Robert Bouchard

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too would like to welcome everybody back to the Assembly. It’s been a busy summer throughout the North, and with the record fire season this year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff of ENR, the firefighters on the front, all the workers put together that helped protect this territory.

We had over 385 fires and three million hectares of forest destroyed. These people have been working hard for the public of the Northwest Territories, and I know the public appreciates them, especially in areas such as Kakisa and Reid Lake where the fires were right...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My last question is on maybe an evaluation of the existing or the operations this year.

Have we seen anywhere we can do some cost savings, economies of scale when we have larger fire seasons, and going forward, how do we evaluate that?

Does the Minister know how these extraordinary costs can be covered through the GNWT finances?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek consent to waive Rule 34(1) and proceed with the third reading of Bill 26, An Act to Amend the Elections and Plebiscites Act.

---Consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Chair. To my left I have Chief Electoral Officer Mr. David Brock and to my right I have Ken Chutskoff, legislative counsel.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On behalf of the Board of Management of the Legislative Assembly, I am pleased to present Bill 26, An Act to Amend the Elections and Plebiscites Act.

This bill includes a number of changes to our elections legislation that were recommended by the Chief Electoral Officer and the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures following their respective reports on the 2011 General Election.

These changes will result in:

more accurate voters lists;

better access to mobile polls and absentee ballots;

changes to the vouching rules, so that a voter can vouch for another elector in the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll continue on the PTR. I’m just wondering if the Minister can give me a definition of what PTR includes, because there are questions of whether our principals, vice-principals and classroom assistants are included in PTR. Are they included in the PTR?

Mr. Speaker, that’s part of the difficulty and the fact that if you’re dealing with a small centre and you only have three or four students, then that ratio is thrown off completely in some of the bigger communities, Fort Smith and Hay River, for example, in the South Slave, where the ratios may be 25 or 30 to 1.

I’m just wondering if the Minister could look at individuals, especially on the implementation of junior kindergarten.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s great to see some youth in the audience today. Like you indicated today, there are quite a few graduations going on in the Northwest Territories.

I guess I’d like to speak about the education system right now. It’s in a bit of turmoil and the fact is there are lot of DEAs and authorities that are looking at what’s going on in the education system today.

Junior kindergarten is being rolled out by the government. We’ve had lots of questions in this House. This session has been mainly about asking… Every MLA has asked questions on junior kindergarten or education...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that Bill 26, An Act to Amend the Elections and Plebiscites Act, be read for the third time. Thank you.