Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to address some further questions to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. The Minister knows that we have eight communities in the NWT who have Aboriginal Head Start programs.
I’d like to ask the Minister why he does not recognize how valuable these eight preschools are, why does he not recognize how successful they are, how much better prepared Aboriginal Head Start students are than non-Aboriginal Head Start kids when they get to kindergarten? Why does he not accept the value of the Aboriginal Head Start programs, work in concert with them, and offer the best possible programming for our four-year-olds?
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Minister of Education, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. We do recognize the Aboriginal Head Start program.
I am very glad that the Minister knows those programs exist, and I hope he knows how valuable they are. I’d like to ask the Minister whether he knows how many four-year-olds live in each community where junior kindergarten will start in September of 2014.
Does the department know how many spaces will be needed in those 29 communities where junior kindergarten will be started? Has there been any analysis of the number of four-years-olds that exist in each community, and have they considered using the Aboriginal Head Start programs to offer junior kindergarten instead of starting a brand new program in those eight communities? Thank you.
We did compile all that information. As I stated, junior kindergarten is not a fresh topic of discussion here. It has been discussed for a number of years now as part of the process we’ve been going through. Compiling all the information for 2014, 2015-16, 2016-17, I can gather the information for the Member. I don’t have it in front of me today, but I can gather the detailed information for the Member.
Thanks to the Minister. I look forward to seeing that information. If the department has information on four-year-olds, I’d like to say to the Minister, there must be communities who have minimal number of four-year-olds. I look at information that I have which tells me that in 2012, we had, for instance, 12 zero to four-year-old children in Tsiigehtchic, 12 zero to four-year-olds in Wekweeti. Surely, if there was an Aboriginal Head Start program in a community that had 20 zero to four-year-olds, that’s not very many kids at the age of four.
So, to the Minister, if he has all this information, why are they continuing to put junior kindergarten in every one of our 29 communities when it’s not necessary in eight of them? Thank you.
With the evaluation assessment of junior kindergarten not only in our jurisdictions but other jurisdictions as well, we have been compiling all the information from the communities, 33 communities. It is necessary to have junior kindergarten, especially in those communities that don’t have licenced early childhood programming. The Member is referring to communities that may not have licenced child care programming. So this is of value to them. This is a benefit to them to have optional programming. Then there’s the Head Start program in the eight various communities we work with as well. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will try to make it short, but I want to say to the Minister, I am not saying don’t implement junior kindergarten. To my colleagues, I am not saying that junior kindergarten should not go to small communities. I am saying we have communities where we have a program that is viable, that is successful and why are we forcing another junior kindergarten into those communities where we already have Aboriginal Head Start where it is active and viable and would be happy to take on more four-year-olds? Thank you.
Again, we’re not forcing them. It’s an optional program for parents in the Northwest Territories in the 33 communities we are going to be servicing. This has been in discussion, the Early Childhood Development Framework, in an engagement with the parents, the educators and they want this to be an option so they can choose, the parents can choose. So we’ve done that. We’ve listened to them. We will be rolling out the program, but it’s an optional program, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, I am in receipt of Return to Written Question 10-17(5) asked by Ms. Bisaro on February 20, 2014, to the Honourable J. Michael Miltenberger, Minister of Finance, regarding tax revenues in the 2014-2015 Main Estimates.
The 2014-15 budget amount for personal income tax is $104.8 million and for corporate income tax is $53.1 million. These amounts are found in the 2014-15 Main Estimates, Department of Finance, pages 5 to 9. As discussed in Committee of the Whole on February 28, 2014, the 2014-15 total revenues in the 2014-15 Main Estimates are $38 million lower than those included in the fiscal framework presented to the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning in December 2013 due to decreases in the corporate and personal income tax forecasts.
The anticipated loss of $30 million refers to income tax forecast beyond 2014-15, as noted in the 2014-15 budget address, page 3, second paragraph: “Both personal and corporate income tax revenue estimates for 2013-14 are lower than what was forecast in the 2013-14 budget, and beyond 2014-15 both personal and corporate income tax revenue forecasts have been reduced by a combined $30 million.”
