Wendy Bisaro

Thank you for that, Minister.

With the implementation of that fiscal strategy, I am wondering if the Minister can advise whether or not there will be a reduction in the number of public service employees.

My question is for the Minister of Finance.

There have been many backroom and many front-room discussions in the week since the Minister announced the government’s new fiscal strategy. They’ve been held by Members of this House, members of the public service, members of service organizations, members of the general public and members of the media. We all have an opinion on the announcement. Some are approving and some are not. Unfortunately, many opinions are based on hearsay and minimal information.

I’d like to ask the Minister of Finance about the proposed $135 million budget reduction. Is...

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to take the opportunity today to highlight a pressing need in our health care system.

It’s well known that more and more of our residents are choosing to stay in the N.W.T. as they age instead of moving down south. It’s no surprise, then, that the elder segment of our population is increasing — actually, it’s three times the national rate.

Health issues associated with aging are surfacing and stressing our health care programs, our facilities and our residents. Unfortunately, our health care system more and more must manage geriatric illnesses. Perhaps the most challenging...

I would like to table a document entitled Empowering Our Children’s Futures: The First 10 Years of Aboriginal Head Start in Yellowknife and N’dilo.

The Yellowknife and N’dilo Aboriginal Head Start program has become a model for the rest of Canada and is celebrating their ten-year anniversary. The Empowering Our Children’s Futures report includes results collected from monitoring the program quality, school readiness, social skills and parental feedback. Aboriginal Head Start is an early-intervention program for aboriginal children and their families that includes programming in culture...

Thank you for that clarification, Mr. Minister.

Can the Minister provide an overview of the reinvestment segment of this fiscal strategy? How and when will the money be put back in?

I can't see Mr. Jeske, but I am very pleased that he’s here. I once was a colleague of his, and it was a great time to work with him for me.

I would like to recognize a couple of my constituents, Barb Wyness and Matthew Smillie, from the Union of Northern Workers.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. The GNWT subsidy was reduced considerably. Whether or not a child is sick, whether or not the children are away at Christmas visiting grandparents, the day care must still maintain their operation and the expenses that go with it: heat, power, water, building maintenance, staffing and so on. The way the subsidy is currently applied makes no sense and it hampers the effective operation of the day care. It seems to me, and to many parents who need to use the day care for their children, that ECE needs to change their subsidy program. A...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am very pleased to hear the information from the Minister that they are looking at this particular situation. I totally agree with the Minister that this is not a problem that is limited to Yellowknife. It is definitely a problem for any day care anywhere in the Territories. I happen to be aware of an example in Yellowknife. So I ask the Minister, if there is a review underway, when can we expect to get some results from this review and a possible change to the current subsidy application? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my statement, I mentioned that the current subsidy program for day cares creates difficulties for them to manage their operation on a budget which is always changing. Does the Department of Education, Culture and Employment fund day cares…Sorry. Why does the department fund day cares based on a daily attendance subsidy?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to comment on the state of day care in the NWT. During our discussions over the last few weeks, many Members have expressed concern about the lack of day care in our communities. Some communities are unfortunate enough to have absolutely none. There is a number of issues that plague our day cares in the NWT: low wages for workers, lack of funding for day cares, lack of adequate labour force, lack of affordable day care, staff recruitment and retention issues. The list could go on for a long time.

In the NWT, we do have programs to assist day cares...