Wendy Bisaro

Thanks to the Minister for that. It gives me some comfort, but I am concerned that we are seemingly taking on more and more expenditures and basically just saying, well, that’s fine, we can borrow the money. I can say that I’m not sure if you’re considering everything and, you know, do we really have to go this much into short-term debt. But I do have faith in the Department of Finance and I do have faith in the Minister, so to ask that question, I’m going to get a rhetorical answer. So I will say it out loud but not expect an answer.

If we pass this bill it will then increase our limit to $300...

Thank you, Madam Chair. We wish to consider Bill 43 and then Tabled Document 188-17(5), Northwest Territories Main Estimates 2015-2016, continuing with Environment and Natural Resources and, time permitting, Municipal and Community Affairs and Department of Lands. Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister. This has been a very, very long time coming. We are four years now, well, not quite four years, but we’re three and a half years anyway from when the commitment was made. This was supposed to be completed in 2013. We’re now in 2015.

I’d like to know from the Minister why has it taken so long for this to get started, because I gather it hasn’t even yet started.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have some questions today for the Minister of Transportation. About a year ago I asked the Minister of Transportation some questions and they were based on a commitment from the previous Minister of Transportation, a commitment he made in December of 2011, and I need to ask those questions again. The questions are around the review or analysis or a comprehensive review of the Deh Cho Bridge.

My first question to the Minister is: What is the status of the review, the analysis, the comprehensive investigation of the bridge project?

Thanks, Mr. Chair. That was my last question, but I have to comment that if we think that remediating the environmental liabilities sites is important, then I would urge the department to request funding to make sure it gets done.

Thank you, Madam Chair. We wish to continue with Tabled Document 188-17(5), Northwest Territories Main Estimates 2015-2016. We want to continue with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and, time permitting, Municipal and Community Affairs and the Department of Lands. Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister for the information on that completion date. I guess since the daycare operators, day home operators were advised that this would be done in October and now the Minister has just said it’s going to be completed in March, I’d like to know why there was a delay. I would also like to know from the Minister if he can provide me with a list of the daycare and day home operators who have been contacted for input into the review.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, and I want to follow up on my statement and talk a little bit about daycare and subsidies and funding for daycares.

Late last fall the Department of Education undertook a review of the Early Childhood Program, and they advised licenced daycares and day homes last August that they would be undertaking this review and that they would want to get these day homes and daycares involved.

I’d like to ask the Minister right now… Sorry, the review was to be completed in October. So, I’d like to ask the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s Education Week, so it’s very timely to have a theme day today on education.

The Department of Education, Culture and Employment is currently pursuing many initiatives. Education Renewal and Early Childhood Development, ECD, are just two of them. ECD generally encompasses the education and care provided for two- to four-year-olds. In the NWT it means licenced daycares, preschools, junior kindergarten and the Aboriginal Head Start program. Using that definition, about 70 percent of NWT two- to four-year-olds attend an Early Childhood Development Program.

That’s pretty...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am hearing from residents that are involved in day homes and daycares that I don’t think they’ve heard from the department to provide input into this review.

I would again ask the Minister if he would commit to provide me at a later date a list of the people that have been contacted to provide input into the early childhood program review.