Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my question will be for the Premier of the Northwest Territories, and it’s related to Junior Kindergarten and how it relates to consensus government.
Can the Premier indicate to me how we deal with a topic like this, that’s been before this House for over a year, talking about the funding requirements. How does consensus government deal with this issue, one issue that keeps repeating itself with no results? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d be very pleased to try to explain how we got there from here. As the Member may know, in the previous Assembly we had a Program Review Office, which still exists, and I was glad to hear one of the Members say that as a government we have to adhere to our own legislation, and I think that’s what we have to do.
The Program Review Office reviewed the education system. The Program Review Office pointed out to us that we were not adhering to our own legislation; we were overfunding education by over $17 million a year. It was pointed out that we should invest more in early childhood development, and that’s what this government has done. We have invested in Junior Kindergarten. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I’m just wondering about the concern, and I see the concern is not Junior Kindergarten and the fact of whether it’s needed or not.
How do we deal with this consensus when we’re talking about how it’s being rolled out? The concern is from different communities, from different leaders throughout the Territories saying that this program is not being rolled out properly when there’s other organizations and other programs, such as the Head Start program, that are being overrun by this Junior Kindergarten program. How do we deal with that in consensus government?
Aboriginal Head Start program is a federal program and it’s federally funded, and I don’t see us interfering in any way with Aboriginal Head Start. Where there are Aboriginal Head Start programs where Junior Kindergarten is being introduced, we’re working it out so that they can coexist.
I understand the situation, but I understand that these kids are being removed and they’re being put into the public system. Who wouldn’t take that on? It’s a free program, but it’s a program within some of the communities that’s not necessarily needed. I guess the rollout is the question.
How can we change the rollout going forward in consensus government?
In consensus government we pride ourselves in being open and transparent and working things out. We’ve just rolled out Junior Kindergarten. It’s only been in place for three months in communities where they have nothing. They don’t even have daycare. So, as we do in consensus government, we are surveying the program, how it’s working, and we will be reviewing it as early as the next session of this Assembly. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that Cabinet is proud of this program and I understand that Junior Kindergarten is going to be a good thing for some of the small communities that don’t have anything. The question that I have is, it’s being rolled out now, it’s being implemented. Some of these organizations, some of these small communities already know those concerns.
Will the Premier commit to doing some sort of general meeting on Junior Kindergarten with all those people that are being affected, a Junior Kindergarten charrette let’s call it, will the Premier commit to that?
We are always open to the very innovative suggestions from all of the Members of this Assembly. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
