Wendy Bisaro

I didn’t really hear an answer there so I will try again. My understanding is that, for instance, the two school districts in Yellowknife, Yellowknife Education District No. 1 and Yellowknife Catholic Schools will lose funding to provide junior kindergarten in 29 communities and they will not get kindergarten in the ’14-15 year.

My question to the Minister is: Does he consider it fair that the larger centres, four communities, will give up some funding with no return in ’14-15?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday a banner was unfurled at Yellowknife Education District No. 1, a banner celebrating 2014 as the anniversary of 75 years of Educating for Life. Seventy-five years ago, on January 30, 1939, the original little log cabin schoolhouse now on Franklin Avenue in downtown YK was opened as the first school in Yellowknife. Eighteen students aged from six to 15 years attended classes under the guidance of Mr. Davies, their temporary teacher. A month later Ms. Mildred Hall arrived, the first permanent teacher for Yellowknife.

Life in Yellowknife was very basic in those...

Thank you, Madam Chair. We wish to conclude general comments on the budget and start with opening comments on the Department of Human Resources. Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister. So I need to ask the Minister now then, what will be the pupil-teacher ratio for grades 10 to 12, what will be the PTR for elementary, what will be the PTR for primary in the budget year ‘14-15 coming up? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to follow up with the Minister of Education and ask a few more questions with regards to the funding for junior kindergarten and the written response, or the response to the written question.

I asked the Minister when the boards, the board chairs, the superintendents had been advised of the reductions in their funding for the ‘14-15 year. I don’t believe I heard an answer.

I would like to ask again, to the Minister, I appreciate that the boards and the chairs and the superintendents have been involved all along, but when were they advised of the reduction in...

I find it interesting that the Minister twice in the last couple of days has referenced 10 communities without daycares and in the same breath that he’s talking about junior kindergarten, so I’m wondering if he’s equating daycare and junior kindergarten. I hope it’s not so.

I’m trying to understand the numbers in the answer that the Minister gave me to my written question. There are two high schools in Yellowknife. One is Sir John Franklin and the other is St. Pats. Sir John in YK No. 1 is the bigger high school but Yellowknife Catholic Schools will see a much bigger reduction in their funding...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Education. I’d like to ask him a couple of questions with regard to his Response to Written Question 6-17(5), with regard to the explanation of funding and reallocation of funding for junior kindergarten.

In 2014-15, $1.8 million will be reallocated from education authorities, and I take it from the Minister’s response that this is from all authorities, even from those four authorities who will not get junior kindergarten in 2014-15.

I would like to ask the Minister if he would please confirm that my understanding is correct...

It gets more confusing every time the Minister answers a question, I think.

The Minister says that the money will not flow until ‘15, late ‘15 or early ‘16. I understand that, but if that’s the case, then the money is not flowing in until that same time, yet we are recording money flowing in in ‘14-15, so why are we not recording the money flowing out in ‘14-15? I’m not talking about the actual cash transaction; I am talking about the records on the books. We’re not going to get the cash until ‘15-16, so why are we recording it in ‘14-15? Thank you.

Currently, I don’t believe we have anything which states that there will be any kind of an annual reporting mechanism, and that also needs to be in legislation.

The last one is to continue citizen engagement to ensure the public support and the long-term viability and success of the Heritage Fund. It’s very important that the public understands and supports what we’re trying to do with the Heritage Fund, that we’re trying to save for the future, that we’re trying to ensure that we have revenues in the future when our resource revenues are gone. The fund belongs to the residents of the NWT, and...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We would like to consider Bill 6, An Act to Amend the Medical Care Act; and Tabled Document 22-17(5), Northwest Territories Main Estimates, with conclusion of general comments. Thank you.