Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Back to junior kindergarten again. I understand, and the Minister can correct me if I'm wrong, but in daycares and day homes, there needs to be a ratio of 8:1 when it comes to children to adults, supervisors. Yet, the four-year-olds who are being put into junior kindergarten, that ratio is going to be 12:1. What is the rationale for significantly reducing that ratio when it's essentially the same children that we're dealing with? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned earlier in one of the other questions, that JK will be delivered in the school setting. It's both practical as well as fiscally responsible. It also utilizes already maintained, inspected, and publicly funded available school space. Students that enter the junior kindergarten system will also have access to more support from the JK to 12 system that daycares don't have right now, and that was the rationale behind it.

The fact is, in the classroom or in the room that these children are in, there's going to be less supervision. Will the qualifications for a JK teacher be any different than our other elementary school teachers because we are dealing with an age with different challenges than any other age in the school system?

With the consultation that we've had with residents of the Northwest Territories as well as our school boards, we have made those changes to ensure that early childhood educators can be part of instructors within the JK system and doesn't necessarily have to have a degree. It's the flexibility of the school boards to determine whether the JK instructors can be an early childhood educator or have to have that degree in education.

I thank the Minister for clearing that up. About the capital upgrades, I brought this up before; I was looking for a dollar amount or a percentage amount. The Minister mentioned there's money for the upgrades needed to turn kindergarten or elementary classrooms into JK classrooms. What dollar amount is associated with the monies that ECE has pledged to support school boards with? Is it going to cover all of the capital upgrade costs, and if not, what percentage does it cover and what percentage will the school boards have to cover?

Currently we run junior kindergarten in 20 of our 33 communities. We did go out and do that inventory stock. We did the discussions with all the schools to look at what was needed. A lot of our schools have the utilization available; space, classroom space, that's available. Hay River is one that we do have low utilization rates in some of the schools. There are some infrastructure costs that are associated with implementing junior kindergarten. The number that we've looked at allocating is over $3 million, and that's for infrastructure needs as well as looking at resource materials that are needed for schools to implement junior kindergarten.

As I mentioned, out of the 33 communities there are 13 right now that we need to work with; work with our education authorities to look at the resources that are needed, plus any renovations that are needed, and that amount, the figure that I mentioned, was just over $3 million.

Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll be following up with the Minister to get some specific numbers for Hay River. Another issue is that in Hay River the buses are full; there's not room for another 30 kids. So is that factored into the funding for JK or is that something the school board is going to have to deal with either by cancelling busing or buying a school bus or some other means? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Just following up into answering another similar question earlier, that the department is working with the education authorities to address things such as busing, such as school safety and making sure that the implementation of junior kindergarten in all our communities is a smooth transition. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Time for oral question period has expired. Item 8, written questions. Item 9, returns to written questions. Item 10, replies to Commissioner's opening address. Item 11, replies to budget address. Item 12, petitions. Item 13, reports of standing and special committees. Item 14, reports of committees on the review of bills. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment has reviewed Bill 7, An Act to Amend the Revolving Funds Act, and wishes to report that Bill 7 is now ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Reports of the committee on the review of bills. Item 15, tabling of documents. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents entitled "Northern Employee Benefits Services Plan Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2015" and "The Inuvialuit Water Board Budget 2017-2018." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Tabling of documents. Minister of Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled "Northwest Territories Law Foundation 34th Annual Report for the Period Ending June 30, 2016." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Tabling of documents. Item 16, notices of motion. Item 17, notices of motion for first reading of bills. Item 18, motions. Item 19, first reading of bills. Item 20, second reading of bills. Item 21, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Tabled Document 261-18(2) Northwest Territories Main Estimates, 2017-2018, with Member for Hay River North in the chair.

I'll now call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I move that we report progress. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

---Carried

I'll now rise and report progress.

May I have the report, Member for Hay River North?

Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Tabled Document 261-18(2), Northwest Territories Main Estimates 2017-2018. I would like to report progress. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of the Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

Masi. Do we have a seconder? Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

---Carried