EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Does Minister Curley have any closing comments?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. (interpretation) First of all, I would like to thank my staff and our deputy minister, who wasn’t able to be with us today. I would also like to thank our Finance Officer, Debora Voth, and our ADM, Raj Downe.
I thank the members very much for asking questions. (interpretation ends) I want to thank all of you, through you, Mr. Chairman.
The questions posed and the advice provided to us will be taken seriously. This is a very complex department and it’s one that’s also very critical.
Essential services are provided by this department.
We want to let you know that we take our responsibility seriously.
I want to thank my cabinet colleagues as well for supporting the number of initiatives that we are proposing.
I will continue to report to members if there are any major changes happening and I continually invite questions, if they have, to my office at any given time. (interpretation) Thank you. (interpretation ends) Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Would the Sergeant-at-Arms please escort the minister and officials out.
Bill 01 – Appropriation (Operations & Maintenance) Act, 2011-2012 – Consideration in Committee – Education
I would like now to ask the Minister of Education, Mr. Tootoo, to make his opening remarks.
Good afternoon or early evening.
I am very pleased to meet with the committee to discuss the 2011-12 main estimates and business plan for the Department of Education.
Mr. Chairman, I believe education is the foundation for a healthy, strong, and flourishing Nunavut.
This government has made education, self-reliance, and improved access to learning a Tamapta priority.
Therefore, it is crucial we offer Nunavummiut the tools they need to become capable and engaged in the opportunities and future prospects of our territory and the rest of Canada.
The Department of Education aims to provide quality lifelong learning opportunities to help improve learning outcomes for all citizens of Nunavut.
From early childhood education, leading to bilingual and innovative kindergarten through grade 12 programming, to quality and responsive adult learning and career development opportunities targeted to meet the growing workforce demands, to the provision of social assistance so that no one is left behind, we are determined to build a territory of educated and empowered people with the skills to succeed.
Mr. Chairman, we are working hard to make improvements to our programs and services with the goal of enhancing the lives of Nunavummiut.
As such, we are recommending some very substantial expansions to the Department of Education’s overall operating budget. These include major investments in implementing and ensuring the success of the Education Act, as well as support to our post-secondary students, and much needed increases to two necessary social assistance benefits.
Before I get into specific details about our proposed business plan, I would like to take this opportunity to outline the changes to the layout of our business plan and main estimates.
After last year’s appearance before the standing committee and Committee of the Whole, the department heard concerns about the format and lack of consistency between these two documents.
Mr. Chairman, we have listened to your recommendations and at the request of the Members of the Legislative Assembly, we have changed the business plan to reflect the layout of the main estimates.
As such, we have restructured the lines of business in the business plan to more closely mirror the organization of the department.
You will note that we have split the regional and headquarters operations into separate lines of business. For instance, kindergarten to grade 12 programs have been separated into school operations and curriculum and school services. Additionally, the career and early childhood services lines of business have been added, incorporating all of the delivery activities for income support, skills training, early childhood education, and regional administration.
The only changes made were to the order and names of these lines of business in an effort to make them more consistent.
Mr. Chairman, I hope you and your colleagues find this helpful. I look forward to your comments and suggestions about this improvement.
Mr. Chairman, in order to put our plans into action, we have put forward a budget of close to $225 million for the 2011-12 fiscal year.
This is an $18 million increase over last year’s budget.
These increases cover a number of important areas.
The Department of Education has proposed increased funding in the amount of $8.4 million to the operations related to the implementation of the Education Act in the delivery of the kindergarten to grade 12 programs.
Much of these new monies were forecast several years ago during our preparation for the new Education Act.
These funds have been split into several key areas. $7.4 million has been allocated to cover compensation and benefits for teaching and support positions in our schools.
This money will ensure we realize the student-educator ratio that is better than the national average, as promised in the Education Act.
We value Nunavut’s educators and realize the success of our students is dependent on them.
Without qualified and passionate educators, our system cannot reach its full potential.
I want to stress my gratitude to our teachers and reiterate Nunavut’s great thanks for their hard work and encouragement to our students.
Mr. Chairman, the successful implementation of Nunavut’s Education Act will take several years and requires the dedication and enthusiasm of many people.
Work continues as we develop regulations and implement the mandatory areas for this upcoming year.
This proactive and connected participation will make all the difference in ensuring the success of Nunavut’s Education Act.
I would like to thank all of our partners for their participation and hard work in making our unique and innovative education system a reality.
