Jay Macdonald

Thank you, Madam Chair. So to specifically answer the Member's questions, the early learning and childcare funding and the Indigenous languages funding are distinct. So a licensed program offering childcare would not be accessing the types of programs and services offered for Indigenous languages. But with that being said, as the Minister mentioned, the existing early learning and childcare funding that the department has includes funding grants for cultural and language programming as well as other activities such as training. And there is what's known as an early learning framework which is...

Thank you, Madam Chair. To be honest, not a huge amount of interdepartmental work on that issue has occurred in the past but it is an area of opportunity.

One of the things that the Indigenous Languages and Education Secretariat has done of late is establish a new committee across government with all departments. So Indigenous language coordinators in each department now have a form to meet regularly with ILE staff, share information, provide feedback on initiatives, and to move the needle forward in terms of the ability of departments and agencies to provide services. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. It's always a bit difficult predicting when we can conclude formal negotiations with the federal government but we're actually optimistic that we'll be able to complete this fiscal year. And as the Minister I think mentioned when responding to a previous question, we're looking for a threeyear extension to the existing Indigenous languages agreement. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Luckily with the recent conclusion of collective bargaining with the Northwest Territories Teachers Association, so my what I think I believe the Minister is speaking about has been addressed. So, for example, there is a provision within the collective agreement for a language bonus for Indigenous language instructors. So that's been increased. I think it's a little over $6,000 per year now.

As well, in the table, the certification and the salary grid for teachers, the parties agreed to remove the initial step which was one year or less of experience. So Indigenous...

Thank you, Madam Chair. So the numbers for the heritage centres are.

In Fort Smith, at the Northern Anthropological and Cultural Society, 198,000;

In Norman Wells, at the Historical Society, it's 118,000;

At the Hay River Museum Society is 60,000;

The Yellowknife Historical Society is 60,000; and

The Fort Simpson Historical Society is 55,000.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. In that case, that money is provided primarily for support for training of early childhood educators working within licensed programs. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. So the mentor apprentice program is in its second year of operation, which is still considered a pilot. So after one year, it was expanded based on feedback and a program evaluation that was conducted. So as I mentioned earlier, there are now six Indigenous governments and six languages being supported through that program. So there is an annual allocation right now of $300,000 for that program, and that program is an annual intake where ECE provides support for mentors and apprentices to come together. So those funding provides for training supports and information for...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. In 2019-2020, we were oversubscribed in our contributions related to land use planning initiatives. There was a lot of work done in the south, south east of the NWT. In the current year, we are still providing funding, but a lot of the meetings that would be face to face have either been cancelled or done virtually. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We don't have specific funding for those categories, but it would just be included in our base funding under land use and sustainability. For land use planning, our budget for 2021-2022 is $2,357,000. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We've been working with the federal government since November, and they have told us that we can expect to receive our agreement within the next few weeks. Thank you, Mr. Chair.