Kieron Testart

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.

Mr. Speaker, each year Northerners and students head to colleges and universities across Canada where they can proudly tell their peers how the Northwest Territories helps them study without racking up thousands of dollars in student loans thanks to our first-in-class SFA program. At a time when higher education costs are rising, that kind of assistance is truly unique and has become a covenant of growing up in the NWT. Unfortunately, late this summer, Range Lake constituents began contacting my office for help because their SFA payments were late, and they had received no update. Some feared...

Thank you to the Minister for that. And I know it's emerging, and I know governments are still coming to grips with it and are moving slower than the private sector. But does the OCIO have a mandate to look at AI integration, like strategic AI integration to capital systems? I mean, I don't know what to call it, but that's kind of the idea here is to say have you tasked the OCIO to do this kind of work to be proactive about the implementation of emerging AI technology and tools into existing or new systems. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And, certainly, these schools are not alone. There are many, many schools in the Northwest Territories that are in high need. And taking stock of those assets is important; however, in the context of, again, the riding I represent and the district that my children attend, these schools are important to me, and it is very concerning that this one school in particular missed its retrofit, has water that is -- you know, you can't consume, that exposed staff in a very troubling way. The Minister's well aware of that. It seems like those reasons alone -- like the lead in the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. For the water system remediations in schools that have identified elevated lead, will the Minister commit that any remediation of infrastructure will be paid for by the GNWT? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The roofing or roof repair projects for Yellowknife schools. Can the Minister be specific about which roofs will be repaired? Thank you.