Jackson Lafferty

I did make a commitment. It may be soft but, as I indicated, my department will work closely with the DEA. I understand there’s been some correspondence on the playground equipment, the cost of it. The Member has alluded to $60,000 for the playground. That’s the number that we need to work with. How much the fundraising initiative of the parents group will be initiating still remains to be seen, but as I made the commitment, let’s work with this and work with the community of Fort Simpson to see what will come out of it.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. First let me commend the parent group for their tireless efforts in fundraising. This will definitely go a long way. As I stated when I was visiting Fort Simpson, I’m willing to work with the parents and willing to work with the DEA. There has been some correspondence between MLA Menicoche, myself and the DEA that we need to collaborate together. Working with the parent group, I must say that they are kick-starting this fundraising initiative and I’m willing to work with that.

Mr. Speaker, I will commit to working with the Member and also the DEA. At the same time, there is the Early Childhood Program for start-up and also contribution funding that is available to those individual organizations. We need to deal with the matter, the detailed information that the Member is referring to. If I can get that information, I am willing to work with that and also with the DEA through my department. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. There is funding allocated to the communities that have early childhood programs or daycares. There is funding such as funding for equipment and material purchases that the Member may have alluded to in that area, and also funding for other areas such as mortgage expense or rental expense on the premises that are not owned by the GNWT, but I need to work with the Member on the specifics on that particular situation in his community. We also need to work with the local DEA, as well, as we move forward on this particular matter. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. That $272,000 that was earmarked for 2010-2011 and funding from Human Resource and Social Development of Canada, the federal funding to support early childhood programming is due to sunset March 31, 2011. So it was the federal funding.

Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. I have with me Dan Daniels, the deputy minister of ECE; and Paul Devitt, director of strategic and business services. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to present the 2011-2012 main estimates for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment.

The work of the department is guided by the priorities of the 16th Assembly, specifically healthy educated people in a diversified economy that provides all communities and regions with opportunities and choices.

The proposed 2011-2012 main estimates for Education, Culture and Employment total $285.895 million. This is an increase of 4.9 percent over previous year's main estimates.

Ensuring the success of all children and students is a cornerstone of our education...

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.