Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also mentioned resurfacing. I’d like to ask the Minister, why was there no funds in the operation and maintenance to resurface the Dempster Highway from Fort McPherson to Wrangling River at kilometre 173? Thank you.

Thank you. I’d like to ask the Minister, is his department ready with their plans to follow through with the work on the Dempster Highway Project? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let’s talk about tourism in the Northwest Territories. More so, let’s talk about how the tourists travel to our smaller communities in the North.

Year round we have people from the South and all over the world attracted to the Northwest Territories, to the Mackenzie Delta and to the Beaufort communities. Some fly into Inuvik, but the majority of them drive the ever popular Dempster Highway. Yes, let’s talk about the Dempster Highway and the need for more funding to make this a safer highway.

I’d like the Minister to address why the lack of funding. Where did the funding...

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Thursday, June 5, 2014, I will move the following motion: now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that the following persons be approved by the Legislative Assembly as sole adjudicators:

Honourable Ronald L. Barclay;

Mr. Paul D.K. Fraser;

Mr. Ronald Perozzo;

Honourable J.E. (Ted) Richard;

Honourable Marguerite Trussler.

Thank you.

Thank you. Will the Minister expedite the Dempster widening project so that the work will happen this summer? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recall at the end of our last session, the federal government just approved the Building Canada Plan of which in our plans $40 million was set aside for work on the Dempster Highway at $4 million a year.

I’d like to ask the Minister, when will those funds roll out and begin on projects like the Dempster Highway widening project?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to thank Mr. Yakeleya for bringing this motion forward.

Many of our residents who do travel down as an escort from our communities, many of these communities are faced with 35 percent unemployment rates. So, many residents don’t have any part-time or full-time positions. There are many challenges, especially for long periods of time, two, three or four weeks at a time. More and more people are faced with many medical issues and they have to stay in Edmonton or other cities down south for long periods of time. As time goes on, they need toiletries and...

Maybe the Minister didn’t hear me. The funding that’s being provided with the 16 to 1 ratio is not adequate.

Will the Minister ensure that that ratio be changed to at least 10 to 1?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education in follow-up to my Member’s statement.

Over the last year there have been a number of cuts to our funding for the Beaufort-Delta Education Authority due to the pupil-teacher ratio, which is changed from 8 to 1 to now 16 to 1. Now the DEA is actually basically being forced to implement the junior kindergarten.

I’d like to ask the Minister, why is he setting up junior kindergarten to fail?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to address Junior Kindergarten that the Minister has approved for our school in the fall.

The Minister has approved this with no further funding and lack of adequate space for the new program. How does the Minister expect to have our teachers instruct the students and teach them in a learning environment with no money, no space and no plan? Our communities throughout the North have commented in-depth regarding the Junior Kindergarten Program. We need an extra $40,000 to $50,000 to help implement the program, similar to the communities that have taken on the...