Bob McLeod

We have those community liaison officers for that exact purpose, to help people in the communities access benefits that they are entitled to, and we would work with the federal government to make sure that if it is extended that they be provided with the requisite information so that they can assist those former residential school students that would like to take advantage and benefit from these personal credits so that they can maximize their healing.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too have IRS personal credits that I have not had the opportunity to use up, so I would be pleased to call on the federal Minister to extend the time period so that we can maximize the healing required for some residential school students.

I believe the Member is referring to our capital budget. We spend $1.6 billion on programs, so we are spending a lot of money in all of those areas the Member identifies. Thank you.

We are talking about one-time impacts. I will focus on the two Yellowknife school boards. The two boards will have to pay in 2014-15 and 2015-16. These one-time amounts are for 2014-15: YK1, $372,000; YCS will be $277,000; and in 2015-16: YK1, $274,000; YCS will be $525,000; keeping in mind the surpluses that YK1 has of $2.5 million and Yellowknife Catholic School Board has $1.4 million. Assuming the review comes out very positive and assuming in the 18th Assembly the two school boards will decide to go forward, the ongoing impact, as we see it, would be $100,000 for YK1 and $436,000 to YCS...

The funding for the 23 Junior Kindergarten programs for communities will be absorbed by all education authorities through the re-profiling of existing funding, as I indicated in the letter to the standing committee. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I said, we would have to revisit it depending on how many of the 23 communities determine that they will not be continuing with Junior Kindergarten. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to advise this House that the government has listened to the feedback we have received to date from Members about Junior Kindergarten.

In an effort to respond to what Members have told us, while at the same time not wanting to disrupt parents and schools that are in the midst of delivering Junior Kindergarten, we have made the following decision.

Without changing the current funding approach to Junior Kindergarten, it will be completely voluntary for any of the 23 communities now offering Junior Kindergarten to continue with the program this year. If they choose, they...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated in the letter, I said the funding model would remain the same for years one and two, which is 2015-16 and 2016-17. The reason for that is we have 23 communities that have implemented Junior Kindergarten. As the Members have requested that we review that immediately and so we have to determine how many of those will no longer participate in the Junior Kindergarten program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I explained to committee and as the Member will be very pleased to know, all of the members of the Intergovernmental Council are very committed to transparency and all of the intergovernmental leaders have agreed to make meeting outcomes available, and leaders also recognize the need to be open and transparent and available and open to the press, their constituents and their fellow leaders within their governments. As I offered, there are ways around this observer thing. All of the governments have agreed to limit their participation to three members at the council. As I suggested in the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I did bring forward a request from the MLAs to the Intergovernmental Council. I think it’s important to recognize that the Intergovernmental Council is intended to foster improved cooperation and collaboration on land and resource management issues, and each government will continue to represent its own interests and the independent jurisdictions of each government are untouched. So, ultimately, the accountabilities of each government must remain. So on this Intergovernmental Council there’s the Government of the Northwest Territories and at least seven Aboriginal...