The NWT JK curriculum for four- and five-year-old children is play-based and supports children's cognitive, social, emotional, creative, and physical development, as well as cultural. As I mentioned, the EDI results that we've been seeing with the programs that already run in the Northwest Territories, we're seeing a big improvement in the communities that are offering junior kindergarten that are entering into the kindergarten system.

I realize that there are some communities who have no daycare, no playschool programs, so I'll confine this to Hay River. Can I tell my constituents that, if we're going to put daycare, playschool operators out of business, that it's for the benefit of our children because they're going to be getting a higher education in junior kindergarten?

Mr. Speaker, junior kindergarten is going to be optional to families, and secondly I also mentioned that we enhanced our early childhood programming to daycares and day homes. We see that there's a lot of waiting lists across the Northwest Territories for daycares and day homes that offer programming for zero to five, and the infants we've increased the funding. So I think that those messages need to be put out there for daycares and day homes and that it is optional for families.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.

The Hay River Playschool takes three- and four-year-olds. It's probably going to shut down after decades. That's an option. That's a real option that could happen. So I just want to make this as simple as possible: are kids coming out of JK going to be smarter than if they were in a playschool or a daycare program? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Any early childhood programming that's offered to our children, we have in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Services. We've developed Right from the Start, a strategy, an action plan. Any early childhood programming is going to benefit the children, going to benefit the families, and is going to benefit the communities for the children. Any children that go through an early childhood program are going to see results, whether it's through junior kindergarten, through a day home, or a day program. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned in answering these questions previously, the $5.1 million that's going to be needed to implement junior kindergarten is a commitment for this government, and we are meeting with the superintendents and the education authorities to see how we're going to be rolling out this funding, and the numbers are correct. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This information seems to be very new to both the public and honourable Members of this House. Can the Minister provide more detail? This $900,000 internal transfer; where is that coming from? What other programs are being impacted by this new money that's being reallocated to junior kindergarten?

No programs are going to be impacted. The way we fund schools through the school funding system is on enrolments, and we have been seeing low enrolments lately, and the money that we usually give for students are going into the school system. We're using that money and re-profiling it into junior kindergarten.

Maybe I'll be a bit more clear. The money that's being re-profiled to junior kindergarten, where is it coming from within the department? I understand that it may not impact in schools, but what government program delivery in the department is it impacting?

As I mentioned, we fund education authorities on enrolments. We've seen low enrolments. The funding that we usually give on the previous year's budget, they've been lower, so that funding that we usually get, we're using that, and re-profiling it in junior kindergarten. It's because of low enrolment rates.

Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm going to resume my questions to the Premier because I didn't feel that I got an answer to the question that I asked, so I'm going to repeat the question. There is going to be an additional $33 million required for operations and maintenance of long-term beds when they're available. What money will pay for this operations and maintenance cost? Thank you.

Honourable Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If there is operation and maintenance costs required, it will come from within the government's budget. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you to the Premier. Adding another $33 million to the operations and maintenance budget of the Department of Health would be a very considerable increase over what they are spending today. How will the government decide on cuts, efficiencies, taxes, co-pays, to raise this money? Where will this money come from?

The Member is asking me to speculate on future events. Certainly, at the appropriate time, we will deal with the issue.

Thank you to the Premier. Yesterday, the Premier said to my colleague that the department has been very diligent in finding ways to become more efficient and effective in delivering healthcare. Could the Premier please elaborate on that statement?

I'll be pleased to do so. When the previous government negotiated or imposed a 10-year health accord on all of the governments of Canada, the provincial and territorial governments, there was a 6 per cent increase. It would drop to 3 per cent after 10 years. We've reached that point. This new federal government has continued with that. They've accepted what the previous federal government did. The basis for that decrease from 6 per cent to 3 per cent was to provide for more efficiencies, become more effective through innovation and governance.

We had a territorial health investment fund that was negotiated separate from the Canadian Health Act which provided for medical travel, innovation, and other medical services which worked out on an annual basis, approximately $10 million. Over the last few years, we've been able to reduce our spending in those areas to about $5.2 million. That's what I was referring to, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Premier. Despite the efficiencies that may have been realized, the health budget is growing again this year by $8.9 million, of which Ottawa is paying $1 million in extra funding to the whole budget. What I still am not understanding, even with forced growth, not new initiatives, the health budget is going up. That's without the big push of taking care of our elders. What additional efficiencies are possible to meet those extra costs? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.