As such, $500,000 has been budgeted for this fiscal year to further support implementation of the Act in 2011-12.
These monies include salaries and operations and maintenance funds for the Education Act coordinator to provide programs and training as well as in-servicing for our school administrators and district education authorities.
Additional funds will help guide the flow of information between the department and our hard-working district education authorities.
We are also supporting a student support services position to help coordinate assistance for our students to ensure their success.
We have also asked for $417,000 for the development of an early childhood education curriculum and resources.
The Department of Education and the Government of Nunavut realize this area of education is critical in instilling a lifelong love of learning.
Fostering the abilities and talents of our youngest citizens is an investment in the educational success of Nunavut’s future.
Developing learning resources and creating a common standard of learning for early learners across the territory will certainly help bridge the gap between early child care and kindergarten.
The department’s Curriculum and School Services Branch will head this new initiative in order to ensure consistency and common learning goals between these two groups of learners.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Education, in partnership with Nunavut Arctic College, provides educator training across Nunavut.
An increase of $330,000 in this upcoming fiscal year has been allocated to support the development and delivery of educator training programs in communities throughout the territory.
This training is crucial to successful outcomes in the government’s Inuit Employment Plan, Article 23 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, and our departmental mission to provide bilingual education under both the Education Act and the Inuit Language Protection Act.
In addition, we have proposed funds of $570,000 for staffing our new and expanded schools and to support the important task of inclusive education.
Inclusive education is at the very heart of the Nunavut education system.
It is our government’s intent that all students will receive educational opportunities focused on their individual strengths and needs.
Mr. Chairman, no two students are the same. Thus, we cannot expect their learning patterns and outcomes to fit into the same mould.
Finally, we have assigned just over $3.8 million to increases in school staff substitute wages, of which $1 million of this money will go directly to district education authorities to help cover the costs of their school staff substitute wages.
Mr. Chairman, moving on to the adult learning and post-secondary services side of the department, you will see an increase of almost $2.5 million to the Financial Assistance for Nunavut Students program, or FANS.
As of February 21, 428 students were awarded funding for the 2010-11 school year; 263 students were registered at Nunavut Arctic College, while 165 students were attending institutions in southern Canada.
Having more Nunavut students attending post-secondary educational institutions is fantastic news.
It also means that we must now keep up with demand and budget additional funds to help as many students as possible.
This may signal a need for long-term changes to FANS, and the department is already researching methods to ensure Nunavut students continue to receive fair, accessible, and responsive funding.
Mr. Chairman, the department has worked closely with Nunavut Arctic College for several years in preparation of the opening of the trade training centre late last year. The grand opening and subsequent start of trades programs here in Nunavut is very exciting.
We are continuing this partnership to ensure facilities and equipment meet national requirements and regulations.
The Nunavut Apprenticeship Program provides financial and support services for apprentices in training programs.
This includes encouraging and expanding private sector employer involvement and support.
Now that Nunavummiut have the chance to learn trades skills closer to home, it is important that we invest in and expand this opportunity. This is an essential step in community self-reliance.
Mr. Chairman, our work in helping to reduce poverty and provide social assistance delivery remains a high priority. The Department of Education fully supports the priority of reducing poverty and we are an active member of the Poverty Reduction Working Group led by the Department of Economic Development and Transportation.
The task ahead is daunting but very necessary to the health and well-being of our territory. The department is committed to helping the government reach this Tamapta priority.
Mr. Chairman, we have heard members’ concerns about it being too easy to access and remain on the Income Support Program.
The Department of Education supports self-reliance by encouraging program recipients to pursue employment, education, training, or other opportunities that will help them move toward self-sufficiency and exit the program.
However, the program cannot meet its objective of assisting recipients to be more self-reliant without their full cooperation.
The Income Support Program provides assistance to those who are unable to meet their basic needs as well as their dependants. To this aim, we have proposed a budget increase of $3 million to the food and clothing allowances.
If the budget is approved, the food allowance rates will be increased by 15 percent.
The regular and seasonal clothing allowances will be combined into a single clothing benefit and increased to $50 per person per month.
It has been over five years since the last increases to the food allowances and more than ten years since increases to the clothing allowances.
Mr. Chairman, these initiatives demonstrate our commitment to Tamapta and ensuring that Nunavummiut basic needs are met.
Therefore, the importance of these proposed increases cannot be understated.
