Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to go back to questions for the Minister of Education regarding early education opportunities. I am concerned that the Minister is missing my point. He does talk about the Aboriginal student achievement program that is focused in on helping Aboriginal youth. I want to make sure that it is crystal clear, I absolutely support that program and I think that is a great beginning for lifelong learning. Mr. Speaker, my concern falls on sort of the broader policy of how we help students at the age of four in the early education program, the junior kindergarten. Mr...

The Minister keeps pointing at the Aboriginal Student Initiative but it doesn’t fund non-Aboriginal students. I’m referring to junior kindergarten for all students. I see them as all students that we should give a good chance to at the beginning of their early education years. Does the Minister, in his leadership of the Department of ECE, see a way that all students could be funded under this initiative, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about early childhood education. UNESCO says early childhood education is defined by the years of birth to eight years old. They believe that it makes a remarkable difference on the brain development of young people if early education is offered early in the beginning of school years, before the traditional time of grades 1 to 4.

I would like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment what his government and department can do to help support schools that wish to offer junior education programs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to speak about the importance of early education and how I believe that ECE should support junior kindergarten in our future years.

The GNWT has two strategic initiatives in this area. One provides funding for the languages initiatives that supports local language programming for preschool children and the second provides some assistance to regions to assist early childhood providers. In Yellowknife, preschool programs and preschool bilingual programs are offered on a fee base. There is also a program at the Yellowknife Catholic Schools for children...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister is correct that school boards can divert funding to specific education programs that they feel that obviously fall under the Education Act or a good stewardship of the money, et cetera, under their board guidance, but, Mr. Speaker, would the Minister be prepared to work towards developing a pilot program that can help develop or foster these junior kindergarten programs to ensure that early education is enshrined in our childhood development very early on and demonstrates the commitment of the government to ensuring kids have a great start in education...

Mr. Speaker, I don’t have to educate the Minister on the facts that kindergarten wasn’t once funded and then it was only funded half time, and as we all know now, it is funded full time, Mr. Speaker, thanks to past Education Ministers.

Mr. Speaker, is it the intent of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to work towards supporting junior kindergarten? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That’s not quite correct because the Education Act says that students aren’t funded unless they’re age five by the end of the school year. They are not counted under funding per basis. The issue is drawing in early children who can use the literacy and numeracy development over the long haul on those early years. Would the Minister look at and consider the position and proposal that I’m putting forward, which is redefining the act or redefining the mandate of the department that can provide junior kindergarten by accepting those students as students and funding them?

The problem with the Aboriginal Student Achievement Program, although it’s a fantastic program, it doesn’t fit all the students. I’m talking about programming that school boards can offer for all students.

We have schools that are presently taking on this role of junior kindergarten and I think it’s a significant advancement of the education of a young person and giving them the right start. Would the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment investigate the opportunities on a proposal basis trying some pilot projects of funding junior kindergarten?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess my recognition of visitors in the gallery will sound a little bit like déjà vu thanks to Ms. Bisaro. I too would like to recognize Mr. Ed Jeske. He’s a very well-known and wise, respected constituent. Accompanying him, as Ms. Bisaro had mentioned, is the lovely and charming Vivian Squires, who has just returned as the executive director to the YK seniors. Welcome to them both.

I take it from the Minister’s answer that there’s never been anyone evicted or forced out if they have not been making their payments in the last five years. Thank you.