Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure today to celebrate the launching of the Aboriginal Head Start child-centred curriculum. I visited the Aboriginal Head Start Centre in Ndilo last week and spent some time with Reanna Erasmus, chair of the Western Arctic Aboriginal Head Start Council. Reanna is very excited and proud of this Aboriginal Head Start curriculum, and rightly so. It is history in the making.

Aboriginal Head Start is an early intervention program for Aboriginal children and their families. It was introduced in 1995 to enhance child development for Aboriginal children...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I have much the same concerns about this expenditure as does Mr. Bromley. I would like to, first off, ask the Minister, he mentioned that we have spent $9.5 million to date on this project. Could I know what amounts were spent in what years up to this point?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to the Minister for his comments. I have to respectfully disagree. I don’t think that we have to raise revenues through taxes. There are other options that are available to us, and some of those options were suggested in the summaries from the roundtable.

So I’d like to know from the Minister, other than looking at taxes, has the department looked at other options to increase our revenue sources, such as resource rents, for instance. Thank you.

Thank you, committee. Bill 2 is now ready for third reading. Thank you, Minister. Thank you to your witness. I think we could probably have the witness stay for the next bill.

Committee, we will go onto Bill 8. Bill 8 is An Act to Amend the Securities Act. We will defer the title of the act until we have gone through clause by clause. Minister, do you have opening comments?

Committee, we will return to page 1, Bill 2, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2012. Bill as a whole, committee.

Thank you, Minister Abernethy. I will now open the floor for general comments on Bill 2, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act. Any opening comments, committee? Does committee agree to go to detail?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee has been considering Bill 2, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2012, and Bill 7, An Act to Amend the Securities Act, and would like to report progress and that Bills 2 and 8 are ready for third reading. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Thank you.

Does committee agree to bring witnesses into the House?

Thank you, committee. Bill 8 is now deemed ready for third reading. Thank you to the Minister, thank you to your witnesses. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses from the Chamber. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Minister Abernethy. I would now like to go to the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Social Programs, the committee which reviewed this bill, to make comments. Mr. Moses.