This is page numbers 4415 – 4436 of the Hansard for the 17th Assembly, 5th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was communities.

Topics

Glen Abernethy

Glen Abernethy Great Slave

We’re definitely breaking new ground in this area and we are working with our partners in the communities as well as across the Northwest Territories and they

are working with clinical professionals who have provided more standard, typical type programming in other jurisdictions, as well, in the North. We are going to put a solid evaluation framework around this particular program to make sure that we can assess the on-the-land programs that are being delivered to make sure that as we move forward that any on-the-land program that we are supporting here in the Northwest Territories is providing positive benefits to the people of the Northwest Territories and to those individuals utilizing those services.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to address some further questions to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. The Minister knows that we have eight communities in the NWT who have Aboriginal Head Start programs.

I’d like to ask the Minister why he does not recognize how valuable these eight preschools are, why does he not recognize how successful they are, how much better prepared Aboriginal Head Start students are than non-Aboriginal Head Start kids when they get to kindergarten? Why does he not accept the value of the Aboriginal Head Start programs, work in concert with them, and offer the best possible programming for our four-year-olds?

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. We do recognize the Aboriginal Head Start program.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

I am very glad that the Minister knows those programs exist, and I hope he knows how valuable they are. I’d like to ask the Minister whether he knows how many four-year-olds live in each community where junior kindergarten will start in September of 2014.

Does the department know how many spaces will be needed in those 29 communities where junior kindergarten will be started? Has there been any analysis of the number of four-years-olds that exist in each community, and have they considered using the Aboriginal Head Start programs to offer junior kindergarten instead of starting a brand new program in those eight communities? Thank you.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

We did compile all that information. As I stated, junior kindergarten is not a fresh topic of discussion here. It has been discussed for a number of years now as part of the process we’ve been going through. Compiling all the information for 2014, 2015-16, 2016-17, I can gather the information for the Member. I don’t have

it in front of me today, but I can gather the detailed information for the Member.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thanks to the Minister. I look forward to seeing that information. If the department has information on four-year-olds, I’d like to say to the Minister, there must be communities who have minimal number of four-year-olds. I look at information that I have which tells me that in 2012, we had, for instance, 12 zero to four-year-old children in Tsiigehtchic, 12 zero to four-year-olds in Wekweeti. Surely, if there was an Aboriginal Head Start program in a community that had 20 zero to four-year-olds, that’s not very many kids at the age of four.

So, to the Minister, if he has all this information, why are they continuing to put junior kindergarten in every one of our 29 communities when it’s not necessary in eight of them? Thank you.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

With the evaluation assessment of junior kindergarten not only in our jurisdictions but other jurisdictions as well, we have been compiling all the information from the communities, 33 communities. It is necessary to have junior kindergarten, especially in those communities that don’t have licenced early childhood programming. The Member is referring to communities that may not have licenced child care programming. So this is of value to them. This is a benefit to them to have optional programming. Then there’s the Head Start program in the eight various communities we work with as well. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will try to make it short, but I want to say to the Minister, I am not saying don’t implement junior kindergarten. To my colleagues, I am not saying that junior kindergarten should not go to small communities. I am saying we have communities where we have a program that is viable, that is successful and why are we forcing another junior kindergarten into those communities where we already have Aboriginal Head Start where it is active and viable and would be happy to take on more four-year-olds? Thank you.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Again, we’re not forcing them. It’s an optional program for parents in the Northwest Territories in the 33 communities we are going to be servicing. This has been in discussion, the Early Childhood Development Framework, in an engagement with the parents, the educators and they want this to be an option so they can choose, the parents can choose. So we’ve done that. We’ve listened to them. We will be rolling out the program, but it’s an optional program, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Item 9, written questions. Item 10, returns to written questions. Ms. Langlois.

Clerk Of The House (Ms. Langlois)

Mr. Speaker, I am in receipt of Return to Written Question 10-17(5) asked by Ms. Bisaro on February 20, 2014, to the Honourable J. Michael Miltenberger, Minister of Finance, regarding tax revenues in the 2014-2015 Main Estimates.

The 2014-15 budget amount for personal income tax is $104.8 million and for corporate income tax is $53.1 million. These amounts are found in the 2014-15 Main Estimates, Department of Finance, pages 5 to 9. As discussed in Committee of the Whole on February 28, 2014, the 2014-15 total revenues in the 2014-15 Main Estimates are $38 million lower than those included in the fiscal framework presented to the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning in December 2013 due to decreases in the corporate and personal income tax forecasts.

