Thanks to the Minister for those remarks. There are two problems with that approach, of course. First is that the early childhood development review has not been complete so we’re dealing with old information. Second, the Minister, in his briefings, has told me that the early childhood aspect of the review of Aboriginal student achievement focuses on schools, daycares, mandatory kindergarten for five year olds, optional kindergarten for four year olds. Even the family and student support focuses on things like family counsellors and tutors, access to school computers. These are way too late for the biggest opportunity we have for early childhood education.
The state of early childhood development programming is obviously a critical consideration in any plan for Aboriginal student achievement. What input is the early childhood sector -- and the Minister listed mostly educational sectors -- having on discussions of early childhood issues, especially those focusing on the age of zero to three during the consultations of the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative?