career development programs under the agreement as well as French and computer education and the library services and as well for the operations and maintenance.
Mr. Chairman, there were also some additional questions about student financial assistance and I can tell the members that from October 2001, there were 319 individuals who were receiving student financial assistance.
We have not completed the list for 2001/2002 for those students that were receiving student financial assistance.
There were 78 that took advantage of the loans available for students in the year 2000-2001.
The total amount used by these students for financial assistance was 298 thousand.
As well, I wish to clarify the student’s revolving fund issue, the loans fund staff deals with the main set of applications generally in April for the next school year under the Department of Education.
To date, the Department of Finance did not apply for further funding to top up the loans fund, but in our operations and maintenance there’s an estimate for the amount.
There was no request to put that in this fiscal year’s operations and maintenance budget.
For that reason, we will request further funding for the next fiscal year from the Department of Finance.
Mr. Chairman, these are the responses to the questions that were posed earlier on.
We are on page 9-11, 2002-2003 Main Estimates.
I will remind the members that they have about ten minutes to ask questions following the meeting schedule.
We are on page 9-11, Education Branch Summary - Adult Education and Post Secondary Services.
Are there any comments on that, or questions on that page?
Mr. Chairman, I understand that last week when the question was asked on the funding for the trades program that was basically dropped in half and the minister had indicated that there were other sources of funding available to make up the difference.
Can he tell us that as a result of funding that we have approved here or we have before us of 299 thousand, how much more we are going to be getting from other sources?
For the member’s question I will get my Deputy Minister to respond to that question.
You will find under Tab 20 the work that we are doing on behalf of third parties, which includes the Labour Market Development Agreement.
The minister mentioned last week that the Labour Market Development Agreement is particular provides funding for trades type training.
In 2002-2003 that is 2 million 856 thousand dollars that is available for Labour Market Training.
Mr. Chairman, if you take that amount of 2.8 million and 299 thousand that is still like even last year, under the Labour Market Development Agreement, there was three and half million dollars and another 585 thousand for trade.
Are we going to see a reduction, like overall there a reduction in funds available for those areas.
I am just wondering if he can assure us that we would have enough money there to provide the training at whatever the current level has been in the past this year.
If you look at 2001-2002, 3 million 545 thousand, and if you look at 2002-2003, there is a difference of a certain amount of money.
At the beginning of the fiscal year there was one time funding that we received for the Labour Market Development Agreement.
So we had one time funding at that time in 2001-2002, so that is why the figures are not the same in 2002-2003.
They create a program, I don’t know if, forgive me, I am asking a question that was asked last week.
What particular area is that targeted at?
Is that targeted just for the College, or any other areas, in what communities?
Is it something that is carried out in all the communities?
I know as I had indicated last week I know here in Iqaluit, as an example, that almost fifty percent of the kids that go into Grade 10 drop out.
I am sure, I don’t know what the rates are in other communities, but I am sure that a lot of these young people would make excellent trades people.
I am wondering what the Department is doing to try and fill the cracks for those individuals by way of providing trades orientation programs or pre-trade programs not only here in Iqaluit but throughout the north.
What we have done is beginning with the higher grades in high school, as they’re finishing their educational requirements they start getting credits with pre-employment training or orientation courses towards whatever trades program that they would like enter or apprenticeship programs.
So perhaps there are about 4 or 5 from each community that get their credits and on top of that what we are doing is having a pre-employment program that will be developed for the Department of Education. I’ll use an example, Mr. Chairman.
In various communities, there are different programs that we have, just to make it clearer to the member, in the Kitikmeot Region last year there were numerous courses in Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk.
In Kugluktuk, they offered pre-employment training courses, and carpentry training and a community complex training program in Cambridge Bay.
In the Kivalliq Region, what they did was offer an accounting course in Rankin Inlet as well as the pre-employment and carpentry courses.
In Repulse Bay as well as the Baffin Region, there was an accounting course in Sanikiluaq, Cape Dorset, small engine repair courses in Sanikiluaq and Kimmirut as well a carpentry program in Iqaluit.
As well, air brakes courses in Resolute Bay, Qikiqtarjuaq, Igloolik and Hall Beach and cooking courses were held in Iqaluit.
The question from the member was how we can meet the challenge of those people that dropped out of school and how they can take advantage of trades programs.
