Jackson Lafferty

Thank you. As I stated before, there have been various areas of evaluation and assessment of current delivery in the communities, whether it be preschools, early junior kindergarten and some of the development programming in the communities. So we’ve looked at all of that and we’re working, also, with the licenced child care programming, the centres.

This is an area that is not a brand new discussion we’re having today. Over the years of engagement, we’ve been hearing from the parents and the educators that we need to move forward on focusing on the preschool. We currently deliver preschool in...

We did compile all that information. As I stated, junior kindergarten is not a fresh topic of discussion here. It has been discussed for a number of years now as part of the process we’ve been going through. Compiling all the information for 2014, 2015-16, 2016-17, I can gather the information for the Member. I don’t have it in front of me today, but I can gather the detailed information for the Member.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I’ve stated numerous times in this House that this whole Junior Kindergarten Program three-year phase rollout has been the voice of the North. We’ve been through various engagements. Through Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative a few years back, and then the Early Childhood Development Framework the action plan was brought to our attention, and also the education renewal innovation. There have been a lot of discussions that have happened. There has also been research throughout Canada and internationally. We brought those researchers here to Yellowknife so Members...

We have to look at all angles, how many professionals that we have in the communities that can deal with… We currently have some of the preschools and we have junior kindergarten being rolled out as part of the kindergarten program because some of the communities are very small, the facility themselves as well, so it will be part of the kindergarten and also junior kindergarten, part of the play area. Those are areas that we’re still identifying as we move forward, but it will be offset by those professions that are in the system and building on that.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Clearly, junior kindergarten is optional to the parents. It’s up to the parents to choose where their kids should be going. Obviously, we support the preschoolers who are out there in the communities such as Hay River, Yellowknife and other communities. We continue to support that. We provide funding through various programs we have within ECE and the Health department and other areas and we continue to sponsor those.

This is just an enhancement for the preschoolers who are out there and it is an option for the parents. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Madam Chair. This particular motion that’s before us has been debated for a number of years now.

[Translation] This bill is very important and it’s been very, very… We’ve been talking about it since 2005 until now, and especially since I’ve been elected we’ve been in discussions about it twice. We also wanted an extra MLA for the Tlicho region. In 2013 they wanted 19, 20 and 21. They also went to Rae region to ask the people and a lot of people attended the meeting at that time. So the Tlicho citizens want an extra MLA in their region and the elders have also requested that. In the...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that Bill 25, An Act to Amend the Education Act, be read for the first time. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi. That is part of our discussion we’re having now. As I’ve stated in the House, an action plan will be coming by this spring, late spring and it will be delivered to the Standing Committee for their input as well. So that is the process that we’re going through and yes, I will be informing the standing committee. Mahsi.

Mahsi. Student Financial Assistance supports the students that need financial assistance going back to university or college. There are subsidy programs through ECE, Education, Culture and Employment that do offset the cost of child care programming because we have to support those students. We want them to succeed and come back to our communities to obviously develop professional backgrounds, so to become a professional.

It may not be covered through SFA, but there are other subsidies within ECE that will offset the cost of daycare. Mahsi.

Mahsi. That’s the whole idea of what we’re doing in our department. I just met with my senior staff last week because we talk about the planning, the rolling out of the program of junior kindergarten and how we can work with the preschoolers, how we can work with the Head Start programming. So those are just some of the discussions we’ve been having.

Mr. Bromley also raised that issue last week, I believe it was. Since that time, we’ve been discussing this particular area, how can we improve our communication, our working dialogue with operators. So those are discussions we’ve been having. We...