Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, it's thank you to Regular Members who negotiated the additional $3.5 million for the wage enhancement that was negotiated last year as part of our budget negotiations. And at that time, it was found that home-based early childhood educators currently had higher after tax net income compared to centre-based facility childhood educators, and so the $3.5 million for wage parity adjustment was used for the wage grid in order to bring up their annual net income so that it was more in line with our JK -- or sorry, junior kindergarten -- sorry, classroom assistants at our junior kindergarten to grade 12 education facilities across the Northwest Territories.

Currently, Mr. Speaker, our day home operators are already receiving more money than traditionally was received by our daycare facility workers in that they received the childcare fee reduction subsidy, the operational funding, and the five-year retention funding. So certainly trying to bring everybody up and starting with those that are currently earning less within the industry. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My first set of questions is for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. So the literacy outreach centre here in Yellowknife has been a partnership between Aurora College and inclusion NWT since 1997, and that program even won the Premier's Award in 2023 for its excellent results. So given that enrolment has consistently been high with 39 students in the current winter semester, it came as a shock that Aurora College recently announced it would pull out of the program as part of its closure of the community learning centres, leaving the program to be shut down.

So can the Minister tell us whether the funding that the Department of ECE has allocated to literacy outreach centres will be pulled away from Aurora College and reallocated so that these programs might be able to continue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that Aurora College was provided $350,000 annually to operate literacy outreach programs, as the Member had indicated, and those programs are found in Inuvik, Fort Smith, and Yellowknife. In addition, education, culture and employment was providing $85,000 to Inclusion NWT to also partner with Aurora College to offer those programs. At this time, Mr. Speaker, I couldn't confirm what that will look like going forward, but I can certainly reassure the Member that ECE is looking at options on how literacy programming can continue to be supported. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So has ECE engaged with Inclusion NWT to try to find a way forward for this program given that Aurora College has pulled out of the partnership? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that options are certainly being looked at for how the literacy programming can continue to be supported. I can also confirm that at minimum a three-month contribution agreement will be established to support delivery through the end of June, but I cannot speak beyond June what that will look like as of right now today. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate that there's few details available right now and lots of unknowns, but does ECE plan to reach out to Aurora College and its current staff working at the literacy outreach centre, who have been informed that they will lose their jobs, but to see if an arrangement could be made, for example, to continue using the college's classroom space and to communicate the efforts underway to find a path forward for this program? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the existing spaces that are being used by this program are not spaces that are owned by Aurora College, and so certainly that space is not one, for example, that I could confirm on the floor of this House but I can confirm that -- you know, first of all, thank the Member for her advocacy and our conversations in regards to adult literacy across the territory. But second, let the Member know that we are certainly following up on this one and seeing what can be done. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and Social Services.

Mr. Speaker, expiry dates of health care cards for temporary foreign workers are tied to their work visa expiry dates. So if a work permit expires, so does a health care card. So how many compassionate extensions of health care cards have been provided since the pause to the nominee program in July of 2024? I realize this is quite a lot of detail, but maybe the Minister could speak to it broadly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have that level of detail. I do know that I have had a few come through my desk that -- you know, from MLAs with their constituents that are in this category. And I know that as soon as they have the documentation, as the Minister of ECE has explained, that our office is able to renew those early enough. But what I will say is is that as soon as somebody is applying and they have their documentation is to contact health services immediately. And they have a pretty quick turnaround for renewing their health care. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that from the Minister. Can the Minister please let me know if she is working with her colleague at ECE to include that messaging in some of ECE's messaging to folks who are panicking right now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will commit my office to connect with Minister Cleveland's office to make sure that there is some kind of instructions on how to ensure that they can apply for their health care -- or get their health care renewed. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Range Lake.

Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's not an independent pot of money that sits in the Department of Infrastructure. We do manage infrastructure demands that come from individual departments. So, for example, if MACA were to advance an initiative of some sort, then certainly that could come and we could support the design and the build of it, etcetera, but we don't have an independent set of money, like a federal department might, for individual projects of that nature. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, is the Minister -- I'm kind of spitballing ideas here. But is the Minister aware of any federal funding pots that this would be eligible for? The city's receiving $25 million right now. Is there something that the department could help them access more money working with MACA, whoever it needs to be, but could we break down some silos and get the city some money so we can complete this project? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Happy to say that the silos certainly are breaking down, in my view, over the last five years or so, and I've actually been recently working with housing and MACA on other funding opportunities trying to get the federal government, quite frankly, to be more flexible with us. So certainly happy to commit to have that conversation with my colleagues if there is anything that we can do more likely to lobby the federal government as opposed to finding things that are sitting there waiting for us to come take them, but certainly happy to commit that we will do that and go shake the federal bushes. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister of Infrastructure. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.

Thank you to the Minister for that. Can the Minister relay that to the mayor of Yellowknife, just let them know that the tree shaking will begin to commence earnestly to get this project done. Thank you.