Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Early childhood development is an important aspect for Regular Members and if you don’t think so, stay tuned for later today.
We are hoping that this sends a very strong and meaningful signal to the department that proper funding and planning and full collaboration with all northern stakeholders needs to be more than just the flavour of the month.
Recently, I had the honour of co-chairing with my colleagues Minister Lafferty and Minister Beaulieu with many participants from around the NWT as an advisor leading on the child and family resource centre issues.
This was fundamentally the first step towards improving early childhood development programming in the Northwest Territories. Together, it was very clear that we could not put too much emphasis on ensuring that our children are properly nurtured, encouraged and protected, especially during those early years, zero to three years of age, which serves as a critical foundation for lifelong development and success.
It was very evident that the stakeholder meeting did set the stage for asking the fundamental question are we, the government, doing this right. Before I answer such a question, it is imperative that the primary responsibility for raising children is with the family and that the government should only need to play a supportive role. However, the answer to my earlier question is no, we’re not doing it right.
The current Early Childhood Development Framework is over 10 years old and we require the modernization of its content to reflect what Northerners need to succeed. We need new money for this to occur, but unfortunately we’re seeing a current budget and a government that’s not walking the talk. It’s not, as the government has pointed out, as easy as delivering it differently, it’s not only about collaboration or coordination or communication, it’s about infrastructure. A better one, at that, for one-stop facilities. It’s about having better tools. It’s about engagement of our communities. More importantly, it’s about best modern-day practices.
The Regular Members here are not experts but it’s clear from Regular Members that northern society will continue to suffer from health problems, social issues such as homelessness, addictions, violence and especially lower levels of education. Knowing this, unless we provide all our children with the support they need to develop potential and early childhood, we will lose this battle.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
