R.J. Simpson

That is a shame because the lights are most needed when it is dark out, in the winter. It sounds like we are going to have to wait until the spring. In the interim, I know the Minister is the Minister of Public Works. He is the Minister of Transportation. With all the resources of these two departments at his disposal, can the people in Hay River South get some sort of temporary lighting system so that the Super Bs can see our grandparents crossing the highway on the way to the health centre? Can we get some sort of temporary measure in the meantime?

I'll now rise and report progress.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll be following up with the Minister to get some specific numbers for Hay River. Another issue is that in Hay River the buses are full; there's not room for another 30 kids. So is that factored into the funding for JK or is that something the school board is going to have to deal with either by cancelling busing or buying a school bus or some other means? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The fact is, in the classroom or in the room that these children are in, there's going to be less supervision. Will the qualifications for a JK teacher be any different than our other elementary school teachers because we are dealing with an age with different challenges than any other age in the school system?

The Hay River Playschool takes three- and four-year-olds. It's probably going to shut down after decades. That's an option. That's a real option that could happen. So I just want to make this as simple as possible: are kids coming out of JK going to be smarter than if they were in a playschool or a daycare program? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So is the level of education going to be higher in junior kindergarten than a child could expect in a daycare, in a playschool, something like that? That's really what I'm getting at.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize Rocky Simpson, a Hay River resident, my former employer, my landlord, and my father. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Tabled Document 261-18(2), Northwest Territories Main Estimates 2017-2018. I would like to report progress. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of the Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

I'll now call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Beaulieu.

I thank the Minister for clearing that up. About the capital upgrades, I brought this up before; I was looking for a dollar amount or a percentage amount. The Minister mentioned there's money for the upgrades needed to turn kindergarten or elementary classrooms into JK classrooms. What dollar amount is associated with the monies that ECE has pledged to support school boards with? Is it going to cover all of the capital upgrade costs, and if not, what percentage does it cover and what percentage will the school boards have to cover?