EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
(interpretation) Now that is what is meant by guided reading, similar to the traditional Inuit methods of teaching. Inuit believe in this teaching method, which is teaching by observation and not just by reading about the subject, but to actually watch the lesson. That is what is meant here, so I am just presenting that as an example.
To have the student watch the teacher read, so that is what (interpretation ends) guided reading and guided writing (interpretation) are pretty much a focussed method of teaching similar to the way Inuit teach through observing the lesson.
I just want to ensure our colleagues are aware of the meaning behind (interpretation ends) balanced literacy, (interpretation) which is a new term starting to be used in the school system.
Since these are new concepts in our schools, I hope I have provided further clarification to my colleague.
As per my earlier comment, if the teacher has 20 students, the guided lessons would be specific towards individual students.
I hope my response was clear, Mr. Chairman.
I have no more names on my list. (interpretation ends) I want to remind all members that we are here to review proposed departmental budgets for the upcoming 2015-16 fiscal year. I encourage members to focus their questions on the proposed budgets.
G-4. (interpretation) If you have any questions, please raise your hand. We are on (interpretation ends) Education.
Directorate. G-4. Total Operations and Maintenance, to be Voted.
I am unsure if it is on the page, so can you direct me if that is the case. I am talking about human resources or recruitment. I believe it is under the (interpretation ends) human resources development (interpretation) of the English copy, as that is all I have.
If we are on G-4, I want to ask about the positions which seem quite numerous, as per your opening comments.
This pleases me immensely on a personal level. Any educational initiative is a pleasure to hear, as I want our students to receive assistance where necessary.
I want to ask about this matter you mentioned in your opening comments. (interpretation ends) Hon. Minister, you (interpretation) stated what is on page 5 regarding the department’s plans to hire six more employees as regional literacy coordinators while being classified as teachers. There are six positions identified.
My question is: where are these six positions going to be located? Can you provide that information? I think they would be (interpretation ends) regional (interpretation) in English.
I just want clarification on this issue.
The six positions are literacy coordinators handling the regional responsibilities as the (interpretation ends) regional coordinators (interpretation) responsible for these activities regionally.
They are broken into the three regions, two in each region and with the two coordinators per region. They will be located in the following communities: two positions will be located in Pond Inlet, two positions will be in Kugluktuk, and the final two positions will be in Baker Lake.
Those are the three locations we have envisioned.
Just be aware that the positions will be instrumental support positions for the regional offices, such as for the Baffin region. The two positions in Pond Inlet would have to cover the whole region’s schools. The title for the positions is (interpretation ends) regional coordinators (interpretation) and the same applies to the other positions located in the other regions.
That is how we envision this.
Also on the same page of your opening comments, specifically on page 5 is the reference to the subject I alluded to, which is just above that section.
Perhaps I should have started with a question on that section. However, I was doubtful that the positions would go to Pond Inlet, which is why I asked questions on the locations instead.
With respect to the other 43 positions listed in the chart, I just want some idea of the qualifications required for the positions.
Will they have to be teachers with certification?
What exact qualifications do these positions require if I were to be interested in these positions?
I appreciate your question on the qualifications and that is a fine question.
The 43 positions we are speaking about, I will refer to them as (interpretation ends) literacy coaches, (interpretation) who will work with students to improve literacy.
The 43 positions will be like teachers, as they require the same type of qualifications, so they need a (interpretation ends) teacher’s certificate. (interpretation) Perhaps as well, we may require a (interpretation ends) Bachelor of Education, (interpretation) as we want the most qualified coaches.
That is our outlook on their duties.
Yes, as per my earlier statement, just like our regular teachers, they will need certificates and have a teaching background or experience. People with teaching experience or past teachers with this type of skill set are the ones we are looking for because this is an important position. Additionally, they would require some background in (interpretation ends) literacy (interpretation) and they have to be competent in that area.
We aren’t going to just pick people off the street. Only the properly qualified applicants will fill these 43 new positions. We are looking at every school getting one of these positions.