Increases to these necessary allowances will help improve the quality of life for the most vulnerable individuals and families in Nunavut. Currently almost 90 percent of the total monthly social assistance expenditures are used to provide benefits for food.
Helping Nunavummiut with the resources to meet the basic standard of living that includes a healthy diet is essential, especially for children.
The Department of Education looks forward to continuing our challenging and gratifying work in the months and years ahead.
The framework set out in Tamapta is a solid guide in helping us provide exciting and innovative programs for the success and growth of Nunavummiut.
I am eager to work with the committee and my colleagues to build capacity, enhance training and education opportunities, expand the role of lifelong learning in Nunavut, and help this government reduce poverty in our capable and exceptional territory.
Mr. Chairman, I am happy to respond to any questions that the committee members may have.
For the record, Minister Tootoo, please introduce your witnesses.
It gives me great pleasure to introduce my witnesses who are here with me today.
To my left is Ms. Kathy Okpik, she’s the Deputy Minister for the Department of Education, and to my right is Mr. David Pealow, he’s the Controller of School Operations.
Chairman: Thank you, Minister Tootoo and your officials. (interpretation) Welcome. (interpretation ends) Does the Chair of the Standing Committee on Social Wellness have comments?
As the Chair of the Standing Committee on Social Wellness, I am pleased to make opening comments as we begin deliberations on the proposed 2011-12 budget of the Department of Education.
Mr. Chairman, before we begin, I would like to acknowledge the willingness of the minister and his officials to restructure the format of the budget documents that we have before us today.
Under the revised format, the information provided in the business plan more closely corresponds to the structure of the main estimates and to the organization of the department itself.
This new and improved format allows us to proceed through the documents much more smoothly than previously.
Members of the Legislative Assembly appreciate the minister’s willingness to work together on improving the budget review process.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Education’s proposed 2011-12 operations and maintenance budget is $224.8 million, which is an increase of just over $18 million from its 2010-11 operations and maintenance budget.
While planned spending appears to increase across all branches of the department, the standing committee notes a considerable increase in compensation and benefits funding.
Members recognize that the implementation of the Education Act has required additional staffing as new positions are added to the department, such as school community counsellors, language and cultural instructors, and elders as instructors in the classroom. The total number of positions in the department is projected to increase by approximately 65 PYs from 2010-11.
In addition, the standing committee notes that a new collective agreement between the government and the Nunavut Teachers Association has recently been negotiated.
Committee members continue to encourage the minister to work with his colleague, the Minister responsible for Nunavut Arctic College, to encourage more Nunavut teachers to become qualified to work at all levels of the school system.
Mr. Chairman, as we review the Department of Education’s proposed operations and maintenance budget for 2011-12, committee members note that a number of expectations placed on community-based district education authorities may take somewhat longer to be implemented than anticipated.
The standing committee encourages the minister and his staff to continue providing the necessary support, resources, and training to DEAs in order that they may fulfill their obligations.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Education’s Kindergarten to Grade 12 School Operations Division and the various programs that support the delivery of kindergarten to grade 12 schooling in Nunavut are critical to ensuring that our young residents are able to participate in Nunavut’s future economy. A basic level of education is necessary to ensure that our youth will be able to access and take advantage of new opportunities.
Mr. Chairman, the standing committee will be closely monitoring the results of the department’s assessment and evaluation initiatives.
Members have previously expressed concerns regarding the standards of educational achievement earned by Nunavut high school graduates compared to graduates from other jurisdictions across Canada.
Regular assessments of students at various stages throughout their school years would also help to highlight where curriculum objectives are not being met and whether the necessary skills and competencies are being achieved by students.
The standing committee has noted that section 126 of the new Education Act requires that an annual report on the “education system in Nunavut” be produced and tabled in this House. The first such report is expected in 2011.
Committee members anticipate that the report will contain useful information for measuring the success of our education system.
The standing committee recognizes that the department is in the stages to developing an overarching student information system which will include data from student records as well as enrolment and attendance data.
The committee fully supports the implementation of a standardized tracking system across all of Nunavut’s schools as this will allow for improved trend evaluations in such areas as attendance, truancy and achievement levels.
Members anticipate that the information in the report will also address the need for additional dropout prevention strategies, such as the Young Men’s Engagement Project and others.
Committee members urge the Minister of Education to continue working 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 were very pleased to learn that budget increases to the department’s Financial Aid for Nunavut Students (FANS) program is partly due to an increase in the number of students being supported in their post-secondary studies and training programs.
