Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’m going to continue on with some questions about daycare from where Mr. Dolynny left off. With regard to the review, it’s going to be completed fairly soon, I gather. The end of the month, I think I heard the DM say. I asked some questions of the Minister, I can’t remember, within the last couple of weeks, in the House about consultation and what consultation was undertaken for this review. I asked the Minister if operators had been consulted, and I think he advised yes. Then I asked who those operators were. Can I get, from the Minister or the department, an indication...

It boggles my mind. I don’t think I’ve heard of any of these except maybe the scholarship program. It makes me wonder why we have a trust fund. But I’ll accept that explanation as it is.

I have a question with regards to the Healthy Food for Children and Youth. I’m glad to see this is in here. I think it’s a program that started in this budget year and is carrying on next year. It states that its contributions to the schools for the purchase of healthy and nutritious food. One of the things that I hear quite regularly is that it’s all well and good to provide funding for food to schools, but it...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a question as to process. If the bill is not ready for tabling in May/June, it then will not be able to go through our process before the Assembly is dissolved and an election takes place. So when the Minister says he’s tabling, maybe he could explain what that means.

What is he tabling and what does that mean in terms of a bill coming forward and actually processing through and getting passed at some point? Thank you.

Thanks to Mr. Lovely. My other question here has to do with the early childhood program, and it’s gone down about $700,000. Could I get an explanation as to why that’s reduced so much and is that $700,000 added in someplace else?

Thanks to the Minister for that long answer, good answer. The Minister mentioned that drafting instructions were given to the legislative drafters. One of the major concerns that I think all of us have with regards to certain patients is that they go off their meds and they create dangerous situations for themselves and for other people, family, public and so on.

I’d like to know from the Minister what was in the drafting instructions that he gave to the legislative drafters that will look at that problem in terms of clients and patients who create dangers for themselves and the public. Thank...

So $400,000 is earmarked in this next budget year for wage top-ups? Is that correct?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. I appreciate that we have health and safety committees, and I’m very glad to hear that employees are taking advantage of the services that are available for them. But I’m talking a bit more about something that is broader. I’m talking about a culture in the workplace. We have tried to promote a culture of safety. I think we also need to promote a culture within the workplace where it’s okay to talk about mental illness and mental health problems. The Minister mentioned a campaign.

I guess I would like to know from the Minister: What are we doing...

Thanks, Madam Chair. A couple of questions on this page. We’re on page 66, right? Thanks. The first one has to do with the Early Child Worker Grant Program, and from 2014-15 to 2015-2016 it’s almost doubled, and I’m wondering what the extra funding is being used for.

Thanks to the Minister. It may be that every employee is allowed 12 sick days per year according to their Collective Agreement, but I’d like to know from the Minister, because the Public Service Annual Report presumably looks at all aspects of our public service, and I would hope that they would also be looking at costs of certain actions of our public service, does the Minister have any idea what the cost is for 12.3 days of absence per employee in a calendar year? Thank you.

I’m really struggling with this. If we take Yellowknife Education District No. 1, for instance, I believe it was $450,000 that they had their budget reduced by last year, and you’re now telling me that they’re going to again get a reduction in the ‘15-16 school year. We’re not increasing the JK Program. The money that was collected from the reductions in the education authorities for the first year of implementation of junior kindergarten, the ‘14-15 school year, that money you already have. It’s in your base now because you’re not giving it out to the education authorities. So why is it that...