Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Welcome, Minister Gould. I’m speaking as the senator for Nunavut about the commitment that your government has made to invest $30 billion in Budget 2022 over the next five years to “build a Canada-wide early learning and child care system in collaboration with provinces, territories, and Indigenous partners.”

Looking at our 85% Inuit population, whose first language is Inuktitut in Nunavut, I would like to ask you whether this funding includes capacity development such as ECE training programs for bilingual Indigenous-language speakers so that there are workers equipped to deliver culturally appropriate care for children, as set out in your mandate letter.