Andrew Raven
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 26/05) - The Northwest Territories and Ottawa are still miles apart on a deal that could bring millions of federal dollars into day care and early childhood education programs North of 60.

Pictured are: Jordan Beaverho, Jaden Simpson, Chloe Houle, Elijah Kravitz, Brian Liang and Hanna Hartwick at the Yellowknife Daycare. NWT and Ottawa are clashing over the formula for distributing $5 billion for childhood programs. - Andrew Raven/NNSL photo

"This government will not accept an agreement that means our residents will not be treated the same as other Canadians", Education minister Charles Dent said last week, following meetings between federal, provincial and territorial ministers in Ottawa.

The three Northern territories and Ottawa have clashed over the formula for distributing a five-year, $5 billion federal commitment for childhood programs, announced earlier this year.

Ottawa has insisted on per-capita funding, something Dent called "unacceptable" and out-of-step with "reality" last week.

The high cost of administering programs in remote Northern communities means the per-capita model will shortchange NWT residents, Dent said.

"The federal offer... is woefully inadequate and is based on a lack of understanding of the realities of Northern life."

However, executive director of the Yellowknife Daycare, Linda Benedict, said operators face an acute shortage of funding and urged the territorial government to accept the per capita funding.

"Take the deal man. I could use some of that," said Benedict, who receives about one third of her funding from the government. The rest comes from fees.

"They would be better off taking the $940,000 and scrapping for the rest later," she said.

Dent said that while the other provinces support the territories' position, seven have already signed their own pacts with Ottawa, the most recent coming last month when British Columbia reached an agreement in principle.

Dent said the territorial government has reached an impasse with Social Development minister Ken Dryden - whose department handles the windfall - and it was time to "go over his head."

"The next step is for Premier (Joe) Handley to raise this with Prime Minister (Paul) Martin," Dent said.

Under a proposal from the territorial government, Ottawa would contribute about $2 million in base funding plus about $1 million in per-capita funding, annually. That total would nearly double the amount of money flowing into day care subsidies and pre-school programs, Dent said.

MLA Sandy Lee criticized Dent for not reaching a deal with Ottawa during Monday's siting of the legislative assembly.

"We need a champion for children and day care," she said. The lack of an agreement with Ottawa "speaks to his inaction and incompetence," Lee said to hollers from the government. Officials in the department of Social Development did not respond to an interview request.