All I know is that as of July 31, 2014, programming ceased. There are just a minimal amount of updates to the website and some sponsorship messaging that continues to go on this radio station.
When will the department, in conjunction… It sounds like we’re involved with the federal department, as well, as well as NCS itself. At what point in time will we be able to see something publicly come forward with a plan with a timeline and with an investing model so that the public can be reassured, and our Aboriginal stakeholders and our communities will be reassured that we’re going to see this radio station back on the air in its rightful place? Thank you.
Those are questions that I had with the board chair. What kind of resources do they need to be back up and running? Obviously, he needs to sit down with his board and highlight those key areas of what it would require to establish CKLB online again. At the end of the day, it’s the federal government that’s the process we have to work with, but we’re doing what we can as a department while we’re waiting for the federal government to push that forward.
So, I met with the board chair and also with the board to decide on the next steps. Again, financial accountant, we offered that, we offered proposal writing as well. So we’re doing the best we can to support NCS and CKLB and I told the board chair that I’d like to meet with him again as a follow-up. So there’s that constant contact that we’ve established. Mahsi.
Thank you, Minister Lafferty. Page 65, education and culture, operations expenditure summary, $244.200 million. Next on the list I have Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Thanks to my colleague for that reprieve. I’d like to get back into it just for one moment to see if I can penetrate the finances, which I’m sure are my shortcomings, not the Ministers.
Just to follow up on the last response with regard to the board funding, I understand that the reduction would be less this coming year than in the current one. Does the thing return to zero every year, sort of zero-based funding? In other words, it’s not cumulative and the funding reduction will actually be less this year or this coming year than last from the original amount at the beginning of this fiscal year. Am I understanding that correctly, if I said it at all clearly? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Lovely.
Thank you, Madam Chair. That is somewhat correct. Each year we have to identify how many students are going to be enrolled throughout the entire school system. Each school is then provided an allocation based on the FTEs. So let’s say Sir John is provided $3 million based on having 250 students and that is based on a PTR ratio, I can’t recall the number right now. We will then take the number of students that are in junior kindergarten and determine the costs associated with that and allocate it out to each of the schools or authorities and then that funding that is originally calculated based on a PTR is then reduced by the amount of the cost of the junior kindergarten. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Lovely. Mr. Bromley.
Thanks, Madam Chair. I guess the significant thing to me is that the starting place, the amount per student doesn’t change each year. So they start over again with a clean slate. So I appreciate that explanation. I think I’m getting there. I’m starting to get there, I think, according to the Minister’s staff.
I just had a question on the education renewal. I heard in a response yesterday that the education renewal includes a number of initiatives, which are one or two-year pilots, and I heard that many education renewal initiatives are one or two-year pilots. Can I get an idea of what those pilots are? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister Lafferty
Mahsi, Madam Chair. Part of the pilots that I referred to before, there are a couple of initiatives that we’re undertaking. Elders in school and also resiliency programming. We wanted to test pilot that into some of the small, isolated communities. One of them, obviously, is Ndilo, and supporting self-regulation programming through specialized equipment.
So those are just a couple of initiatives that are on the go. I’m sure there will be others as well. As we’ve done in the past with the family resource initiative that we’ve undertaken and building on that, working on health and social services, those are just of some of the areas that we’ve initiated with our department. There’s also e-learning through the Beaufort-Delta. We’ve expanded that into other communities, as well, based on the success of the Beaufort-Delta. Now we’re expanding to other isolated communities as well. Mahsi.
Thanks to the Minister for those examples. I assume we would be seeing an evaluation of those. Unlike the junior kindergarten pilots, we would actually see an evaluation of those before deciding to make them operational. Thank you.
Mahsi. Most definitely. There will be evaluations. We’re currently in the process of developing MEA accountability on monitoring, evaluating and accountability on all initiatives that are before us because we want to monitor them and we want to evaluate them because we’re accountable to deliver that. So of those initiatives, there will be evaluation processes as well. Mahsi.
Thank you to the Minister for that. I’ll look forward to those. I’d like to just move to Aurora College now. That’s a big figure there, adult and post-secondary education, $37 million. I know $33 million or $34 million is for Aurora College.
