Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up on my earlier Member’s statement with questions to the Minister for Education, Culture and Employment. During the last election campaign, the NWT Status of Women Council in the NWT asked all candidates the following: “If elected, would you commit to helping all communities in the NWT build affordable, quality, licensed child care facilities”? I will be tabling that later today.
I’m happy to report that candidates Bob McLeod, Glen Abernethy and Tom Beaulieu, and most of us on this side of the House made that commitment. The Minister himself did not reply.
Could the Minister answer the question today? Now that you have been elected and put on Cabinet with this responsibility, how is this government planning to fulfill your colleagues’ commitment to helping all communities in the NWT build affordable, quality licensed child care facilities? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Throughout the Northwest Territories we have child care centres and also daycare establishments, and throughout Yellowknife as well. At the same time, there is always room for improvement, as well, within my department. We’re always exploring ways of improving, whether it be the facility, whether it be changing the policies or programming. We’ve done that in the past where we’ve provided funding to the daycare establishment, where we pay for part of the mortgage and part of the operation cost as well. We will continue to make those changes that will reflect and be a positive outcome for the children in the centres.
This is an area that we are also discussing with the Early Childhood Development Framework, an overall framework. Now we are going to be focusing on the action plan. As we move forward, these are some of the changes that will be coming. Mahsi.
Thanks to the Minister. We are certainly a planning Assembly, and we are hoping for action. After two years in office, people, of course, are starting to get tired of hearing statements of commitment and intentions. I feel that they are starting to look for actual actions.
Could the Minister estimate how many affordable daycare spaces have been created since we were elected?
I don’t have those exact details, dates and times for establishment of those facilities, but I will provide that to the Members.
Again, with the Early Childhood Development Framework, we’ve engaged the general public, the educators, the daycare workers, on what’s required, what’s needed. That is just some of the feedback we received through my department and also Health and Social Services, Again, as we move forward, those are some of the discussions that we will be starting to implement, along with the support or guidance of the standing committee as we move forward.
We are in the process of reviewing the capital budget, and the government claims its spending the vast majority of the available funds building highways is an investment in our future. I would suggest that investing in our children has been demonstrated to have a better result, including economic result.
How much money is the government planning to invest in new daycare spaces over the remainder of our term in office as of today?
I agree with the Member that investing in our children is a priority of this government and we must continue to drive that forward. With respect to the capital planning process, we are still going through the process itself on an annual basis. We provide that information through the capital planning process and we will continue to do so. Next year, the following year, we have two years in our terms, and we will continue to push that forward with respect to the centres in the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. It’s clear. The data are in and they’re accumulating more rapidly by the day. Universal daycare provides huge returns. The Quebec and Scandinavian examples prove those returns on dollars invested. Most recently, Quebec, Canada, $1.49 for every dollar invested, Mr. Finance Minister.
Will the Minister commit to examining this model closely and reporting back to committee soon so we can take action? I know he did express interest when this was brought up in committee. Sorry. I retract that remark. I know that the Minister is interested in this question, so will he look closely at it and bring it to committee for discussion?
We have been gathering information or doing our research, especially with respect to Quebec, the daycare, the $7 daycare a day, and also just recently, 2013-2014, they are beginning their junior kindergarten. Those are some of the things that we are monitoring, and we are moving forward within our own initiatives, as well, and then we will provide that information to the Members, that research that we’ve done throughout the other jurisdictions as well.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
