Rylund Johnson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment on the rollout of our childcare subsidies.

My understanding is that in order for childcare providers to sign on to an agreement, they have to agree to a 2.3 percent cap on a fee increase.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I recognize that if the goal is to get to $10 day, $10 a day childcare, clearly, our agreements are going to have to put a cap on how much fees can be raised. But I think in a year with record inflation, starting our negotiations at 2.3 percent is putting some day homes in a very difficult position...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have been critical about statutory reviews in the past but I think if there was one that was, you know, an obvious contender for this committee to choose, even though they had to do it, would be the Child and Family Services Act.

We've had two rather damning Auditor General reports in this area. And those reports speak to how the department is implementing policies. They don't necessarily speak to whether those are the correct policies and the Auditor General is not in and of itself there to focus on prevention. And I think this committee made the right choice in...

One moment, Mr. Speaker.

Oh, Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Member for Thebacha that Committee Report 27-19(2): Special Committee on the Reconciliation and Indigenous Affairs Interim Report: What We Heard about the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Negotiating Agreements be received by the Assembly and referred to Committee of the Whole.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your Special Committee on Reconciliation and Indigenous Affairs is pleased to provide its Interim Report: What we Heard about the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Negotiating Agreements, and commends it to the House.

Mr. Speaker, the chair of the committee, the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, has asked me to read the executive summary today. But I would like to thank her, and all the members of this committee, for their work.

On October 29, 2020, the Legislative Assembly unanimously passed Motion 21-19(2) to establish a Special Committee on...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess I'm looking for a bit more of a commitment on from the Minister and when he says they're happy to have that conversation. I know the 20, 30 percent number can be complicated. In some cases, it's day homes who haven't raised fees in years, and so they're well below their competitors. And in other cases, I'm hearing from, you know, daycares who recently decided to give their staff a living wage, something that we are hoping to roll out in the coming years with the pay grid, but now they're essentially they're taking the step themselves, and they're ahead...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our government is setting itself on a path to implement universal childcare in the next five years in this territory, and we all know how massive of a task that is. It involves hundreds of new spaces. It involves millions of dollars. However, Mr. Speaker, I have to I note there will be some growing pains but we have to ensure that in those growing pains, we don't leave anyone behind.

Mr. Speaker, the other day in this House the Minister said they have different motivations when speaking to the difference to describe day home operators as moneymaking businesses as...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. One of the conversations I had early on about a polytechnic was that in Yellowknife, it doesn't necessarily need to be Aurora College. I think if you took Dechinta, the Mine Training Society, College Nordique, the Centre for Circumpolar Health, and the millions of dollars that Laurier and other universities spend here, and you put them all together, you would have a university without doing anything essentially, just, you know, colocating groups who are already doing extensive research. So I just wonder if the Minister could update any conversations he's had with those...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess sometimes there's examples in here where it's unclear what's happening. We supposedly are supposed to put the environmental assessment and the regulatory process for the Mackenzie Valley Highway in for fall 2023, and it says here preliminary desktop fieldwork and community engagement has advanced; there's some planning underway. I'm just wondering whether we believe we are on target for fall of 2023 making a submission for the Mackenzie or the Slave Geologic sorry, I have these well, I guess I want to know both of these.

The Mackenzie Valley Highway is fall 2023...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. One of the goals here is to refine the funding model to ensure continued fairness and transparency. And I know this work is, you know, actually on track, and I'm happy to hear that but I find it a little ridiculous that we're going to ensure transparency when the department refuses to publish how much we actually give specific communities. So there's no way for anyone to know whether their community is overfunded or underfunded. And I know the Minister of MACA has refused to answer that question. So my question is once we are done and we have a new funding formula, will...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I see here that the NWT Council of Leaders has a working group, and we're working on legislation to implement UNDRIP. I guess the big question there is do we expect does the Premier expect to introduce UNDRIP implementation legislation in the life of this Assembly? Thank you.