Kevin O'Reilly

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That was a very long answer to a simple question, but I have one simple question to ask the Minister: I am looking for a commitment from him to prepare cost estimates, using these formulae, to change the ones that start at kindergarten, change them to JK, and tell me, using their JK student projections, how much extra it is going to cost to fully fund JK? Will the Minister commit to providing Regular MLAs with that information? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Have you finished, Ms. Green?

Thanks, Mr. Chair. In the last week and a half, I have met with the Yellowknife Catholic Schools, the Yellowknife District No. 1 board and CSFTNO, all of the Yellowknife boards, and each one of them has raised this issue with me about how JK is not fully funded. We have got the evidence now. The Minister says that they are looking at changing some of these formulas. When is that going to happen, and will it happen in time for the 2017-2018 school year? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. Thank you again to the Minister. As people know, I attended the Giant Mine Oversight Board's public meeting on May 16th. One of the concerns raised was how information on water and soil arsenic contamination and any health-related or exposure warnings can be shared with tourists and visitors. We could do this through the Northern Frontier Visitors Centre, oops, we don't have that anymore. How does the Minister intend to share arsenic contamination information with tourists and visitors? Merci, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. First off, I want to thank the Standing Committee on Social Development for their exceptional work on Bill 16. I had the privilege of sitting in on many of their meetings. I also want to thank all of the people who participated in that review. My remarks, I am going to focus on a little bit on STIP, and then I will have some remarks about junior kindergarten towards the end, as well. On the surface, this bill looks like it is small changes, but it has proven to be very challenging to get clear responses and information from the Minister and his department. This...

Thank you to the Minister for that response. I agree that a good first step is to compile what is out there. I am hoping that, in compiling that, we also look at speciation or the different forms of arsenic. Some are toxic and some are far less toxic. Sampling water in lakes is a good start, but we also need to think about sampling of sediments, soils, and fish. Does the Minister have any plans for a systematic sampling of sediments, soils, and fish around Yellowknife for arsenic in its various forms?

Thanks, Mr. Chair. John Howard may have been around for 150 years, but how long have they been here in the Northwest Territories or, indeed, in Yellowknife? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to share some good news today about an important accessibility initiative being undertaken by school administrators in my constituency. The Yellowknife Education District No. 1 has recently secured funding through the Access 4 All Canada 150 Signature Initiative. The program provides funding to raise awareness and break down barriers for people living with disabilities. It does that by providing accessibility in our built environment, it corrects or improves accessibility of infrastructure for persons with disabilities. It aims particularly at improving the...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I think it's important to understand that this only came in response to the work of the standing committee, and this was a hard fought battle to try to get a mandatory review period. I guess the other thing I want to mention, I think this is a poor cousin compared to the previous amendment but I cannot speak to that again. There are two areas that concern me greatly with the amendment that is proposed. The first is this idea of consulting with the committee. I think I have been here for almost, getting close to two years, and kind of consultation I have seen from my Cabinet...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Did the department look at the option of actually reissuing the RFP for a longer period of time, or making other changes to the RFP rather than to enter into some sort of a negotiated arrangement? Thanks, Mr. Chair.