Good afternoon, colleagues. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services.

Mr. Speaker, a key priority of this government is to make sure that NWT residents have access to the right tools and supports that they can choose from to help overcome addiction issues and poor mental health. As a government, we are committed to ensuring that our residents have as many options as possible to help them move forward on their path towards wellness.

The updated action plan, Pathways to Wellness, which I will be tabling later today, combines the actions contained in the 2012 action plan, A Shared Path Towards Wellness, with the recommendations from Healing Voices, the report of the Minister’s Forum on Addictions and Community Wellness. It reflects actions the Department of Health and Social Services has committed to undertaking over the next two years and describes our progress to date. It describes how we will better utilize our $23 million budget that supports mental health and addictions programs.

Pathways to Wellness continues our commitment towards strengthening service delivery by focusing on the following four goals:

• promoting understanding, awareness and

acceptance;

• focusing on the client;

• improving the availability of and access to

services; and

• improving the effectiveness of services.

Mr. Speaker, a key element in the updated action plan is more addictions programs based in Aboriginal culture and spirituality. This reflects the top priority identified by the Minister’s Forum, which recommended the establishment of

on-the-land healing programs for both youth and adults. The department has partnered with Aboriginal governments for three different on-the-land pilot programs this year, and the lessons learned will be used to expand these programs to other regions of the NWT. The main estimates include additional funding of $900,000 for this purpose.

Addictions and mental health issues impact not just individuals, their families and communities but also affect our justice system. The updated action plan identifies the need to establish wellness courts for individuals who are battling mental illness. Rather than sending them through the criminal justice system, where they don’t receive the right support, these specialized courts will refer them to the appropriate services based in their community.

Mr. Speaker, over the past two years we have streamlined our services to cut down on wait times for residential treatment by establishing a more efficient referral process.

We are using not only traditional media but have also added social media to raise awareness and have an on-line dialogue with youth and families about substance abuse, addictions and treatment options. A great example of this is the new Feel Real radio show, which broadcasts across the NWT every Thursday night on CKLB Radio.

We still have a long way to go. It will take a collaborative effort from government departments, Aboriginal governments and agencies, and community groups to help realize our Assembly’s vision of strong individuals, families and communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mr. Speaker, this continues to be a very exciting time for education in not only the North but the entire country. Through

our Education Renewal and Innovation work, we are recognizing how people learn, what supports are needed to help them learn and how we can improve education for all students.

We developed the Education Renewal and Innovation (ERI) Initiative to make that improvement happen. Our newly released framework, Directions for Change, highlights the potential initiatives we know can make a difference in the lives of our students. A world leader on self-regulation, Dr. Stuart Shanker, spoke to us in January about the framework. He stated that he felt it was a “vision for the future” that applies to all children in Canada. He said Directions for Change will not only shape the future of the NWT but, he hopes, will be read and embraced by the entire country. I think we are on the right track.

Mr. Speaker, I am confident that our new framework is a reflection of northern students, teachers, Aboriginal and educational leaders and communities.

I want to acknowledge how much we have relied on our education partners, especially our school superintendents and education authority chairs. Throughout our whole development process starting in December 2012, we have collaborated with the NWT Teachers’ Association, Aboriginal governments, superintendents, education authorities and boards. We are working together with our government, Aurora College, educators and students to gather feedback and make comments. We have asked parents for their feedback and their hopes for their children. I am grateful for their willingness to work with us and to ensure their own region’s voices are included in this work. Without their commitment and dedication to help with this process, we would not be able to reach our critical audiences.

Mr. Speaker, later today I will be tabling a document that shows the extent of our engagement process leading up the finalization of the Education Renewal and Innovation Framework and respecting the current development of the draft action plan.

The feedback we received from the ASA regional forums in 2010-2011 continues to guide our work. The Aboriginal Student Achievement priorities of early childhood development and care, student and family support, Aboriginal language and culture curriculum and resource development, and literacy underpin many of the ERI building blocks.

Mr. Speaker, the next stages of our work involve the development of a multi-year action plan, supported by a sound accountability framework for the entire K to 12 system, and a public awareness campaign. The ERI action plan will recommend the initiatives that will move forward first, when they should begin, and their anticipated timelines and cost. There will likely not be many quick fixes,

which should not be seen as failures but rather a testament to the scope of the task at hand.

Critical to the success of our education system is the collective ownership of both problems and solutions by our education partners, which includes teachers, parents and communities. Development of the action plan is already involving those who will be implementing the work itself and those directly affected by the work done. Every district education council has been invited and has nominated participants to each of the action plan working groups. The NWTTA has done the same, and Aboriginal governments have been invited to participate in these working groups as well. We continue to encourage every person that has a stake in our northern education system to ask questions and become involved in this work.

Mr. Speaker, trust has been placed in each and every one of us to ensure we each do our part to help children succeed. The education of our youth is critical to the success of our territory. We must work together to provide a system that helps all students, regardless of where they live, how they learn or what struggles or barriers they may need to overcome. Together we can effect change that will shape the very future of our territory. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday the Minister of Finance highlighted the work being done on the Service Innovation Strategy. Our government is committed to providing better services to the public by taking advantage of technology.

Today I want to highlight a new way the Department of Justice will be streamlining service for business and the general public with the new Corporate Registries on-line system. We are connecting people with the information they need and making our government more effective and efficient.

The corporate registries office is responsible for registering partnerships and certain business names as well as incorporating businesses, societies and cooperatives. It also registers those conducting business in the NWT that are incorporated in other jurisdictions.

The new on-line system provides easy 24-hour-a-day access to basic information in English or French about registered businesses and not-for-profit societies. This includes legal name, status and the type of entity they are, such as a

partnership or society. This information is free of charge.

For a fee of $4, the on-line user will be able to search deeper and view all information provided by the registered entity. These documents can be downloaded and printed immediately. Previously, this information was only available during office hours and sometimes required browsing files in person at the registry counter.

As I am sure you can imagine, searching on-line will save thousands of dollars in time for professionals and for people who previously had to physically search files. Residents of our smaller communities will have the same immediate access to the system. For those who still would prefer to work with the registry in person or by phone, fax, or e-mail, our staff are ready to serve.