When we can take a course to a community, either jointly funded with another organization or by our own department, that’s what we do.
Does the minister have an idea or does the department have an idea of how many communities and what programs they are looking at offering in trades areas over the next year?
Mr Kilabuk.
Hon. Peter Kilabuk (interpretation): I’m sorry, Mr. Chairman.
Is the member talking about my previous response or about kids that drop out or do you just want to know about the pre-employment courses in the communities?
How many communities and how many courses are being offered in the communities?
I know having worked in housing before and even just listening to contractors today under the NNI policy, they’re having a very hard time finding skilled labour in the communities and here is an excellent opportunity to offer trades programs in the communities so that we can have trades people in the communities and we’re not having to import trades people from outside of the territories.
I just wondered on that basis if that’s something that we should be looking at doing because there are a lot of people out there that would probably fit right into this type of program.
How much are we going to get out there and with what over the next year?
Since it is spring time now, there will be more work towards these types of arrangements and agreements and it will continue on throughout the summer.
But at this time I cannot give information out to the member until they have completed the required work.
Once we get the information, I’ll be able to give you the information but I don’t have any detailed information in front of me.
The college I guess would be the delivery mechanism for these programs.
Do they have a calendar that these are the programs that we want you to apply for and this is what we want to offer and where it’s going to be offered?
I know usually they would have at this time of year, there are already things going out for the start of the fall year and I’m just wondering if the minister is aware if they have anything like that for the college right now outlining the programs that they want people to apply for and where throughout the communities.
I mean, especially as it relates to a trade.
In regards to his first question, if they are going through Arctic College, let me point out to you that many municipalities in various communities administer these programs even though they’re Arctic College programs.
As I stated earlier, I do not have this information available at this time as to what programs will be offered.
At this time, I don’t have that information right now according to who’s partnering with Arctic College, whether it is a municipality like the Hamlet or Arctic College, that’s how they operate.
Mr. Chairman, going back to the student financial assistance section, and just more of a, I don’t know if you want to call it a housekeeping thing or not, according to the Student Financial Assistance Act, the department is supposed to table a report on that annually and I know the minister didn’t have that information available last week when someone asked him and he provided it today.
Does the minister anticipate that they’ll be able to comply with the legislation and be tabling those reports annually?
Yes, we’ll table a report this coming fall for the fiscal year 2001/2002.
Mr. Arvaluk (interpretation): Very briefly, in respect to funding the Adult Education and Post-Secondary Services, once they find the funding for the programs, are these included in the Adult Student program funding amounts?
Here I am talking about funds that are garnered for these programs by the communities.
For example, if there’s an adult education training program funded by the Hamlets, are those amounts included in this page?
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you Mr. Arvaluk, Minister Kilabuk.
Yes, this funding, are you talking about the funding that’s applied for?
No, funds requested and not approved are not included on this page.
Mr. Arvaluk (interpretation): How easy or hard is it to find individuals who are committed and qualified adult educators in the communities?
It depends on a variety of factors; the motivation of the people, for example, according to the number of interested individuals in the communities, they look at the situation and whether the program and instructor is available and if they can provide funding for the course and once they’re approved by the partners, the funding is fairly easy to get.
However, if we need to get instructors or programs either from outside of the community’s region or outside of Nunavut, it’s harder to get access to this funding, especially if it is to be administered by the community or even the region.
The reason I’m asking this is because in one of my constituent communities, I want an elder to be able to receive an education even when they are 100 years old.
Although some elders are not trained to work with the new technology like computers, and other technical complicated courses available to mature students, for example machines such as scanners and these other technological marvels.
Especially the elders who lived a traditional lifestyle have no idea how to operate these new machines and they are asked to teach a modern approach to life to the students, when all they had was their wits to survive.
Once you find out that this is an actual fact out there, there are some individuals teaching students when they are 70 years old.
That’s why I was asking if you have a shortage of teachers that can teach modern lifestyles, since everything is computer-based now and we have to use this new technology in order to keep up with progress.
Do you have anything planned especially for teaching these modern skills?
Do you have any plans as to how you are going to teach the elders this new technology like the computer and internet skills?
Do you have any plans on hiring elders to teach that kind of programs, especially in the smaller communities?
Well, this fiscal year we are doing a pilot program and we’re trying to find out if it’s feasible or not by way of Arctic College at the community level.
