Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues, for allowing this motion to come forward to have a debate on it.

This motion is a good news story for the small communities. Certainly, there are a wide range of opinions as to the program and how it’s going to be implemented and how it’s going to be rolled out in the coming years.

Our small communities, at least 10 of them, some of our communities do not have some type of programming for our junior kindergarten schools.

As in the newspaper, it’s been quoted from Mr. Kochon, that’s welcome news to Colville Lake.

Twenty-nine communities next year will have this program. It will help them have the children get ready for kindergarten. It’s optional, and this program is setting up our students for the long term to do well in their educational career. Also, in the News/North report that we had a pilot program in Norman Wells and all indications have shown that the program is being successfully run and that the teacher was saying that the program is doing well. I support this program. I think it’s good news and I think we’re embarking on a long-term goal that families in these small communities now have an option to bring their children to school and have them in a structured environment that will get them prepared for their life-long career and their education.

I welcome debate on this motion. It’s a good program, and we need to stop sitting and start doing some things in our communities that will make a difference for the families and the people in our small communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.