Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of ECE. I spoke today about the valuable deliberations and insight shared at the recent Improving Our Children’s Future Conference on early childhood development. The momentum is here and now. Can the Minister say when we will be getting a report on the lessons gained at the conference and his proposals for actions as a result? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The recommendations and the report should be available within the next few months. I was hoping to deliver that by the end of March or early April. That’s the target, in a draft format. Then in the May-June session, I would like to table the document. That is the target date.
I’m working closely with the Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu, on this particular piece of work. It’s a very important document that’s before us and we had a lot of input from the general public of the Northwest Territories, the stakeholders, the elders, the parents. It is a document that will be tabled in this House.
Thanks to the Minister. I’m wondering if that report will actually be the early childhood development framework, and if so, a considerable amount of expertise was brought up for the conference, and of course, we have our own exceptionally qualified Dr. Andre Corriveau expert. Will all of this expertise be available to help guide the development of this document? I’m assuming we’re talking about the framework here.
That’s correct. Dr. Andre Corriveau is the lead when it comes to dealing with the experts, the stakeholders. He also led the team, the group, during the engagement with the community, general public. It is part of the framework that has been over a decade. There haven’t been any changes. So that is before us and that is what I was referring to. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thanks to the Minister. The lack of promised on-the-ground resource centre programs in Ndilo is disappointing at the end of the year here. I know one kafuffle is that it had been the Minister’s insistence that it be a one-year-only program and who would want to invest effort in a flash in the pan kind of program when consistent long-term programs are obviously what’s required.
Given the failure to date, how can the full year allocation of funds for this project in Ndilo possibly be spent in a responsible way in the next few weeks before year end? Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, my understanding is that, of course, my department is working closely with Ndilo and also Tulita, and dealing with the family resource centres. With Ndilo over the past several months, they have been working on establishing a child and family resource centre and will be getting implementation. We have been diligently working with them. My understanding, also, is that $125,000 funding has been allocated last fall. Those are just some of the initiatives that have been worked on, but I can provide the latest update to the Member from my department. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand the dollars have been allocated but not handed over. There is a major difference there.
Two family resource initiatives were announced, the other being in Tulita. Can the Minister tell me what the status of this work is and are funds going to the communities on these pilot programs as well? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the information I have is they received $125,000, but I will double check with my department. The funds should be flowing to the organization to start implementing their establishment. I can assure the Member that I will follow through with this and get back to the Member. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
