Kieron Testart

I am going to take that as a yes, Mr. Speaker. So thank you for that to the Minister, and I hope she communicates that to day homes soon because they're still unaware of that change.

Mr. Speaker, the work of day home providers is different from daycare centre providers. Their wage grid does not take into account longevity of service provided in the North, education, or Indigenous knowledge. Will the Minister update the wage subsidy for day home providers so it reaches parity with daycare centre providers so we're not playing on two different playing fields.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When Prime Minister Trudeau introduced $10 a day daycare, early learning and childcare became far more affordable for Canadians and for Northerners. This was a game changer for my family and many others in the NWT. For working parents with young children like me and my wife, affordable daycare isn't a luxury; it's a necessity. Now ECE's role in daycare services has significantly expanded and with it, the Minister's responsibility to ensure her department effectively manages partnerships with both day homes and childcare centres, ensuring subsidies and regulations are...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I see that the engagement notice has gone out as of today, this afternoon, and engagement one, which will take place during October, is around mineral resources administration, drill cores, and removal of minerals. So I'm assuming that's the part of the regulation or the policy intention that would govern online map staking because the other two are benefit agreements and socioeconomic policy to take place in November, and December is the mineral rights review board and transitioning of existing interests. So how about this, then: If we can't get a notional plan to...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Well, I appreciate the sentiments that the work is important and needs to get done quickly, but the estimate completion is still 2027-2028 which puts us into the very end of the term. And, you know, call me a skeptic, but the last time we had a major -- you know, transformative mineral -- or mining initiative was the MRA that we put in in the 18th Assembly in the final year, and still not in force, which is what we're -- why the regulatory piece is still required. So I would be much more comfortable seeing this online map staking and the technology required for it to be...

Thank you. Well, I think about the people who have to process these applications; they must be very overworked. Is the Minister going to bring forward additional staffing resources in the coming year to ensure that there's 20 percent more capacity at SFA? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, turning to SFA again, it occurs to me that we haven't asked that fundamental question: Is this going to happen again in the next intake, or has the Minister fixed this capacity gap? Are we going to have enough capacity to process the applications to ensure there are no more late payments, everyone gets the resources they need on time to succeed at school? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I'm not asking for them to pay the entire cost. I'm asking them to pay for late fees incurred because of departmental holdups because they couldn't process these payments. This is an extraordinary occurrence. Will the Minister take extraordinary action and pay these students for their late fees? It's a very simple question, and it shouldn't be this controversial. We don't need a lot of policy change. Do the right thing; help our students out. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I still think we should have fair compensation for day home operators that are doing the same work; they're just not getting paid the same amount.

Mr. Speaker, currently the age ratios for younger kids is -- needs to be adjusted -- let's just put it that way -- to 18 months and under. If we did that, we'd get more infants into these spaces. Right now, it's really only about the older kids. Will the Minister change the definition for infants to 18 months and younger so we can get more kids into care, get more people back to the workforce after their parental...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, day homes are struggling with stagnant subsidy support from the government to provide $10 a day daycare. One of the things they're asking for is for additional services to be charged back to clients. This is something clients are okay with. It's something that already happens in Alberta and other jurisdictions. Will the Minister permit day homes to charge additional services -- charge for additional services they provide? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, each year Northerners and students head to colleges and universities across Canada where they can proudly tell their peers how the Northwest Territories helps them study without racking up thousands of dollars in student loans thanks to our first-in-class SFA program. At a time when higher education costs are rising, that kind of assistance is truly unique and has become a covenant of growing up in the NWT. Unfortunately, late this summer, Range Lake constituents began contacting my office for help because their SFA payments were late, and they had received no update. Some feared...