Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. We have to look at the whole system to see what we have, and I am sure we do have some information and we will have to gather that information and we will share with the Members. Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, we don’t allocate funding for infrastructure-wise or renovation but we do provide funding for operation costs, programming and also parts of a mortgage and rents of the establishments in the communities. This is an area that we haven’t really explored, but we do provide funding in other sources. Mahsi.

Mr. Chairman, we do have a program in place. The funding is available to those individual organizations that want to either have an establishment, but it is based on an application basis. Those individuals wishing to set up or already operating, seek funds, then we do have funding available for that. Mahsi.

We’ll provide the information since we started that programming through the NWT Arts Council. We’ll provide that detail. Mahsi.

We are working towards that, as I stated. We’re going to gather information. We may be looking at $60 million to $80 million, which we don’t have right now. We need to explore options. The Member is asking a specific question to the Minister. I have to support my existing campuses that we have currently as we move forward. We’re going to see how it looks at that time.

Mr. Chairman, this is a very important area for our department. It is one of the priorities to revitalize our official languages more specifically on the Aboriginal languages. We have nine Aboriginal languages in the Northwest Territories. That is the very reason why we have initiated this Aboriginal Languages Strategy. The session that we’ve had last year, March and April, the whole purpose was to capture and also revitalize our Aboriginal languages. I totally agree with the Member; there are recommendations brought to our attention and tabled in the House here. We are currently working on...

I definitely acknowledge that. Any group or organization that kick-starts fundraising or other initiatives, that’s always something that we want to work with as a department, as the GNWT. If there are matching funds that the Member is alluding to, those are the areas that we need to explore. Again, I’m willing to work with that.

We don’t have specific funding for playground equipment that the Member is referring to for replacement of, but I did commit in this House that I’m willing to work with the parents group and the fundraising that they’re initiating to see what we can do as a department. I’m willing to work with that DEA member and also the parents group. That will be my commitment.

Mr. Speaker, through this early childhood programming, we provide funding for programming. Not only that, but a portion of mortgage and also rental expenses for providers that operate on the premises and also Early Childhood Program that consists of start-up and operation costs. Those are the funds that we provide currently through the ECE department. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, those are areas that we need to identify within a community. There are other reviews that have been undertaken as well. They could capture that. It may have captured it in the past or not, but child daycare standards regulations does come early this year or next year. Also, the Member is referring to a temporary placement. Those are the areas that my department, ECE, needs to work with the DEA and also the Member identifying those matters at hand. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.