Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to follow up on my statement which is my concerns about how daycares are paid -- or sorry, structurally paid through the grid formula created by the Department of ECE; and furthermore, Mr. Speaker, the challenge, of course, is that when a person with ten years of experience is paid less than a summer student, or even a grocery clerk, we have to start asking ourselves who are we serving in that particular thing.

Mr. Speaker, my question specifically to the Minister of education comes down to this: Given the immediacy of the urgency of the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday I had the pleasure, if not honour certainly, to speak to the executive directors of the Centre for Northern Families daycare, the Montessori daycare, and the Yellowknife daycare as well, Mr. Speaker. Although I didn't get a chance to speak to the YWCA daycare, I still feel for their plight and their concerns will be in my statement as well.

Mr. Speaker, the ladies quite eloquently, and I'll say firmly and clearly, made it very clear their challenges of staying alive in the sense of a business are being impeded by the government-imposed wage grid. Now, the wage...

Mr. Speaker, the reason I ask for a meeting of the minds so one-off deals aren't happening, Mr. Speaker, or some daycares are being told what they want to hear but then another being told elsewhere.

Mr. Speaker, in short, they're losing employees because the grid is controlling their funding and the daycares are facing closure, probably by summer. I had asked three of them, and they were saying that's the right timeframe; we're going to run out of money. So, Mr. Speaker, when programs are being cut, outings are being cut, food is being cut, what can the Minister do to stop that tragedy? Thank...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Raising the childcare issue is an interesting one, especially because we're getting e-mails real time here at the desk.

Mr. Speaker, my question back to the Minister is what -- or sorry, my question to the Minister with respect to the overall bigger picture of the issue here is what type of ability does the Minister have to reset the wage grids within the regulations as currently designed? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a number of constituents who are quite upset about this. As a matter of fact I even have a few of her constituents asking can we bring this back. If the Minister will table this information, I'd appreciate that. If she feels she can only send it to me, well, I'll take that too.

Mr. Speaker, I'm asking when -- often when we cut a program, we'll say we'll do an analysis after the fact, like extended health benefits, we heard that promise. Would the Minister be doing any type of 360 analysis after the fact to assess the impacts and choices made by the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We found out with great shock there last year that the northern bonus program was cut in the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. It was embedded into the deepest of the budget details and I, like many members, didn't realize it had been done until after the fact. My question for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment is simply this: What type of analysis had justified that choice to eliminate that program that is very near and dear to many of our returning students here to the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, maybe to help the Minister, the old Minister used to say in the fullness of time, which if you were paying attention, that could mean any time. So needless to say, please don't use that further proof of what's happening.

Mr. Speaker, establishment of new legislation for a polytech university is the cornerstone of where it's going, defines it, and everything then comes out of it. In other words, its budgets, its plans, its mandate, etcetera, etcetera. It needs legislation to be real.

Mr. Speaker, when -- sorry, on the website, it says it will be released for completion obviously --...

Well, it's funny because I get -- what's the right phrase -- I don't want to say targeted, but I get target -- I'll say it anyway. I get targeted for not giving my questions to the Minister or advancing this up, but yet she scooped my last question. So good on her for being on her toes, Mr. Speaker, instead of heels.

Mr. Speaker, that said, I just want to reaffirm, with the contract coming up, will she ensure that Members are involved in some type of early discussion and will she commit to this contract we are going to do health care card business differently and more improved? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's probably rare I get to make a statement like this. I'm sure we will all agree in this House that health care dollars are precious. It's very difficult to find agreement on anything some days, but I think we might be able to agree on that.

Mr. Speaker, the questions I'll be raising today are to the health care Minister, clearly, regarding the security of health care cards. And that's always been something of interest of mine because if I recall during one of my previous assemblies, we had more health care cards out there than citizens. What an interesting paradox it...

Mr. Speaker, the Minister said something probably where I was going next at the end of her last answer which was believing that it did not increase the return. Would the Minister, in a response to my previous question, be willing to table that analysis before the House; in other words, as a return to the oral questions or whatever function she wishes to desire, also with the analysis of is it actually playing out as initially planned? So in other words, have they reviewed and studied the initial decision? Thank you.