Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Social Development is pleased to provide its Report on the Review of Bill 16, An Act to Amend the Education Act, and commends it to the House.

Introduction

Bill 16, An Act to Amend the Education Act, proposes to enshrine the Junior Kindergarten Program in the territorial "education program" and to regulate entitlements of access for junior kindergarten students, who could be as young as three and eight months. The bill also proposes to reduce the mandatory minimum for school instructional hours.

The Standing Committee on Social Development has heard from parents and guardians, educators, school boards and education authorities, and community-based child care and early childhood education providers on these matters. We regularly heard strong support for northern students and teachers, as well as the frustration with the government's delivery of the program services. The bill's progress has been unorthodox. Junior kindergarten remains controversial, with some stakeholders still opposed to implementation and others troubled by the potential impacts on existing providers. Respecting instructional hours, Northerners have struggled to access clear, accurate information. Indeed, the Government of the Northwest Territories entered into a memorandum of understanding attached to a collective agreement with the NWT Teachers' Association, without advising Regular Members of this MOU's implications. The department then directed education authorities to comply with the Strengthening Teacher Instructional Practices pilot project (STIP), a project requiring amendments to the Education Act that had not yet received the required standing committee review, the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly, or the assent of the Commissioner.

Standing committees provide oversight to government activity. They do not rubber-stamp initiatives. Witnesses echoed this, expressing frustration that the government appeared to presume upon the committee's authority and to force a choice between teachers and students. Nevertheless, the committee believes it is possible, through exercise of its legitimate authority, to act in support of teachers as well as students and their families. We have striven to hear and explore each of the many, and sometimes conflicting, perspectives brought forth. This report is the outstanding outcome of that work. At this point in time, I wish to turn over the reading of the report to the Member for Yellowknife Centre. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.