Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Well, I appreciate the sentiments that the work is important and needs to get done quickly, but the estimate completion is still 2027-2028 which puts us into the very end of the term. And, you know, call me a skeptic, but the last time we had a major -- you know, transformative mineral -- or mining initiative was the MRA that we put in in the 18th Assembly in the final year, and still not in force, which is what we're -- why the regulatory piece is still required. So I would be much more comfortable seeing this online map staking and the technology required for it to be...

Thank you. Well, I think about the people who have to process these applications; they must be very overworked. Is the Minister going to bring forward additional staffing resources in the coming year to ensure that there's 20 percent more capacity at SFA? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, turning to SFA again, it occurs to me that we haven't asked that fundamental question: Is this going to happen again in the next intake, or has the Minister fixed this capacity gap? Are we going to have enough capacity to process the applications to ensure there are no more late payments, everyone gets the resources they need on time to succeed at school? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I'm not asking for them to pay the entire cost. I'm asking them to pay for late fees incurred because of departmental holdups because they couldn't process these payments. This is an extraordinary occurrence. Will the Minister take extraordinary action and pay these students for their late fees? It's a very simple question, and it shouldn't be this controversial. We don't need a lot of policy change. Do the right thing; help our students out. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I still think we should have fair compensation for day home operators that are doing the same work; they're just not getting paid the same amount.

Mr. Speaker, currently the age ratios for younger kids is -- needs to be adjusted -- let's just put it that way -- to 18 months and under. If we did that, we'd get more infants into these spaces. Right now, it's really only about the older kids. Will the Minister change the definition for infants to 18 months and younger so we can get more kids into care, get more people back to the workforce after their parental...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, day homes are struggling with stagnant subsidy support from the government to provide $10 a day daycare. One of the things they're asking for is for additional services to be charged back to clients. This is something clients are okay with. It's something that already happens in Alberta and other jurisdictions. Will the Minister permit day homes to charge additional services -- charge for additional services they provide? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Well, just to be clear, I don't want to see it just done this term; I want to see it done next year. We need to move this project up. I mean, if we're talking about getting it done this term, it's still too far off. We are able to move very quickly if we put our collective willpower behind it. And, you know, with the MRA, for example, I mean, that development didn't have buy-in at first and then buy-in was developed and then it moved very quickly after that was -- after that took place. So with the inclusion of benefit agreements and a few other pieces like that, they...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I'd like to ask questions about the replacement of the mineral resource information system. Is this project currently on budget and on schedule? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the problem has been identified publicly as more applications than there were previously that overwhelmed existing resources. Is that the case? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that bottleneck has been cleared. That's what I've heard. But the issue -- the question I asked was will the Minister pay for those late fees. Students shouldn't have to shoulder that burden because of a capacity issue. So I'll ask it again because the Minister didn't answer it: Will the Minister direct the department to pay the late fees and costs associated with these late payments for our students? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.