Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I mentioned that I was going to address the homecare and daycare facilities here to the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment. My first question is to the Minister. After reading and listening to the presentation yesterday, there are changes underway. There is restructuring and reintroduction of new subsidies, so is it sounds like the program for the day home and daycare is being revised. Can the Minister explain: when is that going to be done, and what are the main highlights or the main principles of the new program? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, and I'm very glad the Member brought some his concerns with the daycares in the Sahtu, and following up to the statement that I gave in the House yesterday, we're looking at the fall in October to have these all put back into place, and it is so our daycares can actually sustain themselves. There is attendance based review, but also just funding that is going into utilities, the costs and maintenance, rent, and mortgage of these daycares. Those will all be coming into effect in October and I look forward to seeing the rollout of this program and we can start providing early childhood programs in the communities of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
One of the changes that I have heard is a concern back home, and I'm hoping and I'm getting the feeling that it is going to be in this new program. Can the Minister confirm that housing units will be made available to the day home that operators live in, to turn that into a day home facility?
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
That's a very complex situation. Anybody who is in housing and wants to provide daycare is in day home programs, doesn't currently fall under our criteria, and in fact, it would be almost starting up a business within the housing program. It's not currently in the criteria. I don't believe we will be looking at that as an option, but we will see, if there is, what other options that we can provide in the Sahtu. I know we have gotten some requests from members in the communities that would like to open up that daycare or a day home that live in public housing units, and right now, that just doesn't fall under our criteria.
Can the Minister clarify on yesterday's presentation his statement when, and I quote, we are also changing our approach to operators in government-owned buildings? What is the rationale behind that statement?
Yes. We do have daycare operators in some of our government buildings. Currently, we give them funding of up to 50 per cent. Under the new changes, we will be subsidizing their rents, mortgage, or their rent to 75 per cent. We already offer it to people that are doing it in their own buildings or nongovernment buildings. We should be having it equal right across the board, so any daycares that are operating in our government buildings, we will be subsidizing up to 75 per cent. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My last question is: I ask the Minister to provide me with a briefing so I can advertise and market this new service this year within the community I represent. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, we will be glad to provide a package for the Member. I know that we do have an early childhood consultant in the Sahtu region who has been working with various stakeholders to see what options we have to provide daycares in the community of Norman Wells. We will get that package to the Member, and maybe we will also see if we can set up a meeting with our early childhood consultant to see all the work that has been provided to the stakeholders and the options of possibly, if we can't find a building, looking at a day home that is not a public housing unit.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