We have heard from members of the public and professionals, many of whom had input into the development of this registry system. They have told us the new electronic system is a vast improvement. The corporate registries office is grateful to those who worked with staff during the testing period to refine and develop the system to meet users’ needs.

Within the Department of Justice, we will be continuing to work with our staff and consult with clients to ensure we are providing the most efficient and effective service possible. These important initiatives will enable us to better serve the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday a banner was unfurled at Yellowknife Education District No. 1, a banner celebrating 2014 as the anniversary of 75 years of Educating for Life. Seventy-five years ago, on January 30, 1939, the original little log cabin schoolhouse now on Franklin Avenue in downtown YK was opened as the first school in Yellowknife. Eighteen students aged from six to 15 years attended classes under the guidance of Mr. Davies, their temporary teacher. A month later Ms. Mildred Hall arrived, the first permanent teacher for Yellowknife.

Life in Yellowknife was very basic in those days. There were about 1,000 non-Aboriginal residents in the area, no roads or airports, access was by ski or floatplane or water transport only.

Recognizing a need for education for the children in the communities, in November of 1938, a provisional school board raised over $1,000 to get the first school program running that winter. The election of the first school board on August 26, 1939, marks the first elected and accountable body in the NWT.

That first little school was cramped quarters for teacher and students. Classes were split into morning and afternoon shifts. In Ms. Mildred Hall’s own words, the first month on the job was utter chaos. “Eighteen pupils had to be crammed into a 16 foot square log building, 18 pupils whose ages ranged from six to 15, half of whom were juniors, who must be kept occupied despite a lack of desk materials, and the remainder seniors, most of whom, having been out of school for a year or two, had to be brought forward to their grades…without textbooks. Discipline, under such conditions, was almost unattainable and, in our cramped quarters, adequate heat meant no ventilation, and proper ventilation, with the thermometer registering from 40 to 50 below, meant shivering in bitter cold...”

Since then, YK education has evolved and grown. Now, in the three communities of Yellowknife, Ndilo and Detah, there are over 3,500 students and approximately 350 teachers working and learning in 13 schools administered by five school boards.

Yellowknife Education District No. 1 will celebrate their 75th anniversary all year long. For the Heritage

Fair in May, students are encouraged to do a project on the history of YK District No. 1. There will be a display in the community area at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre from August through to October. There will be a written history compiled by local historian Ryan Silke and the launching of a dedicated Facebook page to help share the stories. The year will culminate with an event to be held in October 2014.

I want to say congratulations to everyone at YK No. 1 past and present on your significant achievement. Have a great 75th anniversary year. Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve been around this Chamber for a long time and sometimes I think my purpose of being here is to sometimes bring a reality check to some of the goings-on around here, possibly.

It’s budget season. Whether it’s the territorial government or the federal government, it’s budget season. Of course, you can well imagine that there have been some discussions behind the scenes here about whether our budget is enough, whether

it’s allocated properly, and sometimes people say, well, if they don’t get things the way that they want them, there’s some unhappiness. That’s to be expected, Mr. Speaker. We are humans.

But even though it’s not Thanksgiving, I think every day is Thanksgiving. Prosperity is a relative thing. I guess no matter how much you have or you don’t have, someone has less or someone has more than you.

I see every day as Thanksgiving because no matter what, if we take the time to think about it, we have very much to be thankful for. We are a territory of 42,000 people with a budget of $1.6 billion. We have an approved capital budget of $125 million, and I think you could compare our capital infrastructure of other small northern communities, and I’m sorry, but we have got the Cadillac of everything. We don’t build junk. We build the best of everything when we build things.

We’re looking at a social envelope budget with housing, health and social services, and education of millions and millions of dollars. We have the best post-secondary education support program in the country. Agreed? We have the best seniors support program in the country. We have the most generous Housing Program in the country.

Recently, our Social Programs committee visited the new medevac transfer site at the Edmonton International Airport. If you are sick and you live in the Northwest Territories, trust me, we’re going to get you to where you’re going to get help and we are not going to talk about the price. We are not going to ask how much it costs to get you there. We’re going to take you to Edmonton, which has the highest rated Capital Health Authority in the country. There are two capital health authorities in all of Canada. One is in London, Ontario, the other one is Edmonton, Alberta, and that’s where we’re going to take you and our government will sign a contract with them and they will put you to the front of the list and they will look after you. Is that true?

In the Northwest Territories, if you want to start a business, we’ll help you. If you want an education, we’ll help you. If you need a place to live, are you homeless, we’ll find a place for you. As I mentioned, if you’re sick, we’ll look after you. Are you trapped in addictions? We will help you.

We have got to say that there is a lot of opportunity here and we need only watch the news for a few minutes...

Mr. Speaker, I’m sorry, but I have to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

One only needs to turn on the news and you can see families fleeing war-torn countries. You can see people in refugee camps. Do you know how many people wake up in

the morning curled up in the fetal position because they don’t have any food?

I guess what I’m trying to say is, yes, we’re fighting amongst ourselves about our budget, but can we stop for a minute and just be very, very thankful for what we have, because a sense of entitlement and a spirit of ingratitude is a very dangerous and unhappy place to live. We are a land of opportunity.

We, the government, can we do better? Yes, we can do better. We can always do better. But if you want an opportunity, I’ll tell you; this government is here to give it to you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to use that momentum and improve the Jean Marie access road. We can do more.

Residents of Jean Marie and the leadership have long wished to see the upgrade to a highway. Currently, it is listed as a seasonal access road in Jean Marie. It is truly a seasonal road. During the spring runoff and summer rain storms, the road gets soggy and muddy and almost impossible and impassable at times.

I urge the Department of Transportation to review funding and include the upgrading of this access road in the upcoming multi-model strategy that the department is planning, and also, indeed, a plan to upgrade all our access roads throughout the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had the great honour of attending a function last evening, organized by the NWT Recreation and Parks Association. The event’s focus was to recognize the important work for community groups and individuals that offer support and training for our older population across the Northwest Territories.

