Thank you, Madam Speaker. My questions today are also addressed to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. I would like to follow up on some of the concerns raised in my Member’s statement.

On October 7th the Minister made a statement in

this House and in that statement he announced a wage or subsidy program for early childhood practitioners. I recognize that our child care staff tend to be poorly paid. They are certainly on the low end of the wage scale, in my estimation.

I would like to ask the Minister, first of all, how this particular approach, how a wage subsidy approach was decided on. Were daycares or preschool operators consulted? If so, when were they consulted and how many operators did he consult with? Thank you.