Shane Thompson

Thank you to the Minister for coming into that world because that is where I was coming. I know those four communities. You need actual support to get these. Four of my communities that I represent don't have licensed daycares. With a half-time position, how can that individual support the ones that actually have daycares and the ones that are trying to get them in there? It is kind of: well, we want to get 11 more licensed daycares going, but we are not going to give you the supports to it. How can we actually achieve that if we only get a half-time position? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I was asking the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment about upgrading, and stuff like that. I need to follow up with a couple more questions for the Minister. We have set up a meeting to go into the communities. Can the Minister make a commitment to be prepared and to have her staff prepared to discuss upgrading and the challenges they are facing? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We went to them and told them to make cuts, so we, as government and the Department of Education, told them to make a cut. They've proposed these two things to cut. Now, you're telling me that the money is still there. We've seen the college. They did a review of the social work program, and they said, this is what we need to do to fix it. So why didn't we just say, "Okay, fix it and still implement it?"

It's funny because we're sitting here saying they're autonomous. They're not really autonomous, because we've got to give them two years now. We've told them that we have...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On page 44, I see that there is only a part-time position for early childhood and school services. Can the Minister explain why it is only a part-time position for eight communities? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A number of people have reached out to me recently and asked what was happening in regards to the Department of Health and Social Services' commitment to traditional names being allowed on NWT birth certificates and other forms of GNWT identification. Can the Minister advise us where the status of this commitment is? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I hope they do, too. I think it is a very important organization, the friendship centre. I know that the Premier thinks the same thing. After two years, are we looking to review it and see if there is an opportunity to continue this arrangement, or is it done after these two years? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that answer and the clarity on that. If Sambaa K'e takes it, will Wrigley be the next one being looked at? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to recognize Norma Jumbo, who is a chaperone for two Pages, Aiden and Adam, and I would like to thank her for all of her commitment and work to bring these young men here to learn our operation here. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, again, thank the Minister for all of these answers and clarifications on some of these things. If I am looking to get more information for the Deh Cho and the NWT authorities to help me to better understand what programs, services, and supports are available for the region in Stanton for children requiring rehab services, can the Minister please advise what positions and whom I should be able to talk to so that I can get better informed in this area? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have heard that, in the Deh Cho region, they have a team that has been engaged in improving initiatives over the past year to improve rates of early childhood development screening of children to improve their early detection and earlier referral to rehabilitation services, which the Minister has talked about. Can the Minister explain some of the new improvements that I have heard about that he can share with us here today?