Just as importantly, it recognized an active elder in one of our communities who serves to be a role model for his or her community residents. Although there was only one award recipient, there were many nominations for active elders throughout the Northwest Territories and I, too, would like to congratulate them on their nominations and continuing to be active role models for us all.

The NWTRPA has a mission to increase public awareness of recreation and parks, and to enhance the quality of life of the residents of the Northwest

Territories by promoting and supporting the development of recreation, parks services and leadership throughout the North. One way they do this is by continuing to provide the Elders in Motion program. This program aims to improve access to physical activity, opportunities to NWT elders which, as a result, increases their independence and functional mobility in their communities and throughout the Northwest Territories. It also helps enhance the training and support for communities, groups and individuals interested in developing and maintaining an elder fitness group in their hometowns. There is also a focus on traditional activities and I just wanted to make note that the theme for this year’s training is on fall preventions.

The program itself could not be successful without the partnership of others and I would like to recognize the efforts, as well, from the Dene Nation, the NWT Seniors’ Society, our own Department of Health and Social Services and the Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging, which I will have to commend them on for handing out three awards at last night’s event; one for a Community Leadership Award, a Community Capacity Award, which was our own NWT Rec and Parks Association, and the Community Service Award.

From a program that developed and grew from a small gymnasium in a northern community with a group of elders and the support from the NWT community health representatives association, I am very excited and enthused to hear about the 80 participants from all of the communities across the Northwest Territories that are participating in this week’s training. I’d like all Members to also join me in welcoming them and congratulating them on their achievements. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday we were witness to the 2014-15 federal budget called, “Economic Action Plan 2014: The Road to Balance,” creating jobs and opportunities. I’d like to take a minute to echo some of the NWT highlights and wish a very heartfelt thank you to the federal counterparts for investments in mine training, economic diversification, transportation, health services and reducing medical travel and Nutrition North, just to name a few.

By the federal government reconfirming and starting new initiatives in the NWT, it once again reaffirms their commitments to us at the success of a healthy and prosperous North. In fact, Prime Minister Stephen Harper echoed this sentiment in August of 2012 during a Whitehorse tour when he stated, “Those who want to see the future of this

country should look North,” and it appears those promises continue.

Yesterday also marked a significant commitment of support in pledging $305 million over five years to extend and enhance broadband high-speed Internet access to rural and northern communities. It is no surprise we are underdeveloped in this area in many of our smaller communities and this announcement will put a significant dent in our digital divide to the rest of Canada.

According to CRTC’s 2013 Communications Monitoring Report, Canada’s North received subpar broadband access. In fact, in 2012 less than 50 percent of Northerners had access to five megabytes per second broadband download speeds and at a very high cost I must add. In 2013 no satellite-served community offered consumers access to five megabytes per second broadband speeds, while 94 percent of Canadians had access in excess of that speed.

This announcement means great news for Northerners to have more affordable, more choice and better competitive local pricing when it comes to their broadband services. What needs to happen now will strongly be dependent on the Government of the Northwest Territories to realize opportunity, maximize these investments, work with all local providers of broadband services and prepare a bulletproof action plan for the North. Let’s hope Cabinet is listening. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recently, I attended the only northern public hearing on Bill C-15 here in Yellowknife. Bill C-15 implements our devolution deal with Canada, but it also includes big changes to the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act. All our Aboriginal government partners and public interest groups said the same thing, “The changes to the MVRMA have nothing to do with devolution so remove them from this bill.” They also said, “Do not collapse the regional land and water boards into one super-board.” But not our Premier, who seemingly accepts losing our voice as an acceptable cost of devolution.

I have to ask, what is the point of devolution if our Premier will not stand up and support the people of the Northwest Territories whose concerns were crystal clear?

The changes to the MVRMA in Bill C-15 do matter, so let’s acknowledge this and consider what we can do to help. Let’s begin by sponsoring a public discussion with our Aboriginal partners to identify

what steps we can make to make a lousy situation better.

Perhaps, as a newly constituted authoritative government, we could offer to support the establishment of staffed regional offices that would maintain regional capacity and a basis for ensuring meaningful regional input into land and water management structures. With the federal election next year, let’s prepare to lobby for re-establishing regional boards, should a new political party take power with a willingness to do so. Hopefully this time it could go forward on an evidence-based process as opposed to an ideological basis.

With this strategy, and given that Bill C-15 amendments will not be implemented for a year from this April, there would be less than a year with loss of the regional voices before we could repair this damage.

This government purports to seek authority put into the hands of Northerners. These suggested actions would show that the GNWT does, in fact, support our Aboriginal partners and our residents and ensures the capacity and real opportunity for meaningful input into decisions affecting their own land, water and resources. Our Premier can take leadership on this. Will he?

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member, Mrs. Groenewegen, talked about being thankful, and I also want to support her on that theme here. In the Sahtu communities, in Fort Good Hope, we’re thankful for the elders. There are 64 elders that are 60 years and over. In Fort Good Hope there used to be an old folks home, they used to call it, an old seniors home, and that got condemned and now it’s all boarded up.

People in Fort Good Hope have always asked for a seniors independent living facility when the government is going to look at continuing supporting them in that initiative, and my understanding is that in the community of Fort Good Hope there is a planned facility of independent living housing for seniors from the Housing Minister. Actually, there are other communities also involved with the plan here.

My question is that once we have these facilities in our communities, is there going to be some programming and services associated with these seniors facilities? I have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. When we have these facilities that are being constructed in our communities, what type of support in terms of care

for the elders, programs for the elders, services that could be provided to the elders?

Mr. Moses talked about the initiative by MACA on the Elders in Motion to keep them active and keep them as well as possible, and that the community is appreciative and needs to be prepared to know what type of training and support will be needed for these facilities. I want to let the Minister know that we’re ready, we’re happy, and we’re thankful that some of these initiatives are now back on the radar to help our elders in our small communities.

I will have further questions to the Minister on the programming for these elders facilities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Travelling by vehicle on NWT highways is a common experience for most northern residents. Seasonal driving conditions on all NWT highways vary from excellent to treacherous. Driving safely and consciously with extra vigilance is a must for travellers on NWT highways.

