Caroline Cochrane

Absolutely. I am allowing the MLA to ask me the question, and I will go to it remembering that he owes me. The graduation rates, yes, it is an issue. What are we doing about it? That is why we are bringing in the child and youth counsellors, to actually provide some mental health support. Mental health support isn't about just: are you okay? If you don't feel good about yourself, you're not going to stay in school, so that's part of the answer. We have the specialized teams that we're going to be sending out to work with people. The distance education in the smaller communities is working. We...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With only having a few minutes to think on my feet what the question is, I guess the first thing that pops into my head as a compelling argument is that we only have two schools in the whole of the Northwest Territories that offer French immersion as a language. That is Hay River and in Yellowknife, and we have to make sure that the numbers don't go over 85 percent, otherwise we are looking at new schools, and we don't have enough money to add more schools, other than what we already have in our current plan. I guess, thinking on my feet, the first argument that comes...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. According to our records right now, in Fort Simpson we have one child and youth counsellor that is filled. In Fort Simpson, we have a clinical supervisor, which is critical. That is filled as of January 2019. Kakisa, I will just go on, has one position filled, a child a youth counsellor. Fort Liard has a vacant one, and that is the one we are talking about and it has been reposted. All of the other ones are contracted services for Jean Marie River, Nahanni Butte, Wrigley, and Sambaa K'e. The only one that we have vacant, according to our schedule there is only one, and it...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I cannot give a definitive answer because I have not really spent to time to look at it. I am assuming that probably not, being based that we just put in $1.676 million in this budget for the additional forced growth that we are using. I am hoping that we are looking at different methods, really focusing on our productive choices, how people are using it, payment plans, things that are easier versus just increasing income support. I think personally that increasing income support is not the answer; it's actually working with people so that they are not independent, I know...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. It is actually later, but we can answer it if the Chair is all right with that. The actual amount that is in the budget for the expansion of the Northern Distance Learning Program is $432,000. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is incorrect. We just told them that this is the policy going forward, and then they had to provide surplus plans for that. The schools are funded by enrolment on the previous year. However, there are exceptional cases. If you had 20 kids in your school last year, we fund you on 20 kids for the coming year, because we can't tell. At the end of September, though, there is a tally done, and then, if there are additional students, substantially additional, then we actually provide additional funding to accommodate that need.

It can work to the benefit of schools if their...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Again, we provide that money to Aurora College as a contribution and to use as they see fit. They have to provide us an annual report on what they have done with that, but to date, we have never been so prescriptive for the GNWT to say, "You will provide this program, that program, this program, that program." That has always been the autonomy of the post-secondary education.

I am open to feedback if committee thinks that I should be directing the college on what we are doing, but I do think that having that autonomy is the right way to move within our post-secondary...

The community learning centres is an area that I can't, right at this point, say is going to be expanded into all communities. Right now, they are offered in 21 of the communities. We need to do a whole review of the community learning centres, and not only on where they are. That is something that I could commit to looking at, where they are located, but also the services that they are providing within that. That is part of the polytechnic review, the process that we are working on, so we are a little bit ahead of the game today to say that we will expand it when we are trying to figure out...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is correct. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is not correct. Actually, it does. The $1.676 million actually increases for additional clientele accessing income support services. I will give examples. In 2015-2016, there was 20,007 people, and that year there was an increase of 1,592, so 2016-2017 it was adjusted to 21,599. Then, at the end of that year, there were an additional 3,283, which in 2017-2018 gave us 24,882. So, each year, we are keeping stats of the numbers, and each year we adjust it based on the actual people who are accessing services and then the forced growth for additional costs for the...