R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Cabinet is unable to support Bill 29. This bill proposes to amend three pieces of land and resources legislation. However, to date, there's been no consultation with Indigenous governments, industry, or the public on proposed amendments. Provision of the three acts without engagement does not align with the public's expectation of how the Government of the Northwest Territories should operate and is contrary to our agreements with Indigenous governments.

If the bill is referred to a Standing Committee, there will be opportunities for public engagement, but...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: Followup Letter for Oral Question 54419(2) Mental Health During the Pandemic, and Followup Letter for Oral Question 69619(2) Illicit Drug Trade. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, the Member just brought concerns to me, and she's a representative of the people so I have to say yes, I've heard concerns from the people. The South Slave Divisional Educational Council has also reported they have occasionally received similar concerns. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The last technical evaluation for JBT was done in 2005. And I'm not aware of plans to do another one. There have been no major issues identified with this school. Issues are identified by the regional Infrastructure staff who regularly work with the school and maintain it through reports from the staff at the school, through observations from ECE staff when they're in the school, and Infrastructure has a database that produces a rating of schools, and the rating for JBT is based on its deferred maintenance and its condition, and the rating for JBT is .52, which is...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake that Bill 30, an Act to Amend the Aurora College Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have an over/under on, you know, how realistic that is. But the fact is that we recognize that we need qualified early learning childcare educators, not just people to, you know, watch the kids while they watch TV. We need educators if we really want to give children the best start in life. So there's a number of initiatives taking place. There are early learning and childcare scholarships for people who want to learn. There's a pilot program right now in person. You can do the first year of the diploma online. We're hoping to expand the number of dual credit...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The bilateral agreement is still being negotiated. So I can't give the Member a number on that. However, the federal government, in addition to that 30 billion they announced from 450 million in workforce development, and we expect maybe 2 and a half million from that, and hopefully in addition to what we're getting at the bilateral. So we have been receiving about 2.4 million a year. And so in worst case scenario, we would get that in the first year of that agreement.

But the federal government has made an announcement. I'm not confident that they have ironed out all...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There have been a number of engagements happening. There's a number still scheduled to happen. And through those engagements, we are hearing what the communities, what the childcare providers, what Indigenous governments want as a model. And we're hearing all of those options that the Member just identified. There's some communities, as he points out, where it's difficult to find a group or nonprofit to provide childcare. And in some communities, there's not enough children. Some communities, there's not a desire. So we'll never get to I don't think we'll likely ever...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The question is is Ottawa willing to put up 50 percent of the dollars. We already put in a substantial amount of money many times more than Ottawa puts into childcare. So if Ottawa was to match what we're already spending, we would be almost where we need to be. There would probably be additional funding required, but that 50 percent from Ottawa would be great.

So, you know, of course, appropriations are voted on by this House. So I can't commit to any future funding. But I think it's fair to say there is a commitment to ensuring that we are partners with Ottawa as we...

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Tuesday, June 1st, 2021, I will move that Bill 30, an act to amend the Aurora College Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.