Shane Thompson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, my colleague from Hay River North was asking the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment about junior kindergarten, and we seem to have some differences of opinion. I've heard 3.1. Now I hear from the government it's 2.7. So is junior kindergarten truly fully funded by this government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to speak about a group of women from Fort Simpson who decided to do a flash fundraiser to raise money for Syrian refugees during the holiday season.

The idea started when one of the ladies saw a social media post on Facebook from the Compassion Collective, a group of authors in the United States who are raising money for the Syrian refugees.

After reading the post and expressing her desire to participate in some form of a Compassion Collective fundraiser, she began receiving posts and calls from a number of her family and friends who wanted to help...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that clarification. I guess my concern is that, if we are funding this completely, where is this money going to be coming from to implement junior kindergarten? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the Minister's answer. I guess my question, though, is: is it going to be funded by the end of this fiscal term or this fiscal year, next fiscal year, or by the end of our term? In the Finance Minister's statement there was $2.7 million by the end of this term. I am just trying to get it clarified because I have had a number of parents and teachers phone going, "Great, we are fully funding junior kindergarten." I am going, "Have to confirm."

Okay, thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for the clarification. So the government is actually not funding it completely. We're working with the divisional boards to find the money, so it's not fully funded by the Government of the Northwest Territories unless it's from the funding that exists, that we get right now.

So yesterday the Minister was talking about that they have to find it from the surplus of these educational boards. Can this Minister verify that each school board has a surplus that they can actually find to help fund this 1.76 per cent funding? Thank you, Mr. Speaker...

I thank the Minister for his answer. Yesterday, we talked about a 2 per cent that the divisional boards have to come up with. So if the government is fully funding this program at $5.1 million, why are they asking the divisional boards to come up with 2 per cent?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As my colleague from Tu NedheWiilideh said yesterday in his reply to the Budget Address, he's one of the MLAs who represents small communities. I, too, represent small communities in my riding, and they face many challenges. Unfortunately, sometimes our concerns are not heard by Cabinet. I've said it before, and still firmly believe this.

Mr. Speaker, before I speak directly about the budget, I need to address one of the budget processes. The first issue is consensus government. On Thursday, we heard from the Premier that the budget is a product of consensus system. He...

I thank the Minister for his answer. I understand he has to work with the school boards and the superintendents in that area. My big concern is: are we implementing junior kindergarten next fiscal year for all the schools in the Northwest Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I was asking the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment about junior kindergarten. With the Finance Minister talking about the program being fully funded, can the Minister please clarify in this House, because I have received numerous phone calls from teachers -- this is for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment -- when are we getting the full funding for junior kindergarten? Is it this fiscal year for the budget or is it going to be next year, fiscal budget, or by the end of this term? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Minister for his answer. If I wasn't confused before, I think I'm a little bit confused now. So are we asking the school boards to provide 2 per cent, or are we not asking them to provide 2 per cent for this junior kindergarten?