Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a wonderful constituency assistant, Maia Lepage, who is also here chaperoning two of our Pages for the week. She is doing double duty this week.

At this time I would also like to recognize Mr. Ernie Bernhardt, who has been an ambassador, innovator and teacher of arctic sports throughout the circumpolar region of the world.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last summer I was very fortunate to attend a Relay for Life here in Yellowknife and I ended up walking for a bit there. While I was walking for the cause, I ended up upon this booth where we had some volunteers that were looking to sign up volunteers for donations of stem cell donors. I was very fortunate. I did the cheek swab and got my name into the database.

About a week later, it was very coincidental, but I ran into a nurse who had asked me if the NWT was doing anything in terms of stem cell research or stem cell donor campaigns, mainly because there was a young...

Early childhood development is a priority of this 17th Legislative Assembly or I wouldn’t be bringing it here on the floor as something that we bring up every time we come into the House and ask questions of the Minister.

What are the current action items that the Minister is currently doing or having implemented in the Northwest Territories, especially in the small communities that are having an impact on early childhood development and the investment in our youth, and not just waiting for this plan to implement and do these actions?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment did a Minister’s statement on advanced education initiatives, but really, is this really advanced? Do we continue to put residents through the education system only at the end to have to put more money to get them back to a standard of education even to get them ready for post-secondary job education?

This government has the opportunity to invest in the future of a new generation of healthy, educated adults and teenagers. What I’m referring to is the Early Childhood Development Framework, and I made a...

Thank you, Madam Chair. In regard to this supp before us, being from the Beaufort-Delta and understanding the course of the project as it has come before the Legislative Assembly since I’ve been in the Assembly, it is something that needs to be done and to get those kinds of reports brought forth so that we can make a good decision. This funding needs to actually go through the supp and get approved so that we can get those extra geotechnical studies that need to be done ,so we can make good decisions on whether this project goes through or not.

I’m not sure if this supp was not to go through...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In terms of living in the Northwest Territories, we have a high cost of living, we have a high turnover rate in the communities. In Inuvik, for example, some of the programs have been defaulted or delayed due to the fact that sometimes we don’t have any qualified staff in those positions, as well as having up-to-standard building codes. That was specifically mentioned in the Auditor General’s report. There are a lot of challenges.

What is the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment doing to address these challenges so that we can continue to deliver those early...

In regard to the 2001 Early Childhood Development Framework Strategy and Plan, I’d like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment what the current validity is on the work that was done in that plan and what was successful about that plan. Have any of those action items actually been implemented within the last few governments, I guess? The 2001 plan.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When I first came into the session here, a lot of my colleagues gave a lot of congratulations to mayors and councillors that had been elected in their ridings or throughout the Northwest Territories. Today I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate the mayor and council for the official swearing-in ceremonies last night in the community of Inuvik.

With that said, I would also like to take a few seconds here to congratulate and thank the former mayor, Mr. Denny Rodgers, for his strong leadership, his strong advocacy for the community of Inuvik and the residents...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Social Programs has reviewed Bill 5, Legal Aid Act, and Bill 7, An Act to Amend the Judicature Act, and wish to report that Bills 5 and 7 are now ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole as amended and reprinted.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Standing Committee on Social Programs conducted its public review of Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Securities Act, on August 23, 2012. The committee thanks the Minister and his staff for presenting the bill. The bill modernizes the Securities Act and provides for a stronger regulatory system, protecting NWT investors from improper or fraudulent practices. Following the committee’s review, a motion was carried to report Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Securities Act, to the Assembly as ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole.

This concludes the committee’s opening...