Education Minister RJ Simpson says he expects to have an early child care deal inked with Ottawa by the end of the year.

Speaking to Inuvik Drum Nov. 15, Simpson said the GNWT was still at the negotiation table because Ottawa took a SA国际影视传媒渟taggeredSA国际影视传媒� approach to negotiations with provinces and didnSA国际影视传媒檛 come to the table as soon as it did with others.

SA国际影视传媒淲e started the engagement a little later,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淲hen youSA国际影视传媒檙e dealing with the federal government, especially with new people, you have to take the time to ensure they understand the context in the north and how itSA国际影视传媒檚 different from the south, because they generally come in with some preconceived notions about how things work.

SA国际影视传媒淏ut things donSA国际影视传媒檛 work here the way they necessarily work in southern Canada. So that too a bit of time in the beginning, and then we had an election period.SA国际影视传媒�

Meetings were paused during the federal election, but Simpson said they resumed shortly after the new cabinet was sworn in.

Part of what is slowing the process down, he explained, was the infrastructure deficit between the north and the south. While there are plenty of suitable buildings available in the populous centres in Alberta, British Columbia and so forth, such buildings are few and far between in the north and will need to be constructed.

A second problem the NWT is grappling with is the small workforce. While colleges from the Atlantic to the Pacific churn out Early Child Care graduates year-after-year, only the Aurora College Fort Smith campus offers a diploma in Early Learning and Child Care Development. This means the GNWT would either have to train staff or hire from outside the territory, which could get very expensive very quickly.

SA国际影视传媒淚f we wanted to start a child care centre, in most places thereSA国际影视传媒檚 not a building that can be renovated or moved into SA国际影视传媒� we actually have to build something. So thereSA国际影视传媒檚 a big infrastructure component that we donSA国际影视传媒檛 have which they do have in the south, SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淲e donSA国际影视传媒檛 have as many trained early learning childcare educators as they have in the south, so we need a lot more time to develop our workforce.SA国际影视传媒�

A third factor in negotiations, said Simpson, are the existing child care programs funded largely or entirely by Indigenous governments in the territory.

There are some places where low-to-no cost childcare is available, and Simpson said the differences presented by how Indigenous governments in the NWT interact with territorial and federal governments needed to be worked out in the agreement.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 not like in the south where there is Indigenous governments on-reserve and off-reserve thereSA国际影视传媒檚 other organizations who provide SA国际影视传媒� we have a number of Indigenous communities here where they are the child care providers and there are several programs that they can access as well,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淪o thereSA国际影视传媒檚 an interplay between the funding that they donSA国际影视传媒檛 have in the south as well.SA国际影视传媒�

Complications aside, the minister said negotiations were ongoing and he expected them to wrap up soon.

SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檙e only six weeks away from the end of the year, so itSA国际影视传媒檚 relatively tight considering thereSA国际影视传媒檚 multiple parties involved,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淚 know a lot of people are anxious for us to get a deal done, but I want to make sure we take the time and get the deal thatSA国际影视传媒檚 going to work for us. We need flexibility in the agreement to ensure we can to respond to some of those differences that are here in the territory compared to southern Canada. That takes time to get it right.

SA国际影视传媒淚 know thereSA国际影视传媒檚 some jurisdictions who are hoping for sort-of a blank cheque, that they could spend however they want. But Canada will also be asking for things in this agreement SA国际影视传媒� theySA国际影视传媒檒l be asking for reduced costs by this much and eventually by this much, and create this many new spaces. So thereSA国际影视传媒檚 a lot of moving parts in play.SA国际影视传媒�

Children First Society executive director Patricia Davison said she was excited by the prospect of a deal being in place for 2022.

She said studies have shown that every dollar spent on early child care translated to between seven and 13 dollars in savings later in life for other social security nets.

SA国际影视传媒淚SA国际影视传媒檓 so looking forward to that coming down the pipe so we can have more resources to figure out how weSA国际影视传媒檙e going to enhance early learning and care,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚f we want to build a strong society, we start at the base and early childhood is the base.

SA国际影视传媒淚f we ensure that children have all they need to become what they can be, weSA国际影视传媒檝e built a strong and resilient society.SA国际影视传媒�

Davison said she hoped to see greatest accessibility for families, but agreed the need for proper infrastructure and staff with recognized training was paramount to making an early childcare system work in the north and said she hoped the GNWT can address those in the agreement.