Bob Bromley

Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Tabled Document 25-16(3), Supplementary Appropriation No. 1 (Infrastructure Expenditures) 2009-2010; Bill 5, Professional Corporations Act; and Bill 9, Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan Protection Act, and would like to report progress, with one motion being adopted, that Bills 5 and 9 are ready for third reading, that consideration of Tabled Document 25-16(3) is concluded, and that the House concur in those estimates and that an appropriation bill to be based thereon be introduced without delay. Mr. Speaker, I move that the...

Page 6, Public Works and Services, capital investment expenditures, asset management, not previously authorized, $2.5 million. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you very much, Minister Lafferty. I would now like to ask the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Social Programs which reviewed this bill to make comments. Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In a report released in December by UNICEF, Canada ranked last out of 25 affluent countries in our delivery of early childhood education and child care programs. Canada failed to meet nine out of 10 benchmarks, but, most disturbingly, the NWT doesn’t even meet one of the UNICEF benchmarks.

This government has a responsibility to address these unacceptable shortcomings in the NWT as soon as possible. Highlighted last year and still not fully resolved is the lack of stable funding toward daycares. Currently we fund daycares in a convoluted way that assesses them four times...

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you. Does committee agree that Bill 9, Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan Protection Act, is now ready for third reading? Bill 9 is now deemed ready for third reading.

---Bill 9 as a whole approved for third reading

Thank you to the Minister and witnesses. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses. Thank you, committee. Mr. Abernethy.

We’ll start on page 5, Education, Culture and Employment, operations expenditures, education and culture, not previously authorized, negative $300,000.

Question has been called.

---Carried

That completes consideration of Supplementary Appropriation No. 1. The Minister may excuse his witnesses. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses from the Chamber. Thank you, committee. Does committee agree that we will now move on to consideration of Bill 5?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Taggart. Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Are there any further general comments? Does committee agree we move to detail?