Julie Green

Yes, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I am highly unhappy that we are being asked to authorize an expenditure for which we do not have a plan, despite the fact that a bilateral agreement has been signed. The Minister has been holding out on us in sharing this information, and now we know why. The spending that he contemplates does not further the mandate objective, and doesn't do anything about availability or affordability of childcare. So now that we have this information in public, I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment tomorrow. In the meantime, I would like to...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, it's my understanding that there are three new positions, and obviously they wouldn't be worth $2 million, so what is the balance of this fund being used for? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, it's my understanding that the school was anyway fairly full and then, once there were 50 or 60 junior kindergarten students added to that, then it was untenable. One of the good things about our system of government is that we can do supplementary appropriation of this kind and be a little more nimble in response to the school's needs rather than having to wait until the fall to the next capital plan, which then of course wouldn't come into effect until a year from now. Those are my comments. Nothing further. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Thursday, March 15, 2018, I will move the following motion: I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Great Slave, that, notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on March 15, 2018, it shall be adjourned until Thursday, May 24, 2018; and further, that at any time prior to May 24, 2018, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may give notice and thereupon the House...

I will answer to that also. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the answer. It sounds like there was very poor communication that happened between the Town of Norman Wells, its personnel, and the department, and so on. Are there some lessons learned there?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the detail the Minister was able to provide in his answer. I guess my last question is about the funding for early childhood development initiatives. I understand that there is money from Canada coming for early childhood development. Could the Minister talk about how that is going to be spent? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can Mr. Stewart or another of the witnesses tell me what kind of accountability they have specifically for AVENS, if, in fact, they know? Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister for that response. Student achievement is one measure of this program, but I also have questions about value for money. I am wondering if there are other measures that the Minister is going to consider for junior kindergarten.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I understand what he said about increasing funding so that they can meet their obligations under their collective agreement. They have been at or near a deficit for a number of years. Will this funding amount make any difference to that situation? Thank you.

Thank you, colleagues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What parents don't have is as much choice in programming for their four-year-olds. JK is rapidly becoming the only option. I'm also concerned that it may be using up resources that used to be ear-marked for early childhood development programs for children up to three years old. I'll have questions for the Minister. Mahsi.