The $30 million downward revision in income tax forecasts is a result of downward revisions to 2013-14 income tax and changes to growth estimates going forward.
From the 2013-14 Main Estimates to the 2014-2015 Main Estimates the 2013-14 personal income tax forecast has been revised downward $11 million from $98.1 million to $87.1 million and the 2013-14 corporate income tax forecast has been revised downward $9 million from $88 million to $79 million.
On January 14, 2014, the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning was advised that the revenue forecast was being revised downward and were informed that the decline in 2013-14 personal income tax revenues would decrease the personal income forecasts beyond 2014-15 by an average of $9 million annually and the corporate income tax forecasts by $20 million annually.
Total revenues estimated for the fiscal year 2014-15 are $1.845,501 billion as shown in the 2014-2015 Main Estimates, Summary of Revenues table, page vi.
To adjust for the anticipated revenue decreases, expenditures will be constrained through a combination of efforts on both the operating and capital budgets as a result of the reduced tax revenue forecast as well as the increased contribution to the Heritage Fund from 5 to 25 percent of resource revenues.
In 2014-15 a passive restraint target of $6.8 million will limit growth in operating expenditures. Going forward, $30 million in operating expenditure savings will be identified through the 2015-16 budget planning cycle. It is anticipated that this target can be achieved through a combination of limiting forced growth and re-profiling of existing resources for new initiatives.
The impact of the decrease in the revenue forecast on the capital budget was addressed in the fiscal framework by eliminating the escalation in capital planning in 2016-17, as indicated in the January 14, 2014, presentation to the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to table feedback that I received from the public with regard to the motion requesting authority to extend the term of the current Assembly. I believe there are about 25 responses here and I would stress that all are from individuals, private citizens, and should not be taken to represent the views of their employers or professional work life. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “Communities and Diamonds: 2013 Annual Report of the GNWT Under the BHP Billiton, Diavik and DeBeers Socio-economic Agreements.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “Aurora College Annual Report, 2012-2013.” Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Beaulieu.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “Minister of Transportation’s Report for the Legislative Assembly for 2013 on Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1990.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to table an article from the Tyee, the 28th of February 2014 issue, entitled “Alberta Mother Fights Five Neighbouring Fracked Wells,” subtitled Diana Daunheimer’s lawsuit follows years of policing industry in her own backyard. Mahsi.
I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that, notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on March 13, 2014, it shall be adjourned until Wednesday, May 28, 2014;
AND FURTHER, that any time prior to May 28, 2014, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may give notice and thereupon the House shall meet at the time stated in such notice and shall transact its business as it has been duly adjourned to that time.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. Motion is carried.
---Carried
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 24, An Act to Amend the Student Financial Assistance Act, be read for the second time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill amends the Student Financial Assistance Act to raise the maximum aggregate principal amount of all student loans that may be made by the Government of the Northwest Territories by $5 million for the 2014-2015 and subsequent fiscal years. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. Motion is carried.
---Carried
Bill 24 has had second reading and is referred to committee. Mr. Lafferty.
Mr. Speaker, I move, second by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 25, An Act to Amend the Education Act, be read for the second time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill amends the Education Act to provide the subject to regulation persons who are employed as superintendents are employed in the public service and makes corollary amendments to the Public Service Act to address the employment status of superintendents. This bill also clarifies the status of certain incumbent superintendents who would otherwise be affected by this amendment. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. Motion is carried.
---Carried
Bill 25 has had second reading and is referred to committee. Item 20, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters. Item 21, report of Committee of the Whole.
Colleagues, we’re going to take a 15-minute break.
---SHORT RECESS
Item 22, third reading of bills. Madam Clerk, will you ascertain if Commissioner George L. Tuccaro is prepared to enter the Chamber?
Mr. Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly, good afternoon.
I look forward to attending the 2014 Arctic Winter Games in Fairbanks, Alaska, next week. I am already so proud of our Team NWT athletes and coaches in how they have performed during their trials to qualify for the Games, and in how I know they will conduct themselves with good sportsmanship as representatives and ambassadors for the Northwest Territories.
I would like to wish good luck to all of our athletes as they compete at the Arctic Winter Games. I will be one of their best cheerleaders.
