Kieron Testart

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. So do you reconcile -- sorry, to the Minister. Does the Minister reconcile that -- like, the line items in the information item to the actual budget that will be presented to the Minister by the authorities before February 15th? So, like, we see what's here in this book. When they get the other document, do they -- when is that reconciliation? Is it after this is approved, or does that all happen before April 1st? Thank you.

Thank you. Are you going to collect, like, the user experience or beneficiary experience as part of that data collection? That's what I'm looking for. Because, you know, we hear from constituents who are paying more now than they were before and, I mean, it sound great, right, that people have found new ways to lower their costs and accessing other benefits and everything's really working out really well, but I keep hearing from -- again, I have a constituent who texts me just about every month to remind me how much more he is paying, and that's -- that's -- and that's not the only information...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I'm curious about the funding to health and social services authorities, $370 million. Can the Minister clarify just how this whole budgeting process works for the authorities? Because on the floor of the House, we heard that the budget comes after the mains and I'm still a bit befuddled by this because we do have an information item later that we'll get into that has some numbers there, but we also have this new piece of information that the Minister has not actually received the working budget and, I mean, this is a much longer conversation that gets into how we fund...

Thank you. Nothing further.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, day homes are asking for more flexibility. In Alberta, the regulations do allow for voluntary fees at the discretion of the operator, things like food, outings, late fees, extended hours. Can the Minister agree to allow for voluntary fees at day homes and daycare centres in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Okay, thank you. I mean, it does sound more involved. And I wonder if there's a way we can work to expedite things or at least find a place to move, maybe an interstitial thing so it's not quite long-term care. I know we have that, but it's taking place in hospitals right now and that's leading to some of these issues.

Is the -- given that there's still a need for long-term care at these -- the Inuvik, Hay River, Yellowknife, does the department plan to reduce any of the long-term care spaces either through -- that's offered through the authority or that's provided privately or through NGOs? Is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know the Minister has been -- the centres are asking for that so there's consistency, and that's reasonable. But why is it taking so long to get this grid together, Mr. Speaker? We're talking about slow government. This is a year, and the money is still sitting there. So are people doing this off the side of their desk, or is this a commitment -- or is this a focus of the department to get this out and get this money spent where it needs to support families with young kids? Because that's what this money's intended for, Mr. Speaker, and it's what this House voted for...

Thank you. So is this -- is this reducing the gridlock at Stanton I guess? Is that going to be a benefit to seeing these patients go? Because I understand many of those patients are in extended care at the Stanton Hospital. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too would like to ask questions about our early childcare -- or early learning childcare arrangements. The Yellowknife Daycare Association is bringing concerns forward about funding. Day homes are bringing concerns about funding. I know the Minister is a passionate advocate of this. We've brought this up on the floor now. The issue is funding, there's not enough of it. How does the Minister intend to solve this problem? Thank you.

Thank you. So the process has started to admit people to those 17 beds; is that what I heard? I guess I'm looking for like out of 17, how many are filled? Thank you.