Mr. Enook (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman and the (interpretation ends) Hon. Minister. (interpretation) The qualifications just stumped me, so I will have to look for another job.
I doubt I qualify for these positions.
Now with respect to the potential positions, is your expectation that they will all commence employment in the fall? Furthermore, do you have any doubts that you will be able to fill all of these positions from now until the fall school season?
This coming spring, we are going to start the recruitment process and we will be conducting the hiring process to ensure that literacy coaches are based in the schools by the fall.
Usually, we start recruiting teachers and staff in the spring in order to be operational by the fall.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you very much. (interpretation ends) I just want to remind members that the contents of the opening comments are covered by the different branches of the department.
Please ask your detailed questions under the appropriate branches.
I believe I just have a couple of quick questions under this category.
I would like to talk about some of the Education Act regulations. To date, the department has completed 11 sets of that Act’s regulations.
Can the minister provide an update on when the next regulations will be completed and what topics that they will address?
Chairman: Thank you. Hon. Minister, Mr. Quassa.
Perhaps I should also just use the term (interpretation ends) Mr. Chairman (interpretation) in case I cause some confusion.
(interpretation ends) Thank you very much for the question.
There are four areas that are now at the planning and reporting status, and these are examples: student records, home schooling, staff certification, and private and ratepayer schools.
Those are the areas that are still outstanding, as the member questioned.
For the new regulations to be put forward in the winter of 2015, we are anticipating that planning and reporting consultation will continue with the set of consultations.
We will begin the process for the home schooling consultation this year. That is where we are.
I would like to thank you for that response, Minister Quassa.
I would like to touch on the parental and family engagement campaign that is listed on page 83 of the business plan.
It talks that the development of the campaign is ongoing. I’m sure most of us have seen some of the commercials on TV and some of the other initiatives that are being taken.
I would like to put a little different spin on it.
As recent media has covered, there are still issues with parents who want to be engaged in their children’s education, yet run into roadblocks.
What is the department doing to help mitigate those issues and help the parents of students be engaged in their children’s education?
I’m not too sure what he’s referring to as the roadblocks.
I have not seen any true roadblocks, but maybe can you clarify that a bit more, Mr. Chairman?
In some of the recent media coverage regarding CSFN, the Commission scolair francophone du Nunavut here in Iqaluit, there are parents who have gone so far as to create a legal society to represent their children within the school system.
Time after time, at least it has been expressed to me that they don’t seem to get any recognition from CSFN of their existence.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you very much. Minister Quassa.
First of all, I can say, based on the information I received, the francophone parents association is upset with CSFN because it feels that CSFN is not being transparent with the public. The parents association also feels as though CSFN is not communicating effectively with the parents of the children who attend Ecole des Trois-Soleils. (interpretation) I’m probably not pronouncing it properly. (interpretation ends) Finally, the parents association does not agree with the CSFN decision to file the statement of claim against the department.
There are different factors, as I understand it.
Again I would just like to say that the parents association does not really have decision-making power because it’s not recognized in the legislation or policy.
They can lobby CSFN on areas of concern and interest, however.
Again, as far as I know, this is the information that I have received and we are closely monitoring the situation. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I think everyone does realize that a parents’ society, such as APFN, is not legislated, yet in a positive manner of moving forward with any DEA or CSFN in this circumstance, there are parents associations scattered throughout Nunavut that work collaboratively with the DEA to the betterment of the school system in their community or within their jurisdiction.
Just because it’s not in the legislation doesn’t mean it can’t be recognized.
We’ve had conversations about this. I’ve had more phone calls and emails about this topic than I have received on any other topic since being elected.
As you stated, there seems to be a level of frustration there. At the end of the day, in my opinion and this is just my opinion, they just want to participate in their children’s education.
When we’re talking about a parental and family engagement campaign brought forward by the Department of Education, what type of oversight or what type of collaboration do you have with DEAs or with the coalition of DEAs or with CSFN to promote this initiative?