The anticipated loss of $30 million refers to income tax forecast beyond 2014-15, as noted in the 2014-15 budget address, page 3, second paragraph: “Both personal and corporate income tax revenue estimates for 2013-14 are lower than what was forecast in the 2013-14 budget, and beyond 2014-15 both personal and corporate income tax revenue forecasts have been reduced by a combined $30 million.”

The $30 million downward revision in income tax forecasts is a result of downward revisions to 2013-14 income tax and changes to growth estimates going forward.

From the 2013-14 Main Estimates to the 2014-2015 Main Estimates the 2013-14 personal income tax forecast has been revised downward $11 million from $98.1 million to $87.1 million and the 2013-14 corporate income tax forecast has been revised downward $9 million from $88 million to $79 million.

On January 14, 2014, the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning was advised that the revenue forecast was being revised downward and were informed that the decline in 2013-14 personal income tax revenues would decrease the personal income forecasts beyond 2014-15 by an average of $9 million annually and the corporate income tax forecasts by $20 million annually.

Total revenues estimated for the fiscal year 2014-15 are $1.845,501 billion as shown in the 2014-2015 Main Estimates, Summary of Revenues table, page vi.

To adjust for the anticipated revenue decreases, expenditures will be constrained through a combination of efforts on both the operating and capital budgets as a result of the reduced tax revenue forecast as well as the increased contribution to the Heritage Fund from 5 to 25 percent of resource revenues.

In 2014-15 a passive restraint target of $6.8 million will limit growth in operating expenditures. Going forward, $30 million in operating expenditure savings will be identified through the 2015-16 budget planning cycle. It is anticipated that this target can be achieved through a combination of limiting forced growth and re-profiling of existing resources for new initiatives.

The impact of the decrease in the revenue forecast on the capital budget was addressed in the fiscal framework by eliminating the escalation in capital planning in 2016-17, as indicated in the January 14, 2014, presentation to the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Clerk Of The House (Ms. Langlois)

I’m also in receipt of a Return to Written Question 13-17(5) asked by Mr. Hawkins on February 24, 2014, to the Honourable Jackson Lafferty, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, regarding the Social Work Program at Aurora College.

The Social Work Program is a recognized transferable program that is offered at Aurora College’s Yellowknife Campus in partnership with the University of Regina. The program that is currently being offered is a diploma program. Although Mr. Hawkins’ questions refer to extending the Social Work Program by one year, in fact, two additional years would be required in order for students to complete a degree program.

1. The cost of expanding the Social Work Program

at Aurora College by one year so that three years of study toward a degree in social work are available in the NWT.

If the Social Work Program were extended, it should incorporate two additional years to allow the students in the program the potential to earn a degree. The cost estimates are provided with a view to adding two years to the program to 20 students per year. The total cost for adding two years to the Social Work Program is estimated between $1.3 million and $1.4 million. These numbers would include the costs for additional instructors, contract services, materials and supplies, additional classroom space, program funding, brokering fees and student housing.

2. The steps that would be required to expand the

Social Work Program at Aurora College by one year.

Several steps would be required to expand program delivery to offer a Social Work degree including staffing instructor positions, identifying the host university courses, and realigning the sequencing of courses for two streams of students, those currently enrolled in the program and those entering the program. Any additional funding required would need to be identified and approved through the GNWT’s business planning process.

3. The obstacles, if any other than funding, that

would have to be overcome in order to expand the Social Work Program at Aurora College by one year.

One obstacle, other than funding, would be to secure additional classroom instruction space for year three and four programming. Another obstacle, assuming 20 students in each cohort year, would be the need to provide housing options for 40 additional students.

Mr. Speaker, we recognize the need for social workers in the North. We also acknowledge the need to increase the number of degree-granting programs in the NWT. Expanding the Social Work Program would be considered in the context of Aurora College’s overall plan for program delivery. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Item 11, replies to opening address. Item 12, petitions. Item 13, reports of committees on the review of bills. Item 14, tabling of documents. Mr. Bromley.

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to table feedback that I received from the public with regard to the motion requesting authority to extend the term of the current Assembly. I believe there are about 25 responses here and I would stress that all are from individuals, private citizens, and should not be taken to represent the views of their employers or professional work life. Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Ramsay.

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “Communities and Diamonds: 2013 Annual Report of the GNWT Under the BHP Billiton, Diavik and

DeBeers Socio-economic Agreements.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Lafferty.

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “Aurora College Annual Report, 2012-2013.” Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Beaulieu.

Tom Beaulieu

Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “Minister of Transportation’s Report for the Legislative Assembly for 2013 on Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1990.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Mr. Bromley.

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to table an article from the Tyee, the 28th of

February 2014 issue, entitled “Alberta Mother Fights Five Neighbouring Fracked Wells,” subtitled Diana Daunheimer’s lawsuit follows years of policing industry in her own backyard. Mahsi.