This was funded by HRDC and we have initiated six for Pond Inlet, two for Rankin Inlet, and two for Kugluktuk.
So, these are, I’m sorry, also two in Pond Inlet.
There are in total six programs under this pilot project and they will be teaching more modern skills courses such as computer skills.
I apologize that I was not here when we first started reviewing the Department of Education Main Estimates and since education is one of our priorities in this government.
On the page we’re on for Adult Education and Post-Secondary Services, according to the description, although I’ve done no real research on this, but in my community of Hall Beach we don’t usually get an Adult Education Instructor brought into our community.
After saying that, we do have instructors that visit on a temporary basis to my community.
As an example, for the past two years now, we’ve received instructors; they were the RCMP Officer’s wives.
Every time a married RCMP officer moves into our community, it seems that his wife finds employment right away.
We don’t even know whether these positions are open or not, they just seem to occupy them.
How do you set up the hiring of adult educators at the community level?
Why do I see it that way?
Yes, the Arctic College Board of Governors deals with these types of operational issues.
This process goes through the Board of Governors and it’s operated through the college offices.
But in regards to my colleague’s question, I will look into this further and then I will give him more information but I don’t have that at hand right now.
Mr. Chairman, according to his response, he can check into it, I don’t mind if he does not respond to it at this time.
When it’s visible like that, although maybe there’s a position open for my community, maybe it is because the courses last for only a short period of time, if you have no answer, it is fine.
If you don’t understand what I’m asking Mr. Chairman, what I’m trying to ask is my original question.
They don’t advertise the position through the media, so if none of your officials can respond to it, it’s okay because I know you’ll get back to me once you get the information.
But if you do have that information I wouldn’t mind getting a response.
I will commit to my colleague to determine whether they are following the policy of Arctic College and find out if they are handling things properly.
I’m not saying that they’re not doing it properly; all I am saying is that we’ll look into their policies to make sure the community is abiding by the policies of Arctic College, when they’re providing an adult educator.
My question has to do with adult education centres in the communities.
There are some elders that are interested in taking training programs.
Have you worked on getting some elders into training programs? What have you done to get elders involved?
We are working more closely with the communities and the adult education centres.
We’re working more closely with them with the scheduling of the calendar and through the capital planning process.
So for individuals that are interested in taking programs, there are quite a number of interested people, and it’s obvious those courses might not be available right away but they have to try to develop programs in communities where people are interested.
I raised that question because in the communities where there are interested individuals, for instance an example is, when an individual is interested in taking a course but the program can only take in so many students, like 20 or even 30, some individuals get turned away because there’s no space available.
Some communities don’t have classrooms available.
If there was a program in a community made available, if the people in that community are interested, would there be classrooms made available for that program to go ahead.
If there was a program, for instance, this week if we knew a community was holding an Arctic College program where they could take in 20 students and there were another 20 individuals wanting to take the program, they could, in their proposal, include setting up another time for these individuals to take the program for instance, in the evening when the classrooms are available or where other spaces are available, such as at a high school or the community hall even.
These are things that can be included in these community administered programs.
The individuals that have filled out applications to take the programs, the instructors would look at how many people are interested, the spaces available within the community and try to accommodate them.
Chairperson (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Puqiqnak.
Under adult education and post-secondary services, I am sure that in most communities and at least in the communities that I represent, as the minister, I’m sure you’ve heard that some grade 12 graduates are interested in continuing their education but they’re not able to because the program is not available to these individuals who have graduated from high school.
I know of a couple of individuals that want to continue their education but they keep running into road blocks.
Who could assist them in furthering their education because these individuals have graduated and are interested in continuing their education, but there is no opportunity for them?
They’ve graduated in 2001 and some of them are just sitting at home and don’t have opportunities available to them.
You have an office in Cambridge Bay or a head office.
For the people that I represent that are interested in furthering their education, who would they approach for assistance?
Who would be able to assist them?
In respect to the communities and residents of the Kitikmeot, they would approach and speak to the staff in Cambridge Bay for assistance.
Mr. Puqiqnak (interpretation): When an individual has graduated, there are a few in my community that have graduated from high school, and the Mayor of Taloyoak stated that when you’ve completed your grade 12 education that the hamlet welcomes graduates.
If they need somebody to talk to and the grade 12 graduates don’t really seem to have anybody to turn to or have anybody to assist them in trying to further their education.
