R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is the regular work of the department. There's ongoing conversations, sometimes specific to this, this exact issue, sometimes peripheral to it that will inform the issue, so this is just what happens on a regular basis. And I will also say that school boards do have a surplus that they're allowed to maintain. It can't be greater than 7 percent but that is only to ensure that money is actually being spent on students. But school boards do have surpluses for instances where they are finding themselves short on funds. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So attendance for the month of September is taken based on 60 percent of the sessional days in that month. Excused absences are included as an attending student. So if there's a legitimate reason why a student is not there, those are included as the student being in attendance.

There is always tweaks to the funding framework that happen, basically, yearly. An ongoing discussion that we have with the education bodies, and I'm happy to have that conversation about this particular item as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have my ear to the ground and my nose to the grindstone. I was not familiar with the name of the apartment building. I am familiar with the situation that the Member is speaking about. As I stated, any work on this is going to have to happen after we complete the initiatives that are currently underway. So either later in this government or early in the next government. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, again, all of the resources of the department are tied up right now, and so there won't be any work on this. But it will inform the work that will be done in the next government. In 2014, prior to those 2015 amendments I mentioned, there was a significant amount of work done looking into capping rent; however, it was ultimately decided not to proceed down that road.

We really do need to take a look at the housing market in the territory and ensure that whatever we do does not hinder any future development because although a rent cap would, I'm sure, help a number of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this point in the Assembly, all of the department's resources are committed to other projects. So I can't commit the department to do that work right now. However, as we wrap up the work that is ongoing in this government and move closer to the beginning of the next government, there should be an opportunity for the department to begin putting their mind towards this and start looking into these pieces of legislation.

I know that the civil forfeiture legislation, I believe it's in eight provinces and in Nunavut, it's been tried in Yukon, and it is somewhat of a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And the Member's correct, my last answer was complicated. That's why I read it verbatim so I wouldn't get it wrong. But basically if there is a conviction, then property can be seized. If there is not a conviction, it's a different story altogether.

So I don't have the numbers that the Member is asking. As part of the efforts of the Department of Justice to start turning its mind towards this area, that is one area that we are looking into and I hope to be able to get those numbers at some point. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to acknowledge and recognize the new chair of the YK1 School Board, Mr. David Wasylciw. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If a school is closed due to COVID and there's no students attending, then those students aren't marked as absent so it doesn't count against those numbers. And in terms of being out on the land, if a student is out on the land with their family, they're hunting, that can be considered an excused absence because we recognize how important that is. There may be instances where this isn't recorded properly; it falls through the cracks. But that is our policy. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Part of the reason is to ensure that there is some stability, some consistency, and some certainty for education bodies. They will know what their budget will be in the next year based on the numbers from the current year. As well, we need to line up with the GNWT fiscal year. So these numbers need to get into this budget, and that process is largely finalized by December. So those are the primary reasons. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So we're at the tail end of this Assembly. We have maybe six months left where we can actually get things done. Right now, the Department of Justice is working on the policies and legislation that we've been working on for a number of years and trying to wrap that up. So as of today, there isn't the capacity to go about and do that; however, times have changed. We're seeing new drugs. We're seeing new types of criminals in the territory. We're seeing a lot of interest from criminal organizations outside of the territory in the Northwest Territories. So we have to change...