Mahsi, Mr. Chair. Obviously, this whole remissible loan within the SFA area, we want to attract those individuals to come back to the North. As Mr. Hawkins alluded to reviewing, we are doing that as we speak. We want to evaluate our current system in place to make it more attractive, to make more incentives for those individuals who are going south. We want them to come back. If not, what other options can we provide to them? Mr. Chair, those are the areas we are currently reviewing. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. We are fully aware of the temporary foreign workers moratorium that is laid out across our country. GNWT has no Temporary Foreign Workers Program. It is a federal program but we do share concerns. I did speak with Minister Jason Kenney just the other day, Wednesday evening, May 28th, about this particular program and share our concerns, how to move forward on this and what his plans were. My department senior officials are working very closely with other counterparts as well, territorial/provincial and also the federal Minister’s office on this particular subject. Thank you...

I agree we have to have all those programs in our communities that do not have licenced early childhood programming. Based on the stats we have delivered in the House, there are 10 communities without the program. So, yes, I agree with that. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Madam Chair. Yes, this particular remissible loan, $40 million to $45 million, is certainly an incentive for the individuals to come back to the North and also to live in the North, and also to welcome them back to work in the North as well. Yes, they are 30 percent, or less than 30 percent out there we’re still working with individuals that may not come back or there are some challenges. We have to continue working with that, but it is creating incentive for them to come back to work. Mahsi.

Yes. The answer would be yes. We have considered all those mitigations and working with the early childhood deliverers in the communities, the child care workers, as well, and the program deliverers. We thought about all the implications, as well, but at the same time, creating more opportunities where if we draw out the four-year-olds, they have more opportunity to focus on zero to three years of age. How can we assist in those areas?

At the same time, the Head Start program, some of those have been in place for a number of years. This is an option for enhancing. Working with the Head Start...

These are the areas that we are currently exploring. As I stated, two years ago it was introduced to the standing committee, and we want to have a better and also a faster process of dealing with it in light of this time-consuming…(inaudible)…. We hear the Members clearly, so we’ll find ways of expediting this process in a timely manner.

Again, it was brought up in this House about the Sahtu and will there be a training institution. We were waiting on the training needs assessment and the assessment of the communities, which involves the stakeholders, the industry, the community leaders and community educators. Now we have that package and now we need to identify what’s needed in the Sahtu region when it comes to program development and also a training centre area, how is that going to look. Based on the package that we received, those are options that we’re going to create and then deliver that to the Sahtu region.

I met with board chairs and the superintendents on May 13th. Based on that, I had an in-camera discussion with the board chairs only. They gave me some ideas and suggestions about it not being mandatory, optional programming, and also having the four-day kindergarten. I was receptive to that and I said I would take that into consideration, which I did based on enrollment for school in the fall. So, Mr. Speaker, it was based on the recommendation of the school board chairs that we move forward on the changes. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. After we complete the first, second and third year phase of introducing junior kindergarten, those students will be registered under enrolment funding. On an annual basis, we contribute to school boards, so those students, the 40 students projected for Hay River, will fall under the enrollment funding. So we will continue for a number of years. Also, if they are upwards of or increase of 16 to 1, then there is a PTR in addition to the funding that will be identified. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi. The board surplus is at the discretion of the school boards at this time. Mahsi.