Last week a constituent of mine experienced a near tragic situation. The vehicle in which they were driving hit a patch of black ice and went off the road and ended up in the ditch. Luckily for the driver, a Good Samaritan happened on the incident and stopped to check on the vehicle, then walked off the road and discovered the driver nearly frozen and trapped in the vehicle. The driver was stuck in the vehicle, covered with snow, as both sides of the vehicles’ windows were busted open and snow packed inside the vehicle entrapping the driver. The single occupant of the vehicle, about that time, was stuck in the vehicle for about two and a half hours.

The Good Samaritan was Kelly Pierce of Hay River, who was driving to Yellowknife that day and discovered the driver and helped, a selfless act in saving a person’s life. The driver that was stuck in the vehicle recalls hearing about a dozen vehicles pass her. When the driver was taken to the Fort Providence Health Centre, the nurses stated that if the driver stayed for about another hour or more, the driver’s body temperature would have reached a critical point of hypothermia.

At this time, I remind all drivers to drive safely and I strongly encourage them to stop and help those that need help.

I would like to especially recognize Mr. Kelly Pierce, the Good Samaritan that stopped and helped the constituent; Dr. Martell of Fort Simpson; the nurse in charge, Carol Bergeron; Patty Bedard and Maame Ya, the nurses that assisted the constituent. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Northern job opportunities continue to be denied to the everyday Northerner. Hardworking Northerners want these opportunities, so again I’m saying this not because I am frustrated but I can tell you that they’re frustrated. They’re frustrated because they hear about this job fair in Ottawa, but they are saying to me, why didn’t they do the whistle stops all throughout the Northwest Territories first? Does it mean we can’t go to Ottawa to look for special skills, certain types of hard areas to hire? Absolutely not. It doesn’t mean that. We should show Northerners we care about them first. What it does demonstrate is we think about them second or maybe even third.

In the Northwest Territories we’re now at an 8.2 percent unemployment rate. That isn’t just a 10-year high, that is a 13-year high. We have something to celebrate there I am sure.

I would like to point out the fact that yesterday we heard that there are 1,150 vacancies on the books with the Government of the Northwest Territories, yes, for various reasons, but that still represents 20 percent of our public service workforce. Am I worried? Yes. Is the public concerned? Absolutely. What it does is show people and certainly causes them to wonder: how does the government operate, missing 20 percent of their workforce?

We hear that the government is doing everything they can to fill the 571 vacancies. I can tell you the public is doing everything they can to find those 571 job postings. If you go to the website, as I said yesterday, all you see is about 100. So where are the rest, almost 470-some jobs? Are they being saved for the who’s who, the friend’s friends? Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Nothing is telling me that these jobs are open for Northerners to apply on. One hundred sixty-one dormant jobs, as pointed out by the Minister. Dormant what? Where? When? How long? Where has this money been going?

We just know that approximately $57 million of human resource money is sitting there, slushing around, waiting for opportunity. Not even the mention of the missing gap of the 400 jobs when you add all of these things together, and they say, well, don’t worry, they are transfer assignments, they are holding, et cetera, et cetera.

Long story short is, is this confusing? Absolutely. Is the government doing anything to get to the bottom of this? Apparently very little. When we hear that departments leave certain jobs vacant to meet their

goals, what about the Legislative Assembly goals? They are being forgotten. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, acknowledgements. Mr. Yakeleya.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge Mr. Wilfred Jackson from Fort Good Hope, who was presented the 2014 Elders in Motion Active Elder Award on February 11th .

The Elders in Motion seek to improve access to physical activity opportunities for NWT elders. Elders in Motion works to enhance independence and efficient mobility for older adults.

Mr. Jackson is well known for his endeavours and active lifestyle both in the community and out on the land. He is a master trapper.

Mr. Jackson is a positive role model for our elders and communities across the Sahtu and NWT.

Please join me in congratulating Mr. Jackson on his well-deserved award. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to follow up on my Member’s statement with questions to the Premier today. I would like to start by noting that Bill C-15 is making its way through Parliament in Ottawa. Our Member of Parliament is working hard, but without our support he is having a hard time convincing the federal government to separate the changes to the MVRMA from the devolution part of the bill.

I’m sure the Premier has had some time to think about this. What steps does he propose that he could take to limit the damage that will be done by forcing the closure of the regional boards? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re working very closely with the Aboriginal governments. We have five out of seven Aboriginal governments that have signed on to devolution. We’re just finalizing signing ceremonies with two more to sign on. We’re working with the Dehcho

First Nations. We expect that we’re making good progress on the discussion of land use. We expect that after a short period of consultation, there’s every indication that the Dehcho First Nation will sign on, and we are entering into a similar process with Akaitcho First Nations.

It is our intention to work very closely with the Government of Canada and the Aboriginal governments to continue to work and improve our regulatory system. We have always said that we want an efficient and effective regulatory framework. We will also maintain a presence in regional centres and we will work very closely so that we are all working together to move forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks to the Premier. The Premier has done a very good job of getting our Aboriginal groups to the table with devolution but, of course, that’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about amendments to the MVRMA and they’re speaking with one voice and the Premier has been silent on this.

Again, I mentioned the idea of meeting with our Aboriginal partners to discuss what can be done on this specific issue to get that regional voice in there, which has been silenced and not supported by our Premier so far.

Has the Premier had any discussions with our Aboriginal partners on how we can help maintain strong regional voices in the new system? I might point out that all studies have indicated that those systems are very effective and efficient. Thank you.

We’ve had a number of discussions with all the Aboriginal governments that have signed on to devolution and the so-called Northern Regulatory Improvement Initiative.

Our government stands by what we negotiated in land claims over 20 years ago. For example, the Gwich’in Agreement, which was signed and negotiated 20 years ago, reads that “Where, by legislation, any other land and water board is established having jurisdiction in an area which includes the settlement area, it shall assume the powers and responsibilities of the land and water board in 24.4.1 and shall become the land and water board for the purposes of this agreement. Legislation may provide for regional panels of the land and water board in (a)” and “The Gwich’in Tribal Council shall be consulted with respect to any such legislation.”

