Robert Hawkins

Mr. Chair, I appreciate that detail. Is there money in this particular budget to do a planning study for the longer term of the government of the stand-alone Aurora College campus in Yellowknife? If there is, how much? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to focus some of my area of concern around inclusive schooling funding. I’m not sure if anyone else has covered this particular area, but I’m just going to ask a few basic questions before we get into the detail of where we’re going. Although we have the global number of $26.5 million for inclusive schooling funding, maybe if the Minister could break out, not only just for Members but the public, how that money is broken out by school district. So let’s put on the record how many school districts and how that money is spread out across the districts. Thank you.

That also includes the taxation revenue, of course?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a pleasure to talk today, of course, and I’m here to talk about the stabilization fund once again.

Our government builds its budget around the best guess estimates provided by the federal government, and for lack of better terms, it is a best guess. Those revenues that they predict for our territorial government are what they think they see are coming forward after last year’s estimates. But what do we do when it’s wrong? When the SS GNWT doesn’t get the cheque it was promised, what do we do then?

Over the years I have seen a number of budgets built and it certainly...

Perhaps the Minister can explain why the South Slave Divisional Education Council would be funded more than, for example, a Yellowknife school, if it’s based on freight and costs, because, of course, we all know that the costs of operating there is cheaper than it is in Yellowknife and they have fewer teachers by the number, 15 compared to the Yellowknife school district, yet they receive more money. Maybe we can get some clarity on that.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. A few months ago I had asked the department if they had done some type of analysis on their grants and the cost of them and the sense of opportunity costs. I don’t ever recall receiving any type of feedback on that initiative. I can go through the further detail of that if that doesn’t jog enough of their memory to what my issue was to the Minister or the staff.

Thank you. If I were to ask where these pamphlets are, where do we find them? At this point, if they’re sitting at the office, they’re already there. Where would the general person trip across this information to know to go there?

One of the problems I often find with saying go check our website, everything is on there, it’s a bit of a cumbersome and sometimes intimidating process and sometimes you really have to know what you’re looking for to find it.

So where would we find some of these pamphlets, or don’t we have posters, do they do an occasional – I’m not talking about every newspaper – but...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just want to say that reading the motion very carefully, it does say a reallocation of an additional $2 million, so there might be the appearance of, when the word is additional, it’s really meant addition to the programming, not necessarily to the overall bottom line of the budget. That’s the way I read it and I think that’s the way it was intended. I do hear Mr. Menicoche’s point, but that’s why I want to reaffirm I read it and I think a lot of other folks do as well.

That said, I think it’s given enough of a parameter and design with the flexibility to allow the...

My last couple minutes I’m going to use focusing in on assessment and in some manner or form linking it to the particular student as and when necessary. It’s a good refresher here, and I thank MLA Bisaro for reminding me of telehealth mechanisms, tools, and instruments we have in many small communities, maybe not every one. I believe the funding should follow the student once we’ve identified them for what particular need they are so we cater appropriately for them.

Has the Department of Education used these types of tools and instruments such as telehealth in order to help identify this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At the end of the day, really I’m after just a couple of simple things: a bit of transparency, a bit of competitiveness and for us to spread every single opportunity out as reasonably as possible. As I said, I’ve hired two, sometimes three students. I try to hire a couple every summer. I try to pay them what I can and more sometimes knowing that they need the money, and the opportunities not only just in Yellowknife but in the small communities are very few and we’ve got to find a way.

So I’m looking, just as my last question, I hate to say I’ve given him a softball, but...