Julie Green

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I welcome the Minister's statement about the next steps in the foundational review, but I also have some concerns. When the standing committee wrote to the Minister at the end of August, what we said was that we were concerned about the project's strict timeline because the contract, at that point, had not been awarded, so I am wondering how that became advice to delay the project. Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge that it is useful to have junior kindergarten, and that is it is useful also to have an increased NWT Child Benefit, but that does not really address the cost of child care that families are paying for infants to age three, that is, prior to school age. I am wondering whether the Minister will investigate the feasibility of subsidizing the cost of child care on an income-tested basis, and set it up on a sliding scale like the NWT Child Benefit. Mahsi.

I appreciate the answer from the Minister. Affordability and accessibility are the two big issues with child care in the Northwest Territories. I talked a little bit about how the Yellowknife Daycare Association will be addressing accessibility. I'm wondering what the government is doing to make child care more accessible in the communities that don't currently have it.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the achievements and recognition of my constituent Janet Diveky, who I just introduced.

Janet was recently honoured for her contributions to the quality of our community life with the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers. The award was bestowed in recognition of her years of efforts in support of the Yellowknife Association for Community Living, particularly her efforts in organizing and staging the annual "Gumboot Rally" fundraiser.

Please join me in offering congratulations to Janet Diveky for receiving this award. Mahsi.

---Applause

Masi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Yellowknife Day Care Association. Their brand new child care building on 52nd Street is scheduled to open at the end of 2017. It is the latest accomplishment in YK Day Care's 36 years of service to Yellowknife families, and one which they have taken on without government assistance.

This building is the first that is purpose-built for child care in Yellowknife. It meets the highest standards of design and amenities. It will have three times the space and more than twice the capacity for youngsters: 32 babies, 56 preschoolers, and...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, pursuant to section 77(1) of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, I wish to advise the House that I have a conflict of interest in Bill 30, Health Statutes Law Amendment Act. This bill amends the Public Health Act to clarify that the Commissioner may make regulations respecting cremation and crematoria. Mr. Chair, my spouse is a funeral planner and, as such, has a private interest in this bill. I will now excuse myself from the Chamber during consideration of this matter. Thank you.

I acknowledge that the daily rates went up in October of last year, but the fact is that child care is very expensive. In fact, here in Yellowknife it's a working family's greatest expense after they pay for accommodation. As a result, really, licensed child care in a facility is only affordable for families with two good incomes. I'm wondering what work the Minister is doing on improving access to child care subsidies for lower income working families.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, further to my statement saluting the accomplishments of the Yellowknife Daycare Association, I have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment about daycare and child care.

In June the federal government announced it is putting $7 billion into creating 40,000 new daycare spaces over the next 10 years. Can the Minister tell us how this money will be used in the Northwest Territories and when it will start flowing? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to introduce two of my constituents, Janet and George Diveky. They have lived in the North almost all of their adult lives and made great contributions as teachers and volunteers; and their grandson, Graham Diveky-Suchlandt, is one of our Pages. I would like to thank him for being here, as well. Thank you.

I will take that as a commitment. The minutes of the February board meeting is that the board was fully functional. It was engaged in issues of financing, governance, strategic planning, and so on. I am still not understanding why the Minister decided to fire the board in May.