Robert Hawkins

But the fact is, that’s not a straight line funding formula. He has one for the communities, and then he has one for the regional centres, and he’s got ones for Yellowknife. By the way, you have a large funding formula for the communities – which I support because it’s important – and I certainly say the fact is the problem is he’s taking from the large centre of Yellowknife to fund them. He should be asking for money.

By the way, on that note, has the Justice Minister ever had the courage to come to committee or the Assembly, for that matter, and ask for the proper money and funding to fund JK...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a lot of places to start with today, and by golly, I think I’m going to give the Education Minister the pleasure of my questions today.

May I remind the Education Minister that in Yellowknife the education boards are administrative boards and not advisory boards. Now, in the capital, the YK school boards raise approximately 20 percent of their funding from their tax base.

Perhaps the Minister can explain the funding formula in this situation where YK schools raise part of their own money to educate our students and the difference between the other schools that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, before we begin today, I too support early childhood education opportunities in every single one of our communities. I also support the immediate need of those 10 communities that desperately need this opportunity. However, we have an Education Minister who would rather wield divisional politics amongst urban versus rural communities. This Minister should be building bridges, not finding ways to burn them down.

I demand the Minister to immediately show this Assembly any degree of opposition of support against any small community when they need their early childhood...

See, Mr. Speaker, you’re so correct, because this is such a frustrating issue. I happen to look at all of them, and they all look the same because they all give the same answers: nothing.

The Education Minister is the one I’m, frankly, pointing at right now. Thank you for pointing that out. Frankly, has the Education Minister ever had the courage to come to the committee or the Assembly to ask for money to properly fund this program from the start, because I don’t know how he’s going to do more with less money.

Let me thank Robin Hood over there for that answer. I want to know from the Minister, is he in a position to fund all Yellowknife school boards at 100 percent, because it’s unfair that in Yellowknife the citizens are double taxed. For the education of anybody following this issue, you pay through your property tax and then that money can go to the school boards where it doesn’t apply elsewhere in the Northwest Territories. The citizens of Yellowknife are being double taxed on this issue. Is he prepared to fund them properly, 100 percent?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rose my hand to do the same thing Mr. Bromley just did, but certainly it’s worth noting once again. I’d like to, as well, recognize Weledeh constituent John McFadden, citizen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As always, it gives me great pleasure to acknowledge and welcome NWT’s favorite son – and we all know who that is – Mr. Anthony W.J. Whitford. There he is. He attends hearings quite often.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to acknowledge Ms. Lydia Bardak. She’s the executive director of the John Howard Society. As I understand it, right on the side here we have Hannah Allen. She’s a Page for this session and she’s from Yellowknife Centre.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, the last person I’d like to acknowledge in the gallery here today is Zoe Ignacio-Pacunayen. She’s my constituency...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m glad to be given an opportunity because I did forget to mention earlier that it is the normal practice of the Cabinet to inform all Members of the absence of a Minister. I have inquired through our process and channels to see if that was that ever given. We were never given notice that this particular Minister would be absent from the House, hence not being prepared to be able to ask and certainly get the answers to the question.

As for the other aspect of travelling on duty, I’m going to say that I have a different perspective on that, especially because when the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I draw the attention of 23(i), imputes false or hidden motives of other MLAs. Mr. Speaker, he just made a clear accusation to me that my MO is about asking questions to Ministers who are not available. That is imputing false motives on the way I’m doing my job. That’s the issue at hand here. I think there’s a point of order and he should apologize for it. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, Members had questions for the Department of MACA and I’m asking the Minister the fact that the Alaska games were several days after that particular day in question, so he could have reasonably been there. So I’m asking the question to the Minister: How does he make himself reasonably responsible and available to Members of this House so that we can ask pertinent questions? This has been stated on the record by the Premier. I’m just asking, how do we do our job if he doesn’t come to work? Thank you.