Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Clearly, junior kindergarten is optional to the parents. It’s up to the parents to choose where their kids should be going. Obviously, we support the preschoolers who are out there in the communities such as Hay River, Yellowknife and other communities. We continue to support that. We provide funding through various programs we have within ECE and the Health department and other areas and we continue to sponsor those.

This is just an enhancement for the preschoolers who are out there and it is an option for the parents. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Madam Chair. This particular motion that’s before us has been debated for a number of years now.

[Translation] This bill is very important and it’s been very, very… We’ve been talking about it since 2005 until now, and especially since I’ve been elected we’ve been in discussions about it twice. We also wanted an extra MLA for the Tlicho region. In 2013 they wanted 19, 20 and 21. They also went to Rae region to ask the people and a lot of people attended the meeting at that time. So the Tlicho citizens want an extra MLA in their region and the elders have also requested that. In the...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that Bill 25, An Act to Amend the Education Act, be read for the first time. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi. That is part of our discussion we’re having now. As I’ve stated in the House, an action plan will be coming by this spring, late spring and it will be delivered to the Standing Committee for their input as well. So that is the process that we’re going through and yes, I will be informing the standing committee. Mahsi.

Mahsi. Student Financial Assistance supports the students that need financial assistance going back to university or college. There are subsidy programs through ECE, Education, Culture and Employment that do offset the cost of child care programming because we have to support those students. We want them to succeed and come back to our communities to obviously develop professional backgrounds, so to become a professional.

It may not be covered through SFA, but there are other subsidies within ECE that will offset the cost of daycare. Mahsi.

Mahsi. That’s the whole idea of what we’re doing in our department. I just met with my senior staff last week because we talk about the planning, the rolling out of the program of junior kindergarten and how we can work with the preschoolers, how we can work with the Head Start programming. So those are just some of the discussions we’ve been having.

Mr. Bromley also raised that issue last week, I believe it was. Since that time, we’ve been discussing this particular area, how can we improve our communication, our working dialogue with operators. So those are discussions we’ve been having. We...

I did already commit that last week to Member Bouchard, so I’ll definitely provide that detailed information to the Member.

As I stated earlier, Hay River Commission and the YK No. 1 have all stated no to the school swap at this point, and I realize that YK No. 1 is still engaging, but March 24th has been a deadline because we still have to go through the appeal process and it is before us and that’s the next couple of weeks. What I’ll be presenting to the Cabinet colleagues will be what’s going to be happening for the next step, and it’s still to be seen. Those are the discussions that we need to have as a government. As part of the capital planning process, what should the next step be?

I can’t really speak to that at this point because we still have to make a decision to move forward on this particular subject. At the same time, there is an appeal process that’s happening as well. All those will come into play, but the specifics of the capital infrastructure, the discussion will be brought to the Cabinet colleagues and then we will let the Members know what will be the next phase of the approach.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Initially the department has had an exploratory discussion with the Hay River District Education Authority, the Yellowknife Education District No. 1 and also Commission scolaire francophone to determine whether or not alternatives to the court order could be found in both communities.

These are the discussions that we’ve been having with both communities and the government has a responsibility to work with its partners to ensure that school facilities are used in the most cost effective and efficient way. The discussions we’ve been having since September until this last...