Notwithstanding that, we will be working with the Gwich’in Tribal Council. We have an MOU that we signed with them. We also will be working with them in the Intergovernmental Council. That is in the process of getting signed this week. Thank you.

Thanks to the Premier. Our Aboriginal partners are talking about a court challenge to Bill C-15. Clearly, we’re not being

effective if that’s the case. So, devolution is one thing and, again, what we’re talking about here are amendments to the MVRMA which the federal government has included in Bill C-15. I’m sure the Premier agrees that this will bring uncertainty to the future of devolution, this legal action in the courts itself, as well to future mineral extraction applications.

Is there anything we, with our newly developed authority, can do to alleviate the concerns of our regional partners? Mahsi.

Aboriginal governments are governments in their own right and it’s not up to me to take away that right for them to legislate as they see fit to do so. That’s part and parcel of being a responsible government. We will continue to work with them and we have five years after devolution whereby we will be reviewing the MVRMA, at which time we can work together during that period to improve the system, and even as we go forward after five years, to develop a system that will work better after that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Premier again. I don’t question the right of the federal government to do their legislation, but our Aboriginal partners, the mass are speaking against this. So what I’m talking about here is mitigating the impacts of this. It’s going to happen. The Devolution Agreement commits us to stick with the MVRMA for at least five years, but the current federal government only has a mandate until 2015.

Will the Premier show some leadership and begin working with our partners on a strategy for re-establishing regional boards when a new federal government is in place? Mahsi.

We will commit to working with our Aboriginal governments to improve in every area. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Health and Social Services. Although I know that the Housing Corporation will be building independent living housing for seniors in Fort Good Hope in 2014-15 and that there’s a schedule already set out by the Housing Corporation and they’re working with the community of Fort Good Hope, I’m hoping that all plans are on target and that construction would begin, with elders moving into the facility in the spring of 2015. I wanted to ask the Minister of

Health and Social Services about the programs and services of that facility.

Will there be plans to train some additional staff members, maybe one or two that would support the facility in Fort Good Hope?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just confirmed with the Minister of Housing that that project is definitely going ahead. They’re going to be starting during this fiscal year. I’ll leave it to the Minister to confirm the actual opening date, but the Department of Health and Social Services, the Sahtu Health and Social Services Authority and the Housing Corporation are collaborating on the development and programming for the new independent living units. A common area has been identified and incorporated into the design of the new housing units, and in the plans it is proposed that seniors day programs and health and personal care services will be delivered in that area through the new independent serviced seniors living unit. This will be assessed in 2014 by the department and the health and social services authority, and the department will work with the authority to determine the best range of services to the clients to be delivered in that area. At that time I’ll be able to give the Member more detail. Thank you.

In our planning for our elders and our long-term care facility in Norman Wells, which is going to happen for a territorial long-term care facility, we also have this additional independent senior housing unit in Fort Good Hope.

Can the Minister inform me if it makes sense to look at the training or this training happens in the upcoming years, that the residents in Fort Good Hope will also have the opportunity if the training is assessed and that they can also be tagged on to the training program that is scheduled for the territorial long-term care facility that is going to be located in Norman Wells?

Until we do the analysis of that facility and the programs that will be delivered there, it’s hard to give a definite yes. I can say that it may be possible for us to deliver personal care and coordination of the programs in the Fort Good Hope independent living unit using existing home care staff in the community. However, if additional staff are required through the analysis that’s being done, we’re happy to work with our training partners, such as Aurora College, in the community to coordinate training for future staff.

Looking at the schedule from the Housing Corporation, the seniors are expected to move into the independent seniors facility in Fort Good Hope in the spring of 2015, I believe.

I want to ask, do we have enough time, I guess, to say, yes, we can look at an additional one or two staff members, given that there is going to be a caretaker there, and that we also need to have some kind of medical personnel at that site also?

We will continue to work with the Sahtu health and social services in the community and identify the needs for the community with respect to the new independent living unit. Where additional resources are required, we will plan for them through the normal business cycle, which will give us time to have positions in place if necessary and required in the ’15-16 fiscal year.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With the recent announcement by the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment on the future investment and rollout of the publicly funded junior kindergarten plan, it begs to ask what is to become of well-established private daycare facilities or, in some cases, societies such as Montessori that provide similar programming? Today my questions will be for the Minister of ECE.

Has the Minister or his staff entered into any formal dialogue with owners of private daycare facilities or providers of similar competing programs to the publicly funded junior kindergarten plans?

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. During the transition period, since we’re talking about 2014-2015, we are making connections with the daycare operators and also those school boards that we have to work closely with. My department has been in development and also implementing actions to support the licenced programming that will be affected. Those are just some of the discussions that we have been having initially with ECE, the regional early childhood consultant that works with all the child care centres across the Northwest Territories. These are just some of the discussions that will be taking place from here until the start of the next school year, so the discussion is ongoing.

It’s comforting to know that the Minister is indicating that we’re going to be talking to some of these partners in due course here, but has the Minister or his staff designed any formal programming and partnering with this junior kindergarten plan with these established daycares and providers of similar programs? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, my department, as I have stated, is developing an action plan to help support licenced programs that may be affected during the transition of bringing the junior kindergarten into our school system. Both Education, Culture and Employment early childhood consultants and also headquarters staff will be working very closely with all the daycare operators throughout the Northwest Territories and during the introduction of junior kindergarten will provide options for parents, and in particular for our communities that do not have licenced child care programming. Those are just some of the areas that we will be working and very closely monitoring and supporting those individuals and organizations as well. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I was hoping to hear more about the partnering aspect, because I think that a lot of these facilities are a bit concerned here.

Has the Minister or his staff performed any risk assessment that may occur if such junior kindergarten initiatives create closures of private daycare or current program offerings in our communities? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the daycare centres can convert four-year-old spaces to spaces for children zero to three. The Member is asking about a risk assessment. The program operators simply need to contact their regional early childhood consultant to work with them – all those daycare operators – to make necessary changes to convert the four-year-old space to accommodate younger children. So those are areas we are working closely with them.

We also provide additional funding of an additional $780 to convert each four-year-old space to an under-24-month space. This investment should comfortably cover the costs of necessities such as cribs, infant tables and chairs and tables, toys and resources.

