Bob Bromley

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We hear increasing concerns from parents, teachers and education professionals regarding ECE’s plan to implement a free kindergarten curriculum that many feel is inappropriate for the NWT. The curriculum, apparently a blend of kindergarten, pre-kindergarten and early grades, not only lacks benefits for four-year-olds, it may even be harmful to some aspects of child development.

The fact that our smaller communities recognize that go slow approach is required, means that we have some opportunity to get it right before irreversible damage is done. We must get professional...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. When the absence of required annual reports are not noted and profiled, then I think there’s obviously the need for this motion. I’ll be supporting it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just quickly, and this is a little bit of what I was referring to. While I support the need for five- and 10-year measurable targets, in fact we need one-year targets and I’m hoping I’ll be seeing those as we go through the motions here and that the Minister will, in fact, recognize the need for that during the life of this Assembly, what are we going to get done approach. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also appreciate the Members bringing this forward. I believe that, actually, for a relatively small number of people there should be some consideration for compensation here. Unfortunately, the ask as stated refers to all those who escort, and I think quite a number of Members and certainly I had reservations about it being that broad. Nevertheless, there is undoubtedly an issue here for those family members and especially the breadwinners that must take time off, as we’ve heard from others, for extended leave to escort and accompany family members or unilingual...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said, their input has been ignored. They’ve put in requests to meet with the Minister – this has been going on for years now, this JK idea – and somehow the Minister has not found time to meet with this group. What does that say?

ECE seems to require bachelor’s degrees in NWT schools and they are now adding Junior Kindergarten where a teaching degree is not the standard. In fact, we’re looking for early childhood education expertise.

Will the Minister’s rule of bachelor degrees only block participation of professionals with a three-year diploma in early childhood...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’ll probably be delayed on the answer, but if it could be done during this session so the public is informed, that would be appreciated. Thanks for that commitment.

Work is needed, definitely needed. It’s a situation that we want to get resolved, and work is underway, but there is also the need for oversight to make sure it’s being done in the way that everybody has agreed upon.

Is the delay being done on purpose to delay public oversight? Thank you.

We often hear complaints about delays in process and so on, but really fundamentally most of the delays are because things end up on Ministers’ desks without resolution.

Could I ask why the delay? We’ve agreed upon it. Everybody has agreed upon it. Work is going ahead without being done under the conditions of the environmental assessment that everybody has agreed on. Why the delay?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our judicial system treats adults with FASD as though they are responsible for their decisions and have a full capacity for that responsibility punishing them instead of offering treatment or alternative ways of dealing with it, and thus, our jails are full of adults with FASD who circulate through this costly system without resolution. A wellness court announced for this fall that partnership between Health and Social Services and Justice is a positive step and is needed as soon as possible.

Is there any capacity within Health and Social Services and the courts to...

That was my understanding as well. Today diagnosis of children with FASD is routine, but diagnosis of adults who were not assessed at young ages is a problem and many adults remain undiagnosed. They find themselves abandoned by the system, in trouble, in hospital or homeless and unaware of programs that might help. They don’t have the ability to function in a society that seems uncaring and stacked against them.

What treatment options and support services are in place to identify and help adults who have FASD? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since the new bypass around Giant Mine has opened, there are now barriers and gates across the old highway that passes through the contaminated mine site. The public no longer has access to the site but they still have questions.

When the City of Yellowknife referred the stabilization plan for an environmental assessment, the federal proponents complained that this would result in long delays. They said that any delay would be dangerous. Yet their recommendations were released almost a year ago and we are still waiting for the responsible Ministers to complete the...