Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today is in the same program area that the honourable Member for Sahtu had mentioned earlier, and it is with regard to early childhood development. My question is to Minister Dent. Mr. Speaker, as I stated in my Member's statement, I really think we should change the approach of budget debate and approval where the government presents us with the box and we have to either accept the box or reject the box. I think the better way might be, an analogy is if the government could present us with a lump of dough that we could work with, and the Members on this side should be able to shape that dough and not have to always look to a square box that the government imposes on us.
Mr. Speaker, one of the things that is happening is that this very highly successful early childhood development will have a serious reduction in its funds, and many Members here have given anecdotal evidence from the ground level. For myself, I have been to Range Lake North School where teachers have given evaluations of the success of this program in promoting reading and life skills, and preparing children. Just when it is getting some momentum and life after three years of the program, we are going to take it away. My question first to the Minister is on the evaluation side. The Minister is suggesting that this program will be evaluated, it will be finished, but it will be evaluated, and then he will decide, or the government will decide, whether it will be reinstated or not. I want to know why that order. Shouldn't the evaluation be done before the program comes to an end? Thank you.