Denny Rodgers

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister spoke about the infrastructure funding. Can she maybe elaborate on that, what that funding is specifically used for, if it's strictly for infrastructure projects, any of that to be used for anything like wage subsidies then as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the agreement education, culture and employment entered into with the federal government to work towards $10 a day daycare was designed to invest in early childcare for the betterment of all in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories had committed to creating 300 new childcare daycare spaces by 2026, but as of June 2024, only 76 new spaces have been created. A $50 million investment from Ottawa in 2021 was intended to create the 300 new spaces and reduce childcare fees to $10 a day within a five-year period, Mr...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I move the chair rise and report progress.

Thank you. And, yeah, just for clarity -- and the Minister may have said this, and I apologize if I didn't pick it up. So none of that surplus, then, is being considered as part of the new plan going forward for the new builds that the Member from Range Lake had discussed earlier? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And I assume that also includes the $6 million in interest that the housing corporation also earned from that surplus in there, and that is then carried into the ongoing surplus.

Can the Minister then -- if that's the case and if that surplus coming into 2025 from 2024 has been allocated, can we get a kind of list of how much of that is work in progress, Madam Chair, if we will call it, and how much of that is new builds, and what portions -- I understand it's all been allocated. Can we get the information as to what it's been allocated for. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to the Minister for that. And it's good to hear that she's -- the department or the Minister's at least considering that may, indeed, be an option. Certainly, you know, part of the funding is for bricks and mortar and bricks and mortar cost money to maintain, so certainly part of that budget, I assume would be included for bricks and mortar. And I as well look forward to the update from the college to the justification as to why they made this move and to kind of shed some light because it certainly, Madam Chair, has caused a lot of concern, certainly not only through my riding...

Thank you, Madam Chair. No, and I appreciate that, but I think the college made it fairly clear that their mandate does not to support that, that they are going to shut down, indeed, the adult literacy and basic education programs. So I guess further than waiting for the college to say, yes, we are going to do it, because they basically said they were, is this something that the department, the Minister's going to commit to ensuring that if that's the case that we do continue to use these learning centres and keep them open? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the committee wishes to consider Tabled Document 274-20(1), 2025-2026 Main Estimates, Education, Culture and Employment; and, time permitting, Housing Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you for that. So is it anticipated, then, obviously pulling that revenue away from the power corp in Inuvik, run our own grid up there obviously, the thousand kilowatt hours that could potentially be put back in the grid, is that going to offset the loss, I guess, of the revenue stream that the town of Inuvik rec complex would normally provide? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity today to address some concerns around the budget, Mr. Speaker. It's maybe a little more of an elongated Member's statement but certainly, it certainly ties in closely to the items that we're reviewing in the budget this session.

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt we find ourselves in some challenging times. The current budget, I think, and I feel, doesn't offer a lot in the way of reduction, nor does it move us away from basically a status quo budget, Mr. Speaker. The supplemental appropriations we passed in the House to offset the...