Thank you to the Minister for his answer. What I'm looking for, then, is in order to improve the system of wage subsidies for the people who work at daycares is to have the government look at providing those to employers rather than individuals in order to speed up the payment. What I'm looking for from the Minister is a commitment to investigate making this change.

Thanks to the Minister for that answer. However, the provision of childcare is a key component of the education of young people prior to them going into junior kindergarten or kindergarten. The people who work in this sector are generally quite low paid and daycares struggle with keeping qualified staff. I'm wondering if the Minister can make a commitment to looking at providing the wage subsidy directly to the employers rather than to the individuals.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if I may, I'd like to correct a fact in my Member’s statement. I said that the next round of nominations for the Order of the Northwest Territories was the beginning of March. In fact, it's the beginning of April. April 8, to be specific. My questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. I recently spent some time reading the feasibility study on universal childcare for the Northwest Territories and it contains a number of recommendations which are easy fixes to a system that is quite dysfunctional. My question for the Minister is about the wage subsidy that is now paid to individuals rather than to their employers. The problem with directing the wage subsidy to the individuals is that there is some delay in getting it to them. I am wondering if the Minister will consider paying these wage subsidies directly to the employer in order speed them up.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in September last year, Commissioner George Tuccaro inducted the first members of the Order of the Northwest Territories in a ceremony in this Chamber. Ruth Spence of Yellowknife was among the first five inductees. Since then, no recognition of this tremendous distinction has been given before this Assembly, so I rise here today to correct that omission. Ruth Spence has been a community activist and organizer in the North since her arrival here, almost 50 years ago. In 1966, the YWCA opened at 12-bed facility in a house on Matonabee Street, specifically for girls who were travelling to Yellowknife from communities across the NWT. Ruth became the first executive director and was the driving force behind the move and expansion of the YWCA into the old RCMP barracks, which is now used as a daycare, where she could accommodate 20 women. In 1976, Ruth's tireless lobbying and deal making with the GNWT and the United Church enabled the Y to move into Northern United Place, with 84 bachelor and one-bedroom apartments. Through the Y, Ruth established the first summer day camps for children, the first daycare centres, and the first after-school programs. In addition to her service to the Y, Ruth was elected to multiple terms on Yellowknife City Council, was a member and chair of the Stanton Hospital Board, and president of Western Arctic Liberal Association.

On the national stage, Ruth represented northern interests on the Advisory Council on the Status of Women, a national council established on the recommendation of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women, to advise the federal government and inform and educate the public about women's concerns. Not least of all, Ruth Spence is the proud mother of Matthew, Duff, Kit, John and Patricia, and granny to 13 grandchildren, and the loving wife of Robert, known as Bob, who died in 2003. Ruth Spence's life has been a tireless championship for the rights of women and children. She pioneered a number of institutions and programs that continue to provide services to Northerners today. Ruth Spence is richly deserving of this highest civilian award that we offer and I'd like to take this opportunity to mention that the nominations are open until the beginning of next month for the next round of the Order of the Northwest Territories, and I encourage people to think about who would be worthy recipients in their communities. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just to make one more reply to Mr. Nakimayak. The mineral staking and the negotiation of impact and benefit agreements is at the other end of the spectrum in mining development: It's the front end. What we're talking about here is the back end. When the ore is done and the mine is closed, we're talking about what happens next, so there's no reason that this policy would stand in the way of anyone staking a claim, or in fact developing a mine if the claim was proven to be beneficial. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I take the point of the Member for Nunakput, that some of our most contaminated sites were established at a time when environmental regulation was not as rigorous as it is today. Having said that, however, there are still a number of sites that are being established now that are not fully secured financially against future liability, and given the cost of operating in the North and the cost of remediating contaminated sites often in remote places, it's essential that we have the means to provide clean up in the event of the company leaving or going bankrupt. I do not believe that this will be a disincentive to invest in the Northwest Territories, because I think that sound financial security is required everywhere that mining takes place. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I too heartily support this motion. This is a growing area of our economy and one which may be more sustainable than some of the non-renewable resource development that we've had historically. I heartily support this attempt at diversification and hope that it will have success in this House.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Thursday, February 25, 2016 I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave that, notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on February 25, 2016 it shall be adjourned until Monday, February 29, 2016. And further, that any time prior to February 29, 2016, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment the Speaker may give notice and thereupon the House shall meet at the time stated in such notice and shall transact its business as it has been duly adjourned to that time. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks to the Minister for that clarification. My question is: Could we save on the building costs by repurposing Stanton Territorial Hospital, for example, as a long-term care facility for elders?