R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Minister of Holidays, I give the Member the rest of the day off.

---Laughter

I do not have that number, but that is something we can find and provide to the Member. Thank you.

Creating a new statutory holiday would go through the same legislative process as amending other pieces of legislation, so it is within the power of the government and the Assembly working together to make something like that happen. No, there are no barriers.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are no plans to make family day a territorial holiday. Thank you.

Perhaps, once I get all this information, I can share with the Member and we can discuss about what the next steps might be and what supports could be offered. Right now, without having that information, it's hard to stand up and say, "Well, this is what we need to do," so I am happy to continue having this conversation with the Member. Thank you.

Of course, inmates can be referred to the FASD diagnostic clinic, and they do not need a diagnosis to access individualized supports or supports for individuals with complex need. Perhaps I can offer to provide the Member with some comprehensive written information, because there are a number of supports and I just do not have them at my fingertips.

We have about as many holidays as other jurisdictions. We do not have Family Day. We have Aboriginal Day, which is not a holiday outside of, I believe, the NWT and Yukon. We have the same number of holidays as everyone else, and, no, we have not gone out and asked, "Should we have more holidays?" Thank you.

No.

Mr. Speaker, I have to rise on a point of order. We are not to be discussing individuals who are not in the Chamber to defend themselves. It is clear in the rule. I appreciate the Member is trying to get information and that what he is doing he thinks is for the public good, but we can't discuss people not in the Chamber who are not here to defend themselves. It's fairly clear. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The last thing we want to do is move toward more distance learning. Our goal is to fully staff all the schools with all the teachers and have in-person instruction. We've been lucky, more so than the rest of Canada, more so than many places in the world, that we've been able to have so much face-to-face learning, and we want to keep that going. Staffing has already started for the upcoming year, and so hopefully we're making these moves early so that we can attract more teachers. There is a lot of planning that has to be done. Everyone who is involved in education, the teachers' association...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The plan for spring break is going to be very similar to the plan for Christmas. Thank you.