David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I guess it’s quite obvious, given my line of questioning here and my Member’s statement today, that I don’t think we’re doing enough as a government to address the area of day care and the space that’s provided, the training for childcare workers and whatnot, and I’d like to ask the Minister, given the fact that all these problems are evident, can he come up with a research method or some kind of strategy or if he needs more help I think we need to explore all of our options here in this area and I’d like the Minister to commit today to doing that. Thank...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to that taking place and the fallout of what that might be after the discussions take place with the day care providers. Mr. Speaker, the federal government has developed a program that pays each family $100 per month for each child under six. I am wondering what the intent of the Government of the Northwest Territories is to work in conjunction with that federal program to offer how we might augment that program with something we could offer here in the Northwest Territories to parents looking for day care space and some help. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to speak today about day cares and what our government is doing to address the need for more spaces for our children; the inequities that continue to be allowed to exist amongst day care providers, the low number of trained childcare workers, and options that the government should be exploring in addressing the issue.

In February, during our budget session, I asked the Minister of ECE a number of questions regarding the government’s role in addressing the need for more space and the fact that inequities are allowed to exist via charity leases and that some day...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that this committee recommends the Minister responsible for the Workers’ Compensation Board direct the Governance Council to overhaul its reception protocols, security practices and client and public relations functions to provide a more accessible and responsive level of service. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to start off by thanking everybody that was involved in putting this report together. That includes the Workers’ Compensation Board of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut and, as well, the injured workers who were talking to many of us through this whole process, and the Auditor General of Canada who took us by the hand and helped us through this process. I think they are owed a great debt of gratitude. As well, I do want to mention Mr. Braden and his work in the area of helping injured workers. He is a real champion of the cause for injured workers...

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair.

Yes, that is the way this bill is set up, Mr. Braden. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I have Ms. Janis Cooper with the Department of Justice; to my right is Mr. Glen McLean, CEO.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to present Bill 15, Elections and Plebiscites Act, on behalf of the Legislative Assembly’s Board of Management. This bill will combine the current Elections Act and the Plebiscites Act into one act with the core components of each being maintained. The new act allows for a reorganization of the major components of the existing acts, the updating of definitions and language, clarification of some existing provisions, the addition of new provisions to address such matters as campaigning, access to multiple dwelling sites, restricting the use of electoral...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think it gets back to priorities and setting priorities in the government. I could tell the Minister right off the top of my head where $2 million could be easily found, and that’s repatriating the jobs from his department back to the Housing Corporation and scraping the macroeconomic policy shop that’s planned.

But, Mr. Speaker, I wanted to ask the Minister, given the fact that there’s a shortage of trained childcare workers here in the Northwest Territories, what strategy or plans does the Minister have to help us get more trained childcare workers here...