Debates of May 11, 2007 (day 5)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to speak about the success story of the Norman Wells Day Care. This is a great example of how a community can work to provide for itself. In the past, I spoke about the need for day care places in the Sahtu. The entire region had only 59 licensed day care spots. The new Norman Wells Day Care will add 20 day care and 10 pre-school spots thanks to the efforts of the Norman Wells Early Childhood Society. I would like to congratulate the society for the workers, the volunteers, Chamber of Commerce, the Norman Wells Land Corporation, the Town of Norman Wells, the corporate donors and all the GNWT departments that made this project possible.

This is a remarkable success story, Mr. Speaker, because people almost gave up on this idea. They could not find the estimated $500,000 fund required to build a new facility. What turned their fortune around was the Housing Corporation of the Northwest Territories agreeing to supply to surplus three houses for a nominal fee. The ownership was transferred to the Norman Wells Early Childhood Society and several community businesses chipped in to help out with the renovations and the relocation of a building to a site donated by the Town of Norman Wells. At the end, Norman Wells will one day have a day care opened this fall for less than half the original estimated cost.

The Norman Wells Early Childhood Society estimates that start-up costs were around $200,000. This success is a great example for a community for its driven solutions. I would like to congratulate the residents and businesses of Norman Wells for their endless efforts and the agencies for the collaborations for making day care a reality for the mothers. Maybe this is a happy Mother’s Day gift to all the mothers in the Sahtu in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

---Applause