Hon. Paul Quassa (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. (interpretation ends) First of all, again, I believe the majority of the DEAs, if almost not all, work very well with the parents.
A good example would be the Joamie School, who has been working very closely with the parents, parental engagement, and in fact, you probably already know that their principal was recognized to be one of the best principals within Canada, along with the 40 others that have been recognized.
I can say that I have encouraged both parties, which are CFSN and the parents, to meet and attempt to resolve their differences. I’m optimistic that this can be done.
Again, the issue is really between CSFN and the parents association.
Again I would just like to reiterate that because CSFN, like any other DEA, is an elected body and therefore, I can only say that we are monitoring the situation very closely.
Certainly, we want to ensure that CSFN, like any other DEA, is following and complying with the Education Act and regulations and/or department or government policy. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I’m very much aware of the accomplishment of Principal Lonsdale at the Joamie School here in Iqaluit. She has graciously accepted an invitation by me to attend proceedings here on Friday where the whole House can formally recognize her accomplishment.
With regard to the topic that we are discussing, I will leave it alone at that. I do believe you and I will be discussing this further in the upcoming weeks.
Following the list of names, Mr. Savikataaq.
I just wanted clarification on a matter here and you can decide whether I should talk about it later in a different category.
It’s about what my colleague talked about, the 43 learning coaches. I believe it is here because it is human resource related.
These 43 positions, I now know that they have to be certified teachers. Are these positions within the teachers that are calculated by the number of students or are these calculated above once you have figured out how many teachers each school needs?
Thank you for that good question. (interpretation ends) I can respond that no, they are not part of that category. I can say that they would not be counted as the student-education ratio.
They are outside of that process.
Again you will note that literacy coach person-wise will not affect the teacher allocation based on the student-educator ratio.
I believe that is the question. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Savikataaq: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think the minister stated that there is one per school, if I heard him right. Can you just clarify that?
Chairman: Thank you. Mr. Quassa.
Yes, there will be one learning coach per school.
I know that this is the first time it is happening, so I guess there will be learning curves and ways that it might be done better in the future, but I can see a problem right now, right off the bat. For example, in a school in Arviat, you might have 300 students in that one school and then in Grise Fiord, you might have 30 or 40 students in that one school. That ratio is not quite fair.
If the department is serious on making this work, I would think that there would have to be some kind of a ratio where one teacher would have to teach X number of students.
One teacher’s time is just not enough if you have 300 students in one school.
Thank you for that good question.
So that people will understand, (interpretation ends) let me just make it very clear that the literacy coaches would be there to assist the teachers and not the students.
They are there to teach the teachers. Is that the right way of saying it? (interpretation) They are supposed to train the teachers, not the students.
This is for the teachers’ benefit, if this is understandable.
(interpretation ends) I can also say that, but on the other hand, the schools will have the prerogative of using an SER to hire additional coaches for their schools. They’re coaches for teachers and not for student-by-student. (interpretation) Let’s not view it in that light. I hope that makes more sense in that way. (interpretation ends) Of course, I want to also assure the House and members that we certainly will be monitoring as soon as the literacy coaches get on board.
We will start monitoring as to how well they are doing. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I thank the minister for the clarification because I did think that these were to teach the students. Now that I know they’re for teaching the teachers, I’ll take this to the next step.
Are we not hiring teachers that are qualified to teach literacy?
Hon. Paul Quassa (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. (interpretation ends) Again, the literacy coach’s main role is to support teachers, wherever they are in their understanding of literacy.
Again I would just like to reiterate and specifically say that this is a very specialized profession.
Again, it will be there to support the continual improvement of teachers in all our schools so that students will have the greatest opportunity to be successful.
Again, I mentioned in my opening statements that the focus of the literacy initiative is the balanced literacy program and that’s their specialty. (interpretation) They’re not just ordinary teachers.