Increases to apprenticeship and on-the-job training programs are also well-received.
Mr. Chairman, the standing committee notes that the department does not plan to increase funding for early childhood education in 2011-12.
Committee members will be interested in the department’s progress towards reviewing its Child Day Care Act.
Members have suggested that the department also consider supporting communities in their efforts to open new facilities.
While initiatives in the areas of programming and training are important, they cannot be accessed if communities lack the space to deliver programs to start with.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Education has the responsibility for delivering income support programs, which are directed towards assisting families and adult individuals to meet their basic needs. While the Social Assistance Program is intended as a program of last resort, demands in this area continue to be very high.
The government’s most recent report on grants and contributions notes that $28.3 million was distributed to social assistance recipients in 2009-2010.
The department’s business plan indicates that changes to the Social Assistance Act regulations will be implemented in April 2011.
Given the ongoing rise in the already high costs of living across the North, increases in this area will be very much welcomed.
Committee members have noted that the manner of distributing income support benefits differ from community to community and occasionally are used in a manner for which they were not intended.
Committee members stand ready to support the minister in his efforts to work with communities to reduce levels of dependence and build self-reliance.
The standing committee notes that the case management system will be piloted in Iqaluit and looks forward to it being successfully rolled out across all of Nunavut’s communities in due course. Once the system is operational across the territory, this will allow better monitoring of income support trends.
Individual members may also have questions and comments as we proceed. (interpretation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I suggest to members that wherever possible you ask your detailed discussions during the page-by-page review of the departmental estimates. Do members have any general comments?
On page 3 of the minister’s opening comments, he said there’s $7.4 million that has been allocated to cover compensation and benefits to teachers and support positions in our schools, and he went on to talk about student-educator ratios.
What is the current student to teacher ratio in our schools today?
It’s my understanding that the ratio is 15:1 right now, but I just want to make it clear that it’s a territory-wide ratio; it’s not a school-by-school ratio.
With this funding, what are you hoping the ratio would be?
What kind of decrease are you hoping to get from this ratio with the new funding?
According to the Education Act, we had committed that our student-educator ratio would be better than the national average. Right now, the national average is currently at 14:2.
We’re hoping that with this additional funding, it will bring us to 14:1 for a ratio across the territory.
On page 5 of your opening comments, you talked about the FANS and 428 students were awarded funds in 2010-11, 263 through Arctic College and 165 in southern Canada.
Compared to previous years, what are these numbers like? Is it fairly constant or are the numbers increasing?
We are seeing a big increase in the numbers.
Just to give you an idea for enrolment statistics that we’ve had, in 2007-08, it was 344; in 2008-09, it was 376; in 2009-2010, it was 525; and so far this year, as of February 21, there have been 428.
I know that’s your total enrolment, but in particular your southern enrolment, how much has that increased over the years?
I don’t have that breakdown with me right now.
The information we have is just on the overall enrolment in FANS and we have information broken down by region, but we don’t have it broken down between students going in Nunavut over the years or to southern jurisdictions.
I would be more than happy to provide that information to the member.
On page 6 of your opening comments, you talked about income support and in particular, single clothing benefits, an increase of $50 per person per month.
What was the rate before this new budget?
Before this budget, once this budget is approved, like I said, it will go to $50 a month and that will jump up from $36.66 per month.
Again it states $50 per month.
Will families have the opportunity to take the whole year in a lump sum in order to buy the more expensive winter clothing that children need?
Yes, Mr. Chairman, individual clients have the option. Some of them can choose to take it monthly.
What usually happens is they usually opt to take it twice a year so that they can get their winter clothing in the fall and get a big chunk there and their summer clothing in the springtime.
Usually it’s something that clients are asking to let the funding build up and get it twice a year.
Again I would like to remind the members if they have any general comments.
On page 4 of the hon. minister’s opening remarks, second paragraph, first sentence, I read and I quote, “We have also asked for $417,000 for the development of early childhood education curriculum and resources.”
I would imagine this is in regard to learning materials, such as books. That’s my question.
That $417,000 in early childhood training is money for training that will support the district education authorities with new early childhood education programming.
This money has nothing to do with developing books.
I’m thinking about Inuktitut and all of that stuff.
Yes, it’s also available for development of resources as well.
The reason I say that is because one day in the future, we want to be able to have the Inuktitut language as a working language. That’s only a comment.
I take that just as a comment.