Bob Bromley

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Could I just get confirmation about the capital transfers? Are there just no capital transfers this year and no Labour Canada agreement? Was that transferred over to another department?

Thanks to the Minister. When young parents have problems and grandparents fill the gap, often informally, sparing their grandchildren the trauma of apprehension and interaction by child and family services, this often brings a financial burden beyond their capacity.

Will the Minister immediately and specifically begin a process of non-adversarial outreach to grandparents who are fostering informally, to begin recognizing and meeting their needs? There are lots out there. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have a few brief comments. I know there has been a transfer of energy, $6.1 million into this department, which is significant. I am looking forward to discussing this. I am sure there is forced growth, yet those seem, relative to those amounts, a modest increase. In other words, probably a net decrease to the department’s budget in a sense. I am curious about that.

I wonder if I could just get a general comment on carry-overs and how we are doing with that with our infrastructure, specifically maybe how climate change is rearing its head. I know about some shipping...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also would like to join my colleagues in recognizing Ms. Moffit and her award of the Wise Woman of the Year. Fantastic. Also, I would like to recognize Barb Hood, resident of Weledeh and also NWT Seniors’ Society executive director, and of course Sandra Taylor and all of the ladies in the gallery who are clearly leaders in our communities and in the House today. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thanks to the deputy minister for that response. My next question is in the area of early childhood development and learning. I mentioned I was very pleased to see the $1.24 million investment into this program. I wonder if I could get some specifics on what the intention is with these dollars and confirmation that these are new dollars. So, are these new dollars and where they’re going, and maybe I’ll just throw out another part to the question on the financial side. I don’t see this reflected in the budget. The budget, in fact, has gone down from the revised estimates...

Thank you, Madam Chair. It’s a short motion. I move that this committee strongly recommends that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment work with representatives of the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning on the legislative steps necessary for Dechinta to become an accredited post-secondary education provider with the potential to become a degree-granting institution. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’ll just follow up on a couple of things. On the last series of questions, I think the relevance is we are putting in place early childhood development programs knowing that we don’t have a lot of expertise here. The last time I looked, our graduates from ECE programs at Aurora College did not meet federal standards. It sounds like some work was done and we decided we can’t afford that. That’s unfortunate, but I do appreciate the effort to support, through scholarships, early childhood students who choose to pursue those qualifications through other routes. It would be...

I know the Minister is aware of their work to seek to expand their programs based on the tremendous success they’ve enjoyed. I know the Minister’s heard those statements and questions in the House and so on. Is there a plan to increase the funding for Dechinta in this budget?

I know the Minister is aware that we are in a vulnerable situation. We don’t want to undermine the industry from the very start, so I’m sure there will be sensitivity to that. While most of our mushrooms are world-class, clean and safe to eat, some areas that have been tested showed high concentrations of contaminants. Areas near Tibbitt Lake and west of Yellowknife, for example, may not be safe. World markets will test morels from the NWT as they have done in the past. Findings of contaminated morels would make it hard for the mushroom industry to rebound from the negative publicity. This has...

Thank you, Madam Chair. What is the Minister’s understanding in terms of this being an issue for students? Are they having problems accessing that support or are things, according to the department’s experience, sailing along smoothly with that aspect?