R.J. Simpson

Thank you. The Member is correct; we did have a contract in place to have a revenue study completed. Unfortunately, the contractor did not deliver that revenue study. So for some information about the path forward given the challenges we've been facing, I will hand it to the deputy minister. Thank you.

Thank you. So we want everyone to be aware of these funds and know what they're going to be getting in September. So a lot of work has happened. Once this budget passes, a lot more work will happen. And we want to make sure that this is widely communicated. I think this is such a great new story that we shouldn't have a problem letting everyone know about it, once we iron out those details and are able to tell people exactly what we're providing. So we're well aware that there are deadlines and we want to ensure that we are working to ensure that everything is completed ahead of those...

Thank you. So in many small communities, there is child care that's provided often by the Indigenous government, and it is often provided free of charge unlike the larger centres. And we are aware of that then we want to support those organizations as well. So a portion of this funding is available to those centres to help them with yes, stabilization funding and as well we have our other streams of funding.

In terms of, you know, providing funding directly to, say, grandparents who are looking after their grandkids, we are bound by the terms of the agreement with the Government of Canada...

Thank you. So ECE offers a number of different programs that employers can access and that individuals can access. We also have the Student Financial Assistance program. So someone might need income assistance but perhaps they might decide they actually want to go to school and with the increases that we're proposing for student financial assistance, that makes that a possibility as well.

So, with the unlimited semesters, it's possible that someone could, you know, do their best to pursue their postsecondary education and if they have difficultly or if they take a longer time, we're supporting...

Yes, I do.

Thank you. And I had the same thoughts as the Member. So these changes that we really have not discussed publicly will take effect for the upcoming so the 20232024 academic year. So students going to school in September would have access to some of these changes that we're making. The increase in the budget is about $1.4 million. As well, we've made some other reallocations internally to adjust the program as well. So some of the changes are the basic grant. We are increasing that for first of all, this program, again, is supposed to cover 80 percent of the cost of attending school in...

Thank you. So I'll have to admit I am not as familiar with this particular issue and school maintenance as I could be. So what I will do so I can't commit to anything right now but I will commit to actually talking to the chair about this. You know, I have regular contact with the chairs of the school boards, and I know we have a new chair at YK1, and he's not shy to share his thoughts and concerns. So I will have that conversation with him and then work with the department. Thank you.

Thank you. We have a limited budget, and you can only cut it so many ways. I would love to see that fund increased. I think going forward that is may have to happen. We are at a point now where we have been receiving proposals for this fund, and those proposals have resulted in grants to the organization and then new spaces being created. We've seen it across the territory. A lot of the organizations who were on that path to, you know, or thinking about developing child care centres have already accessed this funding and so now we're finding that there's not as many organizations out there...

Yes, thank you. So in 20222023, there were more than 1,650 applications. And of those, 49 percent were from Indigenous Aboriginals or Indigenous residents of the Northwest Territories, 51 percent from nonIndigenous. Students from the Beaufort Delta make up 14 percent of those students, 3 percent from Deh Cho, 4 percent from Sahtu, 16 percent from the South Slave, 58 percent from the North Slave. And I know that the Member likes to have the Tlicho region broken out and so in addition to those, there's 5 percent from the Tlicho region. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, March 6th, 2023, I will present Bill 72, Opioid Damages and Healthcare Costs Recovery Act, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.