Jackson Lafferty

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Wednesday, March 12, 2014, I will move that Bill 24, An Act to Amend the Student Financial Assistance Act, be read for the first time. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Early childhood consultants have been working with the operators throughout the Northwest Territories. We will continue to do so. These are just some of the areas that have been in discussion with the operators. We’re offering a free junior kindergarten to the Northwest Territories and allowing more focus on the zero to three as we move forward this fall, the following year and also the third year phased approach. The free junior kindergarten has been offered as a free basis. It has been a fee-for-service in some of the communities. This is an opportunity for those individuals, the parents...

The introduction of junior kindergarten this fall, the following year in Hay River is not meant to replace other high quality programming being delivered in Hay River, playschool or Head Start programming. We are providing families of the NWT with a high quality, affordable education option for four-year-olds.

The early childhood program continues to provide ongoing funding through all these licenced daycares and family day homes, as Members alluded to earlier. This also addresses where we have different pots of funding that I’ve highlighted in the House, I believe it was last week or the week...

Mahsi. I can provide the detailed list to the Member. As the Member indicated, part of it is the junior kindergarten, the wage top-up is another one. Those are just some of the examples of the activities that will be happening, but I will commit to the Members to provide the most detailed information on those activities that will be coming forward. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The department obviously understands the importance of teachers having adequate time to prepare for many responsibilities, including the instruction of students, working with students, assisting students’ learning, engaging and also the ongoing professional development and collaboration.

As the Member indicated, the education renewal innovation is part of the process where various initiatives will be undertaken. We’re at the preliminary stages right now because we are going to be developing an action plan pertaining to those highlighted portfolios within the education...

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Wednesday, March 12, 2014, I will move that Bill 25, An Act to Amend the Education Act, be read for the first time. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

This junior kindergarten is not new to us. We’ve been engaging the general public since the early start of the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative, the early childhood development, the framework itself now, engaging education renewal and innovation. There has been a lot of discussion pertaining to this, and yes, there is going to be an evaluation of what’s needed at the community with those operators, what kind of subsidies will be required, and we will continue to subsidize them. We will continue to strengthen that. We don’t want to see operators losing out. Those are just some of the...

We made some changes to our early childhood programming and then based on the student attendance and the reporting mechanism and so forth. We’re trying to make it easier for the licenced operators to function effectively and efficiently. Yes, my department, again, is working very closely with operators in the Northwest Territories, not only Hay River but other communities that have four-year-olds going into the school system, because we’re fully aware that the planned focus will be zero to three, so that’s the planned target. We’re doing what we can to subsidize them with all the program...

My department will be providing the training and working very closely with the school boards, because we have to deal with the teachers to deliver the junior kindergarten. I stated in the House that we are moving forward on training by this summer and then in the fall time for those individuals that may not have gone through the training program. Those are slated for this summer and then this fall, and again, my department will be working with the school boards to finalize those plans.

Mahsi. Upon receiving the action plan later this year, we will be putting that towards the business planning process for the following year, so it is a process that we have to follow. We are in the stages of developing some of the initiatives for 2014-15 this September. As the Member alluded to, junior kindergarten is a prime example of one that falls under that as well.

So, by this summer we’re expecting the action plan to be developed and finalized and then put it towards the business planning process for the following year’s budget. Mahsi.