So under your department, I think the headquarters in the Kitikmeot under your department should look at how many graduates there are in the Kitikmeot Region and assist them in trying to further their education if those individuals wish to do so.
So could you look into obtaining some information and assisting those individuals?
Could you give us a number of graduates from that region and provide us with that information?
For pre-employment and on-the-job training and furthering their education, there are regional staff at the offices available to assist an individual such as the one Mr. Puqiqnak is referring to.
They have counsellors available and I could assist the member in identifying the individuals from my staff in his region who can assist these individuals wishing to further their education. I’m not in the position of telling individuals or communities about what programs they should take but I could provide the member with staff names that he could approach as they are available and willing to assist the communities in that region.
You want to continue?
Under Education, Branch Summary - Adult Education and Post-Secondary Services.
Total operations and maintenance 20 million 336 thousand dollars.
Chairperson (interpretation): Page 9-12 is part of 9-11.
Page 9-13 is also a part of those two previous pages.
Page 9-14.
School Services.
Education Branch Summary. School Services.
If I understand correctly, students are taught English and math up to grade 12.
They also take social studies and science courses.
There’s also physical education and social studies that don’t pertain to the Inuit or the land.
There are perhaps three things that we would like to see, to teach them our social studies, pertaining to Nunavut.
Things like what sort of people are there, what do they speak, what they wear and things of that nature.
Those are the types of things that are taught to them up to grade 12.
They’re also taught about the other cultures and beliefs up to grade 12.
We’ve also heard of the Anglicans and missionaries and their history as to how it relates to social studies.
In high school they are also taught Inuit skills, for instance, Mr. Chairman knows that there are a lot of legends that have to do with the Inuit culture, and a lot of our parents don’t often talk to their children about Nunavut geography.
Many parents don’t often talk to their children.
They tell them that they love them when they discipline them.
When we were growing up, if my little brother caught a seal, if he was on the edge next to the water, I would give him quite a scare.
My father would simply tell me that we shouldn’t scare the younger kids because as they grow older their hearts would have problems later on.
My father taught me survival skills but we were never taught about the human body, those are the things that we learned only when we started going to the health centre or the hospitals.
Students do not learn much about communication, say for instance trying to interpret what I am saying, what am I saying is this and on the other side of it the other person can start to understand and give a reply.
There is not enough communication within the homes and in the schools.
At times they are confused as to what to talk about in the schools in reference to life.
We lived simply to survive. So when we were growing up we were mainly taught things that we needed to know then and there like how to survive out on the land or how to get to Pond Inlet from Clyde River or how to build an igloo if I there was a blizzard. If I didn’t know those skills I wouldn’t have been able to survive.
I was taught how to survive where there was no snow or how to make a shelter.
Those things aren’t taught in the schools presently and some of the members often bring up the issue of suicide because a lot of the skills that need to be taught aren’t taught in school, things that have to do with suicide prevention.
But we often take our children, students out in the communities there are programs where our young people are taken out on the land and these youth experience being out on the land.
However, we the adults, the teachers and parents, we prepare them and when they go on the land they are prepared.
We teach them how to shoot, how to make tea, but we don’t often teach them enough about how to survive.
I would like to say, we should probably make a goal, there are many students, when you are in high school you often learn things that you could learn from television and students aren’t taught how to learn.
There are many things to learn now.
The techniques that need to be learned and if I’m not able to learn a technique I have to teach myself as to where I could get those skills.
I have one minute and five seconds, lastly, as a government we also talk about Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit.
We often want to see reports made as to what departments are doing and as a parent some people might wonder why I discipline my sons, why do I give them juice and not the crystals that you have to stir.
Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, if their teeth have cavities, you know better than to feed them sugary stuff.
If you’re going to bring up your child while he’s trying to complete grade 12 you have to work with the parents.
If you discuss things with your parent including Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit in what you’re learning and if you communicate with your children and discuss things with them you have to try to set goals with them as to where they would be in the future. Because quite often our children look at just what is happening today.
These are some things to talk about but I am out of time.
Chairperson (interpretation): Your time is up, Mr. Arvaluk.
His question is a very strong question and it takes a lot of thought and I hope the Department of Education is able to understand the importance of what he is trying to say, because it is very important.
Yes, the questions that you have here, I noted them down here so we are trying to answer them like some of the questions regarding who should teach social studies and things of that nature.