Any initiative that the department does to make our students more educated and more qualified when they graduate is a positive step.
This is more just of a comment. How can I say this?
I would assume that the program will be evaluated after one year just to see what the cause and effects are, just to see if the literacy rate went up. I assume it will be evaluated.
It was going to be just a comment, but I guess it’s a question.
Absolutely, that is the case and we will have to monitor it very carefully, especially in light of the member’s statement about (interpretation ends) monitoring. (interpretation) That means we will keep monitoring it.
Furthermore, the literacy program is another program which we will carefully review (interpretation ends) if the balanced literacy program is running well. (interpretation) That’s what we will monitor. (interpretation ends) That’s how we’re going to monitor if the literacy coaches are doing what they are specialized in.
As I said, program evaluation, of course, is a very important component to any of our initiatives.
My officials are very keenly aware of the need to be accountable to the public.
Again, the emphasis being that program evaluation is going to be there. This is especially important as education is a priority for everyone and certainly impacts our lives in so many ways.
The balanced literacy initiative will be measured in numerous ways that will ensure that it remains focused and to ensure that it’s working for Nunavut students. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
This one will just be a comment now.
I thank the minister for explaining to me and the committee because I think that we are all under the impression that these were going to teach the students.
Any initiatives to help our students have a better chance or a better education are a good thing.
I don’t have very many questions in this section.
I would like to know what kind of feedback you or the department has received in regard to the parental and family engagement campaign in the smaller communities.
Currently, for the smaller communities, I personally haven’t heard from the representatives, as the departmental officials receive the feedback and our officials have just started looking into this issue.
However, I can state that we are reviewing our options and whether we can use, for example, a (interpretation ends) multi-faceted family engagement strategy, (interpretation) which is currently under development and I believe it was described by one of our colleagues earlier about televised information announcements.
We are using all methods of disseminating this information, including the televised ads which members may have seen.
Furthermore, we (interpretation ends) are working closely with Outcrop, not crap…
…to develop a departmental-wide communication plan. This plan will focus on the important topics of balanced literacy and family engagement. We are also working closely with ITK and NTI on the development of a dedicated family engagement website.
That’s where we are right at this time.
As I said earlier, just to reiterate on the question, our department is developing as to how we would get smaller communities involved. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. Angnakak: Mr. Chairman, I move to report progress.
Mr. Mikkungwak (interpretation): Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Bill 16 and the main estimates, and would like to report progress.
I apologize, Mr. Keyootak.
(interpretation ends) The motion is in order.
Just a reminder that there’s a meeting tomorrow morning at nine o’clock in the Tuktu Boardroom with the Standing Committee on Legislation.
This House stands adjourned until Wednesday, March 4, 2015, at 1:30 p.m.
>>House adjourned at 19:18
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Pages 1967 – 2042
Opening Prayer 1967
Ministers’ Statements 1967
Tabling of Documents 1992
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters 1993
Report of the Committee of the Whole 2041
Orders of the Day 2041
Wednesday, March 4, 2015 1967
105 – 4(2): Accreditation of the Nunavut Arctic College Trades Training Centre (Quassa) 1967
106 – 4(2): Conference of the Parties (COP 20) in Lima, Peru (Mike) 1968