Those are some of the areas we continue to work on with the child care operators. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The purpose of my questions today are to create ladders of opportunity for our private daycare facilities and our private providers such as Montessori, and I’m hoping that the Minister can commit to when he will begin these formal discussions, these formal offerings with these private facilities so they can voice their concern. When will this start to occur? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, there has been preliminary discussion with the child care operators when we started talking about the early childhood development, the overall framework and the action plan. Part of that was introducing the

junior kindergarten. All regions have early childhood regional consultants that are available to answer any questions or ideas that they may have or any assistance for these operators.

Under the Early Childhood Development Action Plan, my department has come out with having a comprehensive communication dialogue and also a plan. Within the plan, we’re developing a toll-free number that parents and operators and anyone interested can start conversing back and forth with our department, the specialists and consultants.

During the junior kindergarten implementation, we want to have a smooth transition, so we are providing those support mechanisms to these operators. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Within the next 46 days we will be implementing our Devolution Agreement, if all goes well.

I would like to ask the Premier, once this process has been completed, will this benefit the outstanding land claim groups in their negotiations? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I truly believe that will be the case. I think we’re seeing evidence of that now, working with the Dehcho First Nation where we’ve been able to work together to resolve some very difficult, complex issues around land on a without prejudice basis. I think the incentive for both of us to do it was devolution. I think that by putting rigour to the process with oversight by myself and the grand chief of the Dehcho First Nations, I think we’ve been able to work together and find some very innovative solutions to long-standing problems, and I’m really looking forward to the next few months where we will see if it will stand the test of going through the due process of both the Dehcho First Nations process and our government process.

We are also looking at entering a similar process with the Akaitcho First Nation. In my mind, this has provided a positive impetus going forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 8, written questions.

---Interjection

Mr. Hawkins, I didn’t see your hand up.

Mr. Speaker, this Legislature approves money to be directed specifically to human resources. In other words, we dedicate money specifically for jobs. The Northwest Territories as of December 31st , had an

unemployment rate of 8.2 percent. We’ve heard that deputy ministers will move money that is intended for human resources over to projects because they want to fulfil their mandate within their department. My view is they are actually breaking direction laid out by the Legislature. In essence, it’s tantamount, in my view, of breaking the law.

My question to the Minister of Finance is: Will he review the books over the last five years and find every deputy minister who has approved and signed these off and fire them?

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No.

I’d like to ask what the Finance Minister is going to do if we know that deputy ministers are signing off human resources money that is designed, protected and passed in this Legislature by a duly elected body when they go behind the scenes and re-appropriate the money for their pet projects. What is the Finance Minister going to do?

The Member is making very harsh, unfounded allegations of criminal wrongdoing, which is what he said, and asking that people be fired on the basis of the fact that for the last three days we’ve been sorting through vacancy rate numbers and he’s now convinced that there is a criminal wrongdoing, which would mean, since the deputies all report to Ministers, that there was some type of complicity or conspiracy.

Very clearly, this Legislature votes positions, when they are part of the budget process, to fulfil functions in government. Once those positions are in place and they are staffed or in the process of being staffed, then they become part of the working tools and process to meet the government’s and Legislature’s mandate.

Managing those vacancies is a legitimate government management tool that is used in every corporation, every business in the world. It is done properly. There are checks and balances in place.

There are questions about some of the numbers. The Member is throwing around big numbers and big accusations when the reality is we will be able to lay out adequately, I believe, where all the positions are and we are very cognizant of our responsibilities. We have accountabilities for

transfers of funds over $250,000 between activities, interactivity transfers that we have to report to this House every session. We are accountable as Ministers every day that we are in this House and every day that we have the authority as Ministers for what’s happening in our departments.

To accuse senior officials of such conduct and criminal wrongdoing with absolutely no evidence I think really doesn’t add to the tenure of the debate in this House. Thank you.

The department agencies can manage their vacancies and variances by meeting their goals, delivering their programs and services while staying within their budgets. So, what that’s saying is departments can manage their money by turning around and moving human resource money over to program money. I can tell you, the Finance Minister has witnessed a claim made by senior management where they’ve chosen to use HR money for program needs.

What is the Finance Minister going to do, after I’ve just heard his last response from the last question when he sat and heard the proof, because he was there with me. Thank you.

We have collectively approved in this House every budget that comes before it that runs the Government of the Northwest Territories. This is my 19th year, so

I’ve been through the budget cycle 19 times. I believe my colleague has been through that cycle 10 times. This issue of vacancies has come up periodically about what’s happening, what’s the vacancy rate and what are we doing to fill them, all legitimate questions. The Member now has taken it to another level where he’s implying that there’s some kind of conspiracy and planned wrongdoing here, and there isn’t, Mr. Speaker.

We have numbers here that we are going to be sharing with committee, that they’ve asked for, that provide the amount of detail that lay out the work that’s been done. Let me say once again, as well that managing 5,000 employees is a big job, there are management issues and they are a key resource and we need to manage all those resources, full or vacant, to carry out the work that’s necessary. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Mr. Speaker, it begs the question why do we even approve any budget if we know this? There are 571 vacancies the government is actively pursuing, but we can only find 100 on-line. We know, at the end of the day, no matter what we approved as the budget, the deputy ministers can go do an end run and move the money over to projects they want. So the reality is when the Legislature makes the decision, it just seems to be a waste of anyone’s time, including Cabinet and

certainly the public. With jobs being denied to Northerners, this just doesn’t sit well.

Explain why we’re here if the deputy ministers can go change the budget at their will beyond the Legislature’s approval. Thank you.

I would ask the Member to give one shred of evidence about pet projects, about the allegations he’s making. He says, why are we even here? We’re approving a $1.6 billion budget that provides services to every man, woman and child in the Northwest Territories. That’s why we’re here. We’re here to make laws that are going to benefit our people. We’re here to provide direction and oversight of a very complex organization.

