Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to first of all thank the seconder of the motion, the Member for Nunakput. I’d also like to thank my colleagues for their comments. I think you can tell that this is an extremely important issue. We are very passionate about it. Regular Members have fought very hard to get this funding and this program into our budget. Last year it was intended to be a food study and we managed to get that changed to a program where we could actually use the money to go and buy food to assist the kids in our schools in the various communities.
We’ve been speaking about this issue, the need for providing funding for healthy foods, for nutrition, making healthy choices. We’ve been talking about this since we started in this Assembly, as my colleague Mr. Bromley has mentioned.
I want to mention, too, that the money that is in this current budget year has been distributed according to the contractor by need. So those communities that have higher food costs, where the food prices are far more than they are, say, in Yellowknife, those communities, those schools get more funding than schools in communities where the food prices are lower. That’s a great way to go. But we are basically saying, as my colleague to my left has said, we are leaving the schools to fend for themselves. We are leaving the schools to try to find another method to get the kids to come to school. We are leaving the schools to try to struggle again to increase academic achievement. Both of those things have been proven to be successful through this program, and I’m failing to understand that the department, without an evaluation, is going to cut this funding.
Recently we heard from the Minister of Transportation that we’ve increased the Community Access Program from $320,000 to $1 million. That’s $680,000. I support the fact that communities need some assistance in trails and boat launches and so on, but if push came to shove when you ask the parents whether they would rather have their children have a healthy breakfast or whether they want a trail to wherever, I suspect the answer would be food.
I think in this particular case I have to say that I think the government has put their priority in the wrong place. I think really if the government believes in the success of this program and it has contributed to better attendance, higher academic achievement and better learning at school, the department and the government will look at the budget, will find the money. If we take some from each department, we can do it from within. As I said, where there’s a will, there’s a way. I believe it could be done if they want to do it.
On that note, Mr. Speaker, I will ask for a recorded vote, and thanks to my colleagues.
Ms. Bisaro, Mr. Yakeleya, Mr. Krutko, Mr. Bromley, Mr. Abernethy, Mr. Menicoche, Mr. Ramsay, Mr. Beaulieu, Mr. Hawkins, Mr. Jacobson.
All those opposed to the motion, please stand. All those abstaining from the motion, please stand.
Mr. Lafferty; Ms. Lee; Mr. Miltenberger; Mr. Roland; Mr. McLeod, Deh Cho; Mr. McLeod, Inuvik Twin Lakes; Mr. McLeod, Yellowknife South.
Thank you, Madam Clerk. Results of the recorded vote: in favour of the vote, 10; opposed, none; abstaining, seven. Motion is carried.
---Carried
The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The Member is requesting a recorded vote. All those in favour of the motion, please stand.
Mr. Jacobson, Ms. Bisaro, Mr. Yakeleya, Mr. Krutko, Mr. Bromley, Mr. Abernethy, Mr. Menicoche, Mr. Beaulieu, Mr. Hawkins.
All those opposed to the motion, please stand. All those abstaining from the motion, please stand.
Mr. Lafferty; Ms. Lee; Mr. Miltenberger; Mr. Roland; Mr. McLeod, Deh Cho; Mr. McLeod, Inuvik Twin Lakes; Mr. McLeod, Yellowknife South.
Results of the recorded vote: in favour, 10; opposed, zero; abstaining, seven. Motion is carried.
---Carried
The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
