Julie Green

I appreciate the Minister's commitment to check with the department to see whether there has ever been an analysis done about the financial viability of the programs. It is my understanding that ECE offers a subsidy to existing programs like Montessori because they meet the department's licensing requirements. Does the Minister believe his department has any responsibility to ensure these programs remain viable?

Mahsi, colleagues. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, how are existing pre-school programs going to stay in business without four-year-olds? This is a serious question. I am not aware that ECE is planning to increase early childhood development subsidies to these programs. A very real possibility from the introduction of JK is that parents will have less choice in the future than they have now, whatever their income. I will have questions for the Minister. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, this, in fact, is not circular. This is the first time this motion has been considered by this House, and so we are asking to be able to respond to the feedback that we have received here in a constructive way, and to bring this motion back.

I appreciate the Minister's commitment to investigating sharing that. I guess it would have been helpful if he had done that before the review began, so that the government operations committee could provide some oversight in this area, which is their responsibility. I also want to talk about reports. We certainly appreciate seeing sole-source contracting reports on a quarterly basis now. I think that that really walks the talk of transparency. It is my understanding that these reports are actually quite easy to produce, just a matter of selecting particular database fields. I am wondering if...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Finance regarding sole-source contracting. In his October 14, 2016 replies to my oral questions, I asked if the Minster would commit to carrying out an evaluation of the sole-source contract awarding practice and performance, a request to which he agreed. Can the Minister give an update on the status of that review? Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to my colleagues who made statements today recognizing International Women's Day. It is, of course, a day to reflect on the accomplishments of women and to gather strength to continue the work required to achieve women's equality.

Mr. Speaker, as you've heard from some others, a unique celebration took place in the House of Commons today. It marks the beginning of the right of women to vote in some jurisdictions 100 years ago. It also highlights the need to attract more women to political life. I'm talking about the initiative that we have here and is in Ottawa...

Okay. Thank you very much for that. I think that those are all my questions. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I wonder if the Minister can think of a remedy to the problem posed to the people who pre-sell tourism packages, where the fees have been made now and so the increased airport fees cannot be added on. Is there a solution he can propose that would allay the concerns that tourism businesses have about having to bridge the gap between their pre-paid and their upcoming business? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for that answer. That's the calculation for residents. What's the calculation for the increased cost of doing business for businesses? Did you do one of those? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, at this point, a number of issues have already been investigated, so I will try to focus on those which, I think, haven't had as much attention. I guess I want to start with the fact that use of the airport is non-optional for a big chunk of the Northwest Territories, because they have no other way to get to their communities on an everyday basis, or to get freight to their communities, or to have a medevac from their communities, or to go on medical travel from their communities. A question I will ask the Minister, at the appropriate time, is: how much of the...