Jackson Lafferty

We’re still trying to figure out the numbers here. To my understanding, through the briefings that I’ve received, both projects, both communities have received the fullest contribution, and if I am mistaken, then my staff can correct me if I’m wrong. That’s my understanding. The Member is also referring to if this particular project will continue, and those are the discussions that we are currently having with the Department of Health and Social Services as part of the Early Childhood Development Action Plan. We need to discuss those more in detail. Mahsi.

We can obviously share that detailed information with the Member, but it is based on formula, and you have to keep in mind that there are, I guess you can say, three school boards in Yellowknife versus one school board in the South Slave region. Those are just some of the discussions that we’ve been having with the formula funding. As I stated before, we are reviewing our formula funding through the education renewal and innovation, so these are the discussions that we continue to have.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. If I can reflect on the library in Fort Simpson, we have been dealing with that for quite some time now. Even with the community council, town council, we are trying to find an allocation for all those materials. There has been a lot of discussion between two of the departments, my department and also the community. We continue to have that dialogue and there are some funding allocations through various libraries and I do have here Fort Simpson, $52,600 being proposed here, but I’ll be giving more of the latest status to the Member on the Fort Simpson library and where it’s...

Mr. Chair, we have contacted two pilot projects in two communities and that’s been successful to date. We just want to find out, I guess, how it turns out and so we’ve been quite impressed with that.

As we move forward, we’re going to be working very closely again with the Department of Health and Social Services to identify what came out of the pilot project, and based on that, part of the process will be to start implementing particular programming into other communities as well. We’re at very preliminary discussions right now with the two departments, and as we move forward, we will...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. All those will be taken into consideration.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. I am fully in agreement with the Members that we should be investing in e-learning, and that is exactly what we had done last week since we have contributed $500,000 to the BDEC. This motion is asking for additional funds which will be addressed through the Education Renewal and Innovation, through that action plan. This will definitely be a topic of discussion, and at this point, the Cabinet cannot support this initiative since we are already moving forward on this.

For sure, we’ll provide all that information, because we want the Members to work with us, as well, with as much information as we possibly can to deliver to them. In addition, we can provide those spaces that are available that I had mentioned, I believe, yesterday. We’ll provide that detailed information on all those questions that were asked.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. We are fully aware of the surpluses that have been accumulated within all schools, most of the school boards across the Northwest Territories. We’re fully aware of the policy that’s in place with the Department of Health and Social Services. We haven’t made a decision on that. There has been talk, but no decision at this point.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. I fully agree with the Members that we need to invest into our early childhood and that’s exactly what we’re doing. We’re putting $8.2 million into this budget in ‘14-15 for early childhood development and learning. The majority of it, $5.1 million, is going towards daycare and day home subsidies, healthy children initiatives, small communities initiatives and also…(inaudible)…top-up.

These are key investments into our communities and I am fully supportive of that as well. Also, the Department of Health and Social Services deals with all these different deliveries into the...

Mr. Chair, this particular for a stand-alone campus has been discussed for a number of years now. We have been moving towards a planning study through that part of the capital planning process. We’re earmarking for 2015-16 for a planning study. Mahsi.