The Member has some questions and concerns about positions. We have over 5,000 jobs. He’s talking about a few hundred vacancies, which we will lay out in detail as to where they are. I think his Hyperbolus statements, once again, don’t add to the tenure of the debate and they cause confusion in the public, and his draconian request for human sacrifice based on his state of high dudgeon is not helpful. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask this question to the Minister of Finance. With the discussion of all the vacancies and when they’re going to be filled and the amount of money we approve each year, for the last 10 years I’ve been standing here and I’m still standing here asking when will the communities without RCMP or nurses have those positions filled. Each year I bring that forward and there’s no money, there’s no money. Just recently we find out there are vacant positions and still there’s no money.

When will this government have the flexibility of letting this Cabinet say, listen, they’re asking for this in Colville Lake as well as any other small community without RCMP or nurses for 10 years that I’ve been here.

Can the Minister explain to me why Colville Lake or any other small communities do not have nurses yet or an RCMP? At last count it was 10 or 11 communities without RCMP members. When?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll speak first, of course, to the fiscal reality that we face, which the Member is very conversant with and well aware of. I can also speak to the fact that there are health and safety issues

for employees now. It’s no longer a case of one nurse or one RCMP, but it’s going to be two or maybe even three to cover off all of these health and safety issues, which gets back to being a significant cost factor.

We are trying to profile our resources to make sure that we provide coverage for health and social services and for the RCMP to provide that security and comfort to all members in all of the communities. But the request of actually stationing members in every community regardless of size is one that we’re not in a position to fulfill at this point. Thank you.

The Minister and I haven’t gone out for supper, but we’ve had a lot of discussions on this issue. I’m asking for a plan. In the last 10 years of being in this House and being a Member of the Legislative Assembly, when are we going to stop talking about a plan, given that we have a lot of vacancies? Let’s do one community this year, let’s do another community next year or the year after. We know from the previous Ministers and even this Cabinet, they tell us the amount of money to staff an RCMP officer or the nurse in the community.

I’m asking, when do we start the plan other than give reasons why we can’t do this? When can we have that discussion?

As it pertains to health and social services, I know that there has been, over the years, a lot of discussion, a lot of planning, a lot of creating of models of what would be an ideal staffing model in the communities for all health and social services programs and when we look at the actual numbers – and you’ve seen some of the requests that come through – they would bankrupt the government.

So every year we do business plans, every year we sit down with communities, we sit down with the departments and we go through the programs and services that are there, always within the fiscal context and we’re going to be starting that cycle again, in 54 days I believe the Member said, and we’ll be starting the work on our last budget of the 17th Legislative Assembly. Once again it will be an

opportunity for us to gather around the table and look to the future as devolution will have been upon us and we will be looking forward, hopefully with a lot of hope for the future. Thank you.

The Minister has mentioned in the House the number of years, 19 years he’s been through this cycle and the number of years to get a project or to get something in in the regions or the communities. So, given that we’re close to the end of our term in this Assembly, could we look at one of the communities that does not have a nursing station, for example, or RCMP members in that community?

Imagine some communities do not have a nursing station, a position for a nurse or RCMP members in that community, and we’ve gone too long without the members living in our communities and this is our 10th year. So, certainly we could look at some of

the flexibilities, given that we know now a little more information on the vacancies.

Can he be creative to look at some of these positions along with the capital infrastructure required to go into communities so people can have some of the essential, basic services and requirements that other communities take for granted? Thank you.

I can appreciate the Member’s concern and his patience and his resolute pursuit of this issue along with his other colleagues from small communities. What I would suggest, since he’s referred to and looking for hope potentially, in his mind, with the review of vacancies that the committee asked yesterday for some more detailed information and we are in the process of finalizing that information. But once that information is reviewed and we all have a common understanding of the breakdown of the numbers, which I think will meet the concern of the Members, then we can have a more informed discussion about those issues and the relationship to the issue that the Member has raised. I think we’ll see that there is not a huge fund or pot of positions that are sitting there that could be moved. Filling them is a challenge as it is, but we’ll be able to account for all of the different questions that the Members have raised when we review that information. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

I appreciate the Minister’s willingness to have some continued dialogue on this and see where we can go with it. This has been achieved in some of our vision and goals that we set out in the 17th Assembly.

So I’m going to ask the Minister, given this, can the Minister provide some of the basic economic dollars as to the communities that do not have health centres or communities who do not have RCMP officers? What are we looking at in terms of the dollars that would be required, and have some discussion to see if we could at least move towards that direction?

As we sit here debating and considering the budget put forward by the government, the expenditures for the year are laid out. We’ve made an accommodation on the Heritage Fund. That will be included in this as we go forward. So we need to address that issue.

I would be happy to have further discussions with the Member in this venue or other venues of a more social nature where there may even be some food on the table to help promote discussion. But, very

clearly, I anticipate that we will be continuing this discussion once we conclude the debate on this current budget.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I touched on the Jean Marie access road earlier in my Member’s statement, so I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation some questions about the access road at Jean Marie.

Are there any plans in this fiscal year in the maintenance budget to do some specific work on that access road to Jean Marie? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the years, after the Jean Marie access road was made passable through all seasons, an additional $1.5 million has been spent on that road to try to upgrade it. The department is going to continue to work on that road and continue to try to improve the road so that it is passable 365 days a year. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I’m really glad to hear that and maybe the Minister can specifically tell me what strategy that’s in, because it is a seasonal access road right now, meaning it does get soggy and people do get stuck. So the community would like assurance that they will get it upgraded to a highway status, passable year-round. Once again, would the Minister confirm that?

The money that will be used to continue to upgrade the road is from the regular maintenance budget. We could look specifically into the access road budget, as well, this coming year since that is all done by proposal. We would look at the Jean Marie road through the DOT Access Road Program as well. But there is no plan that I’m aware of in the immediate future to upgrade it to the regular highway standards that we have on Highway No. 1, for example.

I think the Minister meant Yellowknife standards where it’s chipsealed, as well, all their access roads. Just with that, it’s a priority of the community. It’s always been. I’ve been in this Legislature raising it time and time again.

Is the Minister aware of any other capital dollars aside from this operations and maintenance budget that is going towards the Jean Marie access road?