107 – 4(2): Training of Coroners (Okalik) 1968
108 – 4(2): Winter 2015 Meeting of Canada’s Premiers (Taptuna) 1969
236 – 4(2): Congratulations to Nolan Norberg of Kugluktuk (Taptuna) 1970
237 – 4(2): Tribute to Rankin Inlet Hockey Organizers (Sammurtok) 1970
238 – 4(2): Tribute to Jennifer Gwilliams of British Columbia (Mapsalak) 1971
239 – 4(2): Community Aerodrome Radio Stations (Sammurtok) 1972
240 – 4(2): Distribution of Country Food in Kimmirut (Joanasie) 1972
241 – 4(2): Incorporation of Inuit Qaujimanituqangit (Shooyook) 1973
242 – 4(2): Ilagiiktunut Fund (Enook) 1973
243 – 4(2): Nunavut’s Fifth Youth Parliament (Hickes) 1974
244 – 4(2): Bonnie Ammaq Debuts at Astro Theatre (Quassa) 1976
388 – 4(2): Incorporation of Inuit Qaujimanituqangit (Shooyook) 1977
389 – 4(2): Inuit Content in Iqaluit P3 Airport Construction (Joanasie) 1979
390 – 4(2): Cancellation of Observer/Communicator Training Program (Sammurtok) 1980
391 – 4(2): Status of Collective Bargaining (Angnakak) 1981
392 – 4(2): Community Aerodrome Radio Stations (Enook) 1982
393 – 4(2): Surplus Disposal Policy (Rumbolt) 1984
394 – 4(2): Community Aerodrome Radio Stations (Savikataaq) 1985
395 – 4(2): Poverty Reduction Initiatives (Mapsalak) 1986
396 – 4(2): Airport Infrastructure (Mikkungwak) 1988
397 – 4(2): Review of Subsidies for Homeowners (Hickes) 1990
108 – 4(2): Hamlet of Baker Lake Presentation to the Nunavut Impact Review Board on the Kiggavik Project (Mikkungwak) 1992
Bill 16 – Appropriation (Operations & Maintenance) Act, 2015-2016 – Education – Consideration in Committee 1993
Mr. Tony Akoak, Ms. Pat Angnakak, Hon. Monica Ell, Mr. Joe Enook, Mr. George Hickes, Mr. David Joanasie, Mr. Pauloosie Keyootak, Hon. George Kuksuk, Mr. Steve Mapsalak, Hon. Johnny Mike, Mr. Simeon Mikkungwak, Hon. Paul Okalik, Hon. Keith Peterson, Hon. Paul Quassa, Hon. George Qulaut, Mr. Allan Rumbolt, Mr. Alexander Sammurtok, Hon. Tom Sammurtok, Mr. Joe Savikataaq, Mr. Isaac Shooyook, Hon. Peter Taptuna, Hon. Jeannie Ugyuk.
Speaker (interpretation): Good afternoon, my fellow Nunavummiut. (interpretation ends) Premier, (interpretation) ministers, members, visitors, our staff and interpreters, welcome.
Minister’s Statement 105 – 4(2): Accreditation of the Nunavut Arctic College Trades Training Centre (Quassa)
Hon. Paul Quassa (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, my colleagues here with me. I send good day wishes to the people of Aggu and Igloolik.
Mr. Speaker, as Minister responsible for Nunavut Arctic College, it is my pleasure to share with my colleagues news concerning the granting of a temporary operating permit to the Nunavut Trades Training Centre in Rankin Inlet.
This allows the centre to deliver apprenticeship training as an accredited institution until October 31, 2015.
This ongoing process places an enormous strain on the college’s resources each time we go through the process.
The next accreditation is scheduled during the summer of 2015 and trades training staff are laying the groundwork for a possible three- to five-year accreditation period during that time.
Mr. Speaker, preparation for this requires a thorough review of shop tools and equipment as well as classroom suitability and curriculum development, including proper use of lesson plans, syllabi, course outlines, student evaluations, instructor credentials, and methods of evaluations for the courses offered.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank all the senior instructors, instructors, and staff of the trades training centre for all their hard work and dedication in contributing to the accreditation process thus far. Without these dedicated professionals, we would not be able to offer our students apprenticeship programs of the highest quality right here in Nunavut.
The granting of the temporary operating permit to the trades training centre in Rankin Inlet will allow them to deliver the program.
Minister’s Statement 106 – 4(2): Conference of the Parties (COP 20) in Lima, Peru (Mike)
I rise today to discuss a meeting I attended regarding the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
In December of last year, I travelled to Lima, Peru to participate in the 20th Conference of the Parties, or COP 20.