Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, just to clarify, the department's position is that, if Bill 16 is defeated, it will continue to fully fund, in its own words, junior kindergarten in the Northwest Territories; is that correct? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Simpson. Minister Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As I mentioned, we are mandated to run early childhood programs, according to this bill and this specific program. Those discussions would have to be made afterwards, but, as I said, this government is mandated, it is a priority of the 18th Legislative Assembly to provide early childhood programs throughout the Northwest Territories, and I do believe Members, with the passion that they have, understand the value of some of these programs going in our communities and appreciate the support from the general comments that were made around the room earlier. At the end of the day and much like it said in the report from committee, regardless of the outcome, both sides want to do what is in the best interests of the child, and I strongly believe that. Otherwise, it would not have been put into the committee report. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Moses. Mr. Simpson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want people to understand the consequences if this bill or this clause is defeated. I want to know what the alternatives are. The Minister has stated that those discussions have to be had, so has the department not at all prepared itself for the possibility that this bill could be defeated, or has it talked about what might happen if the bill is defeated? Because teachers have been hired; some renovations, I am not sure if they are underway yet, but I am sure plans have been made. So what would happen, is my question, if this bill is defeated? Is the department going to continue to try to push this onto school boards? Does it have the power to force it onto school boards? I just want a clear answer. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Okay, Mr. Simpson. That is more hypothetical, but we will let the Minister answer if he would like to. Thank you. Minister Moses.

Yes, all I can say to that question, and you said it perfectly, Mr. Chair, that is a hypothetical question, we do not know what the outcome of this bill is going to be at the end of today, but I can let the Member and the Members know that, as a government, we are committed to providing early childhood programs. We developed an Early Childhood Development Framework and Action Plan in collaboration with the Department of Health and Social Services. We are working with schools, education bodies, to address those. We have made increases to our early childhood program funding, and we are working with daycares and looking at setting up daycares in the communities, as well, so we have done a lot of work. We are going to continue to look at early childhood programs as a priority during the term of this 18th Legislative Assembly. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Moses. Mr. Simpson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, I guess what I got from that is that the department, not hypothetically, what would happen. I guess I was asking what were the department's plans. Has the department planned and has it come up with a plan, but I am not going to get an answer to that, so I will drop that. We won't know unless it is defeated, and we will see what rolls out, hypothetically. So, my other question is the Minister has promised to fund this initiative at 12 to 1, a pupil-teacher ratio of 12 to 1, and I think, if you look in the schedule of the Child Daycare Act regulations, if a daycare has four-year-olds in it, it needs to be staffed at 9 to 1. I know that is age zero to four, but, if a daycare only has four-year-olds in it, it is still 9 to 1, I believe, and I could be wrong. So why is a classroom with four-year-olds only to be staffed at 12 to 1? Why is there a lower threshold than a daycare or day home? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Simpson. Minister Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As previously stated when this question has come up in previous committee meetings and public hearings, at the 12 to 1 ratio and the four-year-olds in the school, in the school building they will have access to other resources in the school, school support teams, counsellors, EAs, principals, so they will have more resources in the school system. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Moses. Mr. Simpson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have talked to the people in the schools, and they do not buy that answer. They do not think that is an acceptable answer, and that is why I brought it up, because I was looking for an answer that I could bring back to my constituents that they could at least respect. I will just leave it there for now. Continue on. Thank you to the Minister for his answers.

Thank you, Mr. Simpson. Questions on clause 2.

Next, we have Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We will just keep going back and forth all night here. I wanted to bring up a little concern that one of my constituents brought up last year. His partner was actually working in junior kindergarten last year, and they are really concerned that they were not really expecting to have to deal with -- because, from what I understand, let's say a three-year-old who is turning four in, say, December, then they are eligible to attend. You know, in some cases, some of the students that are going to junior kindergarten are still in Pampers. It was a huge concern that they were not, when they went to school to become a teacher, they did not really plan to be having to change Pampers in the early grades, so I am hoping that as we move forward that there is a lot of training, whether it is over the summer as they prepare for next year, just so all the staff are prepared and we have assistants coming on so that they get all the proper early childhood training that they need to be dealing with this as we move forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Minister.

Thank you. I will go to my assistant deputy minister to answer that one. Thank you.

Thank you. Ms. Mueller.

Thank you, Ms. Mueller. Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just another thing, I have received some concerns that it is a little too early for four-year-olds to be going to school, but I know the research has shown that between three to five years old is the best time to actually start preparing them for when they get into kindergarten and grade 1. I am hoping that the parents and grandparents will see the advantages of junior kindergarten as we move forward, just so the students are well-prepared once they get into kindergarten and grade 1. I have seen the benefits of my child going to the pilot project in Tsiigehtchic when it first began. Just more of a comment. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Would the Minister like to respond?

Yes. I just want to emphasize again that the rollout of junior kindergarten is still optional for parents to enrol their four-year-olds into the program. It is still optional. Thank you.