Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this question is -- these questions are for the Minister of ECE.
Mr. Speaker, I've been speaking with daycare operators. The wage certification grid that the government has brought out is causing difficulties for operators in a time when we're trying to expand daycare spaces. Mr. Speaker, is this new grid something that's been imposed on us by the federal government, or is it our own program? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, the Canada-wide agreement with the GNWT solely dictates that we must have a wage grid, but it doesn't say where that wage grid starts and where it ends. That is solely dictated by our pocketbooks. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that clarification. So, Mr. Speaker, daycare operators are telling me that this new system is restrictive and preventing them from hiring staff and helping the department achieve their goal of creating new daycare spaces. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to sit down with these operators and work with them and figure this out, find a solution that works for them, that works for the department, something that can help us move forward? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my last -- I know which early learning and childcare institution the Member is speaking with. My last conversation with the executive director of that institution, I did say any time you want to have a sit down I am more than happy. I can also inform the Member that there's been three separate meetings since last Friday with this particular childcare provider, and I believe there was even one as recently as today, Mr. Speaker. I'm always happy to sit down and have these conversations, but I will also say that we have to ensure that our program falls in line with the federal agreement and while we stipulate the minimum that people need to be paid, providers are more than welcome to exceed that. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'm glad the Minister highlighted that because that dovetails well with the question I was about to ask.
Mr. Speaker, operators are telling us that they can't charge fees for additional services like providing healthy meals, extracurricular programming, or even making up the gap between what the government is willing to give and what daycare operators need to be paying in order to keep staff. So, again, is that a rule being imposed on us by the feds or the GNWT, and can we change these things that are creating problems for operators?
Mr. Speaker, I just want to remind the Minister, as she's well aware, we are trying to increase spaces; we want our operators to be given the tools they need to increase spaces to expand. So can the Minister commit to working with them to change the things that need to be changed to solve these problems? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too would like the same things as the Member. The stipulation of no additional fees being charged is in the Canada-wide agreement and any additional fees that are charged must be deducted by the primary fees that are being charged to the parents. So we are in a situation where we need to figure out how to create sustainability and stability within our own system but ensure that we are, at the end of the day, following that agreement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.