No, I’m not aware of anything that has been approved through the capital budget, but the DOT Access Road Program, although it’s an O and M budget, is used to do the

upgrades on open access roads and upgrades to access roads, so we will be targeting that program to improve this road. Then we can also have discussions with the Member over the longer term. If he sees this road becoming a highway standard, then it’s something that we would have to bring back to the House because it would probably be a substantial cost.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Perhaps if the Minister can check firstly on the capital and then what specifically is in the O and M budget for the Jean Marie access road and get that back to me there.

I would be pleased to provide that information to the Member within the next couple of days.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Education. I’d like to ask him a couple of questions with regard to his Response to Written Question 6-17(5), with regard to the explanation of funding and reallocation of funding for junior kindergarten.

In 2014-15, $1.8 million will be reallocated from education authorities, and I take it from the Minister’s response that this is from all authorities, even from those four authorities who will not get junior kindergarten in 2014-15.

I would like to ask the Minister if he would please confirm that my understanding is correct, that the four authorities who do not get JK in ’14-15 will, in fact, be losing money.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The rolling out of the junior kindergarten starting this new school year, 2014-15, will cover 29 schools, and then the following year it would be the regional centres, and then the third year will be covering all of Yellowknife. It is a three-year approach, and it will cover all communities, all schools, the 49 schools that we’ve been talking about, the 33 communities. There’s going to be some decrease and increase into our formula when we deal with the school boards, so it does reflect on that as well.

I didn’t really hear an answer there so I will try again. My understanding is that, for instance, the two school districts in Yellowknife,

Yellowknife Education District No. 1 and Yellowknife Catholic Schools will lose funding to provide junior kindergarten in 29 communities and they will not get kindergarten in the ’14-15 year.

My question to the Minister is: Does he consider it fair that the larger centres, four communities, will give up some funding with no return in ’14-15?

We have to keep in mind that we’re rolling out the junior kindergarten for all the children in the Northwest Territories. We talk about the larger centres and the smaller centres. We’re here for the Northwest Territories, so we are providing those benefits to those communities and, more specifically, those 10 communities that do not have licenced child care programming, daycare programming, and the preschools and so forth. At the end of the day, we’re serving the children of the Northwest Territories and it will benefit the whole Northwest Territories.

I find it interesting that the Minister twice in the last couple of days has referenced 10 communities without daycares and in the same breath that he’s talking about junior kindergarten, so I’m wondering if he’s equating daycare and junior kindergarten. I hope it’s not so.

I’m trying to understand the numbers in the answer that the Minister gave me to my written question. There are two high schools in Yellowknife. One is Sir John Franklin and the other is St. Pats. Sir John in YK No. 1 is the bigger high school but Yellowknife Catholic Schools will see a much bigger reduction in their funding: $214,000 for Catholic schools and only $62,000 for YK No. 1.

Why is there this big discrepancy when the bigger school is losing less money?

There is a breakdown for all the school boards, the 33 communities that we service. As I stated, some will be decreased, some will have a net increase in their formula funding, but the less minimal impact would be up to 1.5 percent, and I’m sure that’s manageable within the administration of the school boards.

When it comes to, let’s say, Yellowknife Catholic School Board, in 2014-15 there will be a decrease of $434,000, projected ’15-16 there will be a decrease of $264,000, projected ’16-17 will be $484,000 that will be given to the school board. It does vary between the school boards. In the Yellowknife district education authority in 2014-15 there’s a negative $569,000, ’15-16 projected $322,000 negative. But at the same time, 2016-2017, there is going to be a plus of $829,000, so $62,000 out of a $24 million budget. I’m sure that can be managed.

These are some of the areas that we’ve been talking about with the superintendents, so we are

having ongoing discussions with them and we are rolling out the program this fall.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister for those numbers. The Minister said in his response that our education authorities are run by professional administrators, and I totally agree with the Minister, and I, too, have confidence in those authorities and in the trustees that run the boards, but my understanding is that it’s been fairly late notice for these reductions to the superintendents and to the boards and gives them little time to adjust.

I would like to ask the Minister, for my information, when were the education authorities advised of these reductions, these changes in pupil-teacher ratio, and how were they advised? Was it to the board chairs? Was it to the superintendents? Was it by letter or by phone?

Throughout the Early Childhood Development Framework there has been a lot of engagement and the forum that we held in Yellowknife and surrounding communities. The superintendents have been involved, during the transition period of the discussion, about what kind of initiative should be undertaken by the department. One of them was junior kindergarten, the discussions that we’ve been having, and I presented to the board chairs of what our approach would be, part of the Early Childhood Development Framework, working along with Health and Social Services. The superintendents have been involved with my department, my department’s been involved with the superintendents, so there’s been conversing back and forth since last year, I believe late fall, and then the discussion of how they can be involved during the implementation stages. We have reached out to the superintendents and they provide feedback, suggestions and ideas. Instead of rolling out the PTR from Grade 10 to Grade 12, they suggested coming back to saying let’s start with kindergarten to Grade 12. So we have initiated that. We have accepted their recommendations, so they have been involved. This is an area that we work closely with the school boards and we have taken their recommendations, made those changes, so it does reflect on the numbers that I highlighted earlier. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My earlier oral questions to the Minister of Health and Social Services were on the independent unit in

Fort Good Hope. I want to ask, I guess, the Minister of Health and Social Services about the positions that are going to be funded in regards to this unit.

What types of positions are going to be aligned with this new seniors unit in Fort Good Hope in regards to the facility itself?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated previously, at this time we don’t actually have any indication whether new positions are going to be required. The Sahtu Health and Social Services Authority is working with the department to figure out what programs to go in there. The NWT Housing Corp is designed to build it so it has a wonderful space where programs can be delivered out of and that would be where we deliver programs. Once we figure out what programs and services are going to be in there, we’ll have a better idea if it’s going to require positions.

We certainly have positions in the community that we hope will be able to work out of there to provide support to those independent living seniors. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I would clarify my question to the Minister. I know the building is going to be built; there is a schedule there. I want to know within… Maybe the Minister won’t be able to answer this question here. Once the building is there, is there a position from the government that’s going to go with the building in terms of how that building is going to be taken care of and the positions with that building? Thank you.