Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate the Member for leading into this motion here. I will be speaking to just one part of this motion, one in which I think was noted by the Auditor General. I want to express that component. This component is the inspection of the daycare facilities. I want to make it known that the results of the daycare facility audit was an unsatisfactory mark. For an Auditor General to give an unsatisfactory, it has to be fairly significant. I know they are very generous in giving it a very objective opinion.

I need to make a note that when the Auditor General came across this issue, there was basically a stoppage immediately in the process of the Auditor General. I want to make that note, as well, that relevant people within the department were made notified as noncompliance in health and safety issues surrounding our children. When the Auditor General asked, there was no written guidance on how these follow-ups were going to be concluded. This is an issue of concern.

Within the report itself, they did not inspect all daycare facilities. I want to stress that. They did not have the manpower. ECE did not have the amount of staff to do that. The average months between inspections for most of our facilities are around 20 months. In one region, it was as high as 21 months. In some of the audit samples, there was about 14 months, so there is clearly an opportunity for inspections here not so much to consider the noncompliant nature in health and safety risk. The fact that we need to get into these child daycare facilities more frequently and in a way in which we can do random audits, so this is not an audit where

the inspectors show up and the department shows up and things are cleaned up prior to the visit. You need to be random. I need to stress that. I think the Auditor General will agree with me on that one.

Again, the fact is that the department does have some work to do in this area. Again, for a full stoppage of an audit that the Auditor General did, should give this Assembly and the people of the Northwest Territories a concern that was given by the Auditor General.

I hope that the department will make the necessary changes and the proper action plan that will deal with these issues, not within a year or two, not looking at strategies and looking at monitoring and enhancing the regulations. I think we are beyond that. I think this is a matter of this is where rubber hits the road. This is involving our children. I expect that we are inspecting these facilities within the very near future and that information is brought back to this Assembly as early as the next fall sitting. I will stop at that, Madam Chair. Thank you very much.