Bob Bromley

Thank you, Madam Chair. My constituency includes a First Nation that has not yet resolved their land claim issues and their land claim. I’m wondering why we are discontinuing the Interim Resource Management Assistance Program agreement, about $305,000 the last couple of fiscal years. I know that the Yellowknives Dene certainly valued that program and I’m wondering if I can get an update on what the thinking is there. Perhaps that’s a federal program that was sunsetted or something, but maybe I can get an update on that.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I would just like to maybe ask some questions or respond a little bit to the opening remarks of the Minister. This department has reduced its budget. I am concerned about that. As the Minister knows, and I see he’s referred to it as a 2.6 or $1.8 million reduction. The actual reduction from dollars spent last year was about a $9 million reduction or about 12 or 15 percent. I guess my first question to the Minister would be: Were those additional costs, the ephemeral costs that we don’t expect and what were they?

The Minister is continuing to develop the water programs...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is time for this government to get serious about renewable energy and fully realize the potential to reduce our costs and support our people and businesses in a responsible way. This motion is about just that.

In the absence of real action, energy costs will go on soaring until we get down to it. We now have four years of experience with energy initiatives from the 16th Assembly. We have made many internal gains and learned many lessons about how to be more effective with energy expenditure. Now it is time to fund and apply this knowledge to the full benefit of our...

Thanks for the Minister’s commitment and reminder that he’s already committed. I appreciate that. It is difficult, because obviously schools have to be funded ahead of time as to what they’re doing and so on. So I appreciate that there’s a bit of a need for some advance.

Obviously this has been under discussion before and I’d hoped that some thinking had been done on this, but I’ll look forward to working with the Minister on this and seeing if we can increase our effectiveness, and perhaps with fewer dollars and it being done and tie the funding to real needs in each school. Obviously a...

Mr. Chair, I look forward to that update. Just more general backing off to a bigger picture here, are our educational authorities consistently within budget from year to year? I know, for example, in some of our health authorities there, they are very challenged and they end up with some annual deficits. Could I get a little update on how the education authorities work fiscally? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d prefer to bring that motion forward tomorrow, with your permission. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I note three here that the Yellowknife District No. 1 has been covering for K’alemi Dene School in my community of Ndilo in Weledeh. I know that that community is interested in activating their education authority which they have chosen in the past and they have covered by Yellowknife District No. 1. I would like to get an update from the Minister on whether or not that will be happening this year and where we are at in discussions on that.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Is this the opportunity to speak to the motion?

Just drilling down a little bit, the Seniors Home Heating Subsidy, obviously fuel rates are up quite a bit. I think it’s 54 percent, if I remember the number right – something like that – from 2007. Are there automatic adjustments? I suspect there are in that, but I’m wondering if there are automatic adjustments for those costs. Is it a number of litres as opposed to a value?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our belief in the critical need for action on early childhood development has become well known to this Assembly. It is good to see things getting underway, but we need to start off right.

The basis of ECD is brain and body development which begins before birth and is most critical through to the age of about six to eight. There are two stages. From prenatal to age three, the focus needs to be on establishment of physical and mental health and resilience through development of secure and consistent relationships with caring adults. Programs to support that development...