R.J. Simpson

ECE gives out a lot of money. The Members are always asking me to give out more money. I have to let them know there is a process. There is a process in the government whereby I have to go to the Financial Management Board and present this. That being said, these funds were put out there for a reason. It's because COVID-19, we were afraid it was coming to the territory, and we needed to be prepared. As such, we put a lot of time into it in a short period of time. We put a lot of hours each day into this.

We are in a different place now. What we have to do is go back, look at what we have in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We will defeat the scourge of COVID-19, and when we do, we will be better prepared to attract and welcome new residents.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to provide an update on the new immigration-related initiatives that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has implemented or undertaken in the past six months, including an immigration settlement and integration pilot project, development of a new immigration stream, the creation of new resources for newcomers, and a refreshed website. I am also happy to officially announce the launch of the all new online...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A lot of the things that the schools are doing won't cost extra money, but the Member is right that PPE is something that we didn't have before. You can make hallways one way and adjust drop-off times for students for free, but when it comes to PPE, then that is an issue. Right now, we are well on our way to providing schools with PPE. I am going to, obviously, find out what the needs are and go back to Cabinet and find out how we can support schools. I can't say what the final decision of the Financial Management Board is going to be, but like I have said before, I am...

Just like people, the age of buildings isn't always necessarily the best indicator of what kind of shape their in. J.H. Sissons was in a shape where it needed to be replaced, whereas Chief Jimmy Bruneau is in much better condition. The Member is correct that there have been conversations with the Tlicho government. He accompanied me to Edzo, and we sat in the school and spoke with the Tlicho leadership. They made very clear what their preference would be. I made some commitments to them, and I followed through on those commitments. I am almost at the point where I am going to be reaching back...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's a technical question. What happens is that there is an evaluation of the school done, the structure of it, and a determination made of whether or not it would be more cost effective to retrofit the school or rebuild it. When I say "retrofit," I don't mean just patch it up. I know that the Member said that in his statement, "patch it up." The school I went to, the school that my father went to, is 50 years old. It just got a retrofit, and it looks brand new. It's not just a patch job here and there; it's a full-on renovation. That determination is made on whether...

That's a good question about proper-fitting PPE. We can't just say students have to wear PPE and then not have stuff that fits them. Those are conversations that are happening right now. In terms of just PPE in general, ECE has received, I can't recall the numbers, but thousands of pieces of PPE have already been donated that are going out to the schools. The boxes of them are sitting here downtown right now. We're working on that. The Emergency Management Organization is procuring PPE for all government departments, including ECE. I can get back to the Member on those details because I have...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Every single day, there are meetings between the assistant deputy minister of education and culture and all of the superintendents in the Northwest Territories. Every two weeks, I meet with the education leaders, the chairs of the 10 DEAs and DECs in the territory, and there is constant communication. We always make sure that we let the education bodies know what we are thinking, and we always want to know what they are thinking because, the way education is in the territory, it is so decentralized that we have to collaborate.

In terms of the costs, where we are right...

Thank you, Madam Chair. It is a very new program. There are some places that need childcare, we have known for a long time that need childcare, and we know that infrastructure is the issue. We have identified those places and are working to identify others and are targeting those. I want to make sure that we get some things done. I want to make sure we get some childcare spaces that are going to be sustainable in place, especially where there isn't licensed childcare currently or not a lot of it. It's a bit more targeted, perhaps, but we're going to make sure that we get some things done with...

The Member is right. People in the Northwest Territories, and especially in the Member's riding, pay more than anywhere else in Canada, and that is why the Income Assistance program in the Northwest Territories pays much more than any other program in Canada.

Thank you, Madam Chair. ECE has regional childcare coordinators in five regions, and they have relationships with the existing programs. They keep themselves apprised of organizations who may wish to start a childcare program. Right now, we have identified criteria. To determine the program's eligibility, there needs to be demonstrated need for physical space that will result in additional new licensed early learning and childcare spaces. The applicant must be able to provide a portion of the cost. Funding can be used to build new buildings or retrofit existing buildings, including both non...