R.J. Simpson: Office of the Auditor General Report on Education System

Check Against Delivery

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Report of the Office of the Auditor General of Canada was tabled on the audit of Early Childhood and the Kindergarten to Grade 12 education system in the Northwest Territories. The Report focused on five areas: Inclusive schooling; Indigenous language and culture-based education; equitable access to quality education; programming, staff qualifications, and training in licensed early childhood programs; and how these areas worked to support student outcomes.

The tabling of this report is timely, falling at the beginning of a new Legislative Assembly that has made it a priority to increase education outcomes to the same level as the rest of Canada. The recommendations from the Office of the Auditor General align with the areas where we have already begun to make changes, or are planning to invest more resources and improve programming and we have accepted their recommendations.

While we are making some headway and seeing promising results with programs like Northern Distance Learning, small communities remain in need of greater support.

One of our highest priorities over the life of this government is to ensure equitable education delivery in all communities across the territory. We will be increasing our efforts to address the achievement gap among small communities and Yellowknife, and between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students to ensure that our education system is on par with the rest of Canada.

Mr. Speaker, later today the Department is holding a technical briefing on the five-year evaluation of the Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education Renewal and Innovation Framework.

As with the Auditor General’s report, this evaluation provides us important information on where select programs are working, where they need to improve, and whether they should be restructured to meet the needs of students.

We expect to table our management response in the coming weeks to incorporate the recommendations of the Auditor General and the findings of the Education Renewal and Innovation Evaluation. A renewed Education Renewal Innovation action plan will follow later this year.

Mr. Speaker, we all know that education is a cornerstone for a healthy and successful life. However, we can only be successful through the work of many partners, and education is only one of the building blocks.  We will continue to work across departments and with Indigenous governments, parents, students, and with our education and community partners, to ensure we close the gaps to improve student outcomes, and provide youth with our best efforts for the future they deserve.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.