Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the opportunity to ask a question here today. I’m going to follow up on similar questions and not let the Minister of Education off the hook. I think my MLA colleague Mrs. Groenewegen is quite right. I mean, we were there to solve the problem and, as such, it was things about providing child care support for families in small communities and we’ve done completely the opposite, we’ve made a mess.
In short, no one is against the concept of Junior Kindergarten, but now we have day homes at risk. The Minister is poaching one-third of their students; he’s turning Aboriginal Head Start into a mess.
So with all these little policy changes he’s done, and he’s ignored a duly appropriate motion passed in this Assembly to stop what he’s doing, what is his intent to do for the day homes that will be losing one-third of their children, which is in fact one-third of their stream? He’s going to collapse, singlehandedly collapse the daycare system in every large community. What is he going to do?
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Minister of Education, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I’ve already answered this a couple of sessions ago, that my department is working very closely with organizations, whether they be early learning, the daycares, all those organizations that could be potentially impacted, whether it be positive or negative. We are, as a department, and I’ve instructed my department to work very closely with them, all over the Northwest Territories, not just Yellowknife and Hay River and the larger centres but all communities. We will continue to do that, and if there are any ripple effects, then my department will follow through immediately. So, we are closely monitoring it. We’re working diligently with the organizations as well. Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, this Minister has scuttled the daycare ship and he’s now coming up with policy about not shooting holes. He’s singlehandedly ruined the daycare system out there and is now saying, oh well, we’ll develop policy when we come across that bridge. This Minister should be proud that he’s going to go down in history as the person who has ruined daycare in the Northwest Territories.
With all of these changes, wouldn’t you have thought it would have made a lot more sense to develop policy to know what types of bridges we’re going to cross before we blow them up and ask ourselves, geez, how do we get across now?
Mahsi. When it comes to whether it be family day homes, the daycares, we’ve made some changes already. There’s been some recommendations brought to our attention by those operators and we’ve listened to the operators, we’ve heard their concerns, we’ve made some changes. From here until we deliver to all the communities, we’re going to make those changes along the way. We have done so and we will continue to do so. Mahsi.
The Minister introduced this. Let’s find out what changes he’s referring to, because the last public meeting the daycare folks went to the department told them to suck it up and find a way. So, what are those changes?
Mahsi. I don’t think that’s an appropriate word to say in this House, but I’ll answer some of the questions. Family day home regulations to allow family day homes to have more flexibility of children aged two to five, so that’s the changes we’ve made based on the recommendations brought to my attention. Along with other recommendations brought to my attention, we will make some changes as well.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll concede I probably could have put that a little nicer, but that’s the truth and the public wants to hear the truth. Sometimes they want to hear it exactly for what it means.
The last question is: When you’ve got deputy ministers telling these day home operators that even though you’ll lose one-third of your income, it’s up to you to start budgeting better, it’s time for you to accept the fact that the loss is yours and you need to start accepting this, these are quotes from family people who went to your meeting organized by you.
Does the Minister stand by that policy and he has not delivered a single iota of information, vision or fact on how we’re going to solve this problem? Does the Minister stand with that position?
Mahsi. I stand by how we can work closely with the daycare operators, the preschool operators, all of those operators in the Northwest Territories. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Time for oral question period has expired.
Colleagues, before we go on today, I’d like to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of our current and soon to be former Chief Electoral Officer, Mr. David Brock.
---Applause
Mr. Brock has served as the Chief Electoral Officer from the 2011 General Election, which resulted in each of our elections here in this House, and he must have done a good job.
---Laughter
He was also the secretary in the most recent Electoral Boundaries Commission and provided expert and balanced advice to both the commission, to Caucus as a whole, and has appeared before this House and standing committees many times during his term, and he has always fulfilled his duties with professionalism. The objective and wisdom required is expected of an officer such as this.
Members, please express our gratitude to Mr. Brock for his public service and wish him well in his future endeavors. Thank you, Mr. Brock.
---Applause
Also with Mr. Brock in the House today we have Ms. Nicole Latour, who will be nominated to fill the office of Chief Electoral Officer later today. Welcome to the House.
---Applause
Mr. Hawkins.
Mr. Speaker I seek unanimous consent to return to item 6 on our orders of the day, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Thank you.
---Unanimous consent granted