I’m trying to understand how it is that Aurora College has now developed an ongoing and running surplus of $9 million. I’m trying to read the annual reports. It looks like they’ve overspent in a number of years. As an arm’s length they get granted more money and then go and spend all of that and it builds up as surplus and now it’s running at about $9 million. Am I understanding correctly how that process occurs at in fact Aurora College? Because their annual report says it’s running about a $9 million surplus. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Lovely.
Thank you, Madam Chair. What the Member is referring to is the $9 million accumulated surplus presented in the financial statements. However, that also includes the investments they’ve made into their capital assets. So the actual surplus that they have available in terms of cash available for reinvestment is approximately $1 million. Thank you.
That’s good. Thank you. Just how they got there, was I right in that interpretation? They’ve been overspending and then being granted extra to cover that. I’d appreciate any understanding on how they get there, and for that matter, where is the final accounting for the capital so that I can understand exactly what’s going on here? Thank you.
Each year the Aurora College is provided a contribution from the department for the operation of their programs and services. They also are able to generate third-party revenues from accommodations and tuition fees and books and such. In terms of whether or not they overspend, they haven’t been overspending over the last number of years. In terms of the investments in the capital assets, I’d have to get back to you with that information. Thank you.
I’ll look forward to that information and I understand now that the actual surplus is about $1 million right now. So I’d appreciate that information.
Just related to Aurora College programs and some of the issues that had come up before, the housing for people who live in Yellowknife, students that choose to go to Aurora College is not supported at all, unlike people who live outside of Yellowknife, and yet they are still giving up their life as income earners to attend college. I know the Minister is aware of this issue. Is there any contemplation on a policy to address this deep concern to students who happen to reside in Yellowknife? They may not even be from Yellowknife originally but when they decide to go to school they are, and yet they are treated as if their housing is taken care of even if they’re in an apartment or whatever that requires rent, and they have to give up employment to attend the school, college.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister Lafferty.
Madam Chair, this obviously has been brought up in this House as well. I did raise that issue with the Board of Governors. It is their policy that they have in place. They are developing their strategic plan as we speak, this 2015. I did reiterate that this is of key importance that we need to deal with and it has been brought to their attention again. It is before the Board of Governors to decide if they are going to make some changes to their existing policy to deal with student housing.
I appreciate the Minister’s response and I appreciate him bringing this up with the board of Aurora College.
Just my last point on this page, how is child support made available for students at the college, be they from elsewhere or from Yellowknife? I often hear that that is an issue and I’m wondering what supports there are for students with children that are going to Aurora College at the Yellowknife campus, and I assume it would be the same policy elsewhere.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Heide.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Daycare supports and daycare subsidies are available through the regular daycare programming, so if a student is on a limited income such as student financial assistance and they have expenses such as rent and other food costs, et cetera, they’d be eligible for daycare assistance through the regular daycare programming.
Thank you, Mr. Heide. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Madam Chair. What is the Minister’s understanding in terms of this being an issue for students? Are they having problems accessing that support or are things, according to the department’s experience, sailing along smoothly with that aspect?
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister Lafferty.
Mahsi, Madam Chair. Again, it has been brought up, because I’ve visited the campuses as well when I met with the president and the board chair. Some of the students raised that issue. It is an ongoing challenge for some students, so we’re doing what we can to subsidize them through my department, continue to subsidize them. But we’re fully aware of it, and any of those challenges that come to our attention we expedite the process, having our staff meet with the college president to identify it is an issue that we need to deal with. I wouldn’t say it’s smooth sailing at this point. There are always challenges coming up within my department, but we’re working with the college on these matters on a continuous basis.
Thank you, Minister Lafferty. Education and culture, operations expenditure summary, $244.200 million.
Agreed.
Education and culture, grants, contributions and transfers, total grants and contributions, $209.153 million. Ms. Bisaro.
Thanks, Madam Chair. A couple of questions on this page. We’re on page 66, right? Thanks. The first one has to do with the Early Child Worker Grant Program, and from 2014-15 to 2015-2016 it’s almost doubled, and I’m wondering what the extra funding is being used for.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Minister Lafferty.
Mahsi, Madam Chair. The Early Child Worker Grant Program, the budget increase obviously represents additional funding for early childhood learning and the child care worker. This is just an area that has been initiated already and part of the initiation that we need to develop to identify those individuals that are working in early childhood who are one of the lowest paid in the Northwest Territories, and we want to increase their incentive. That’s where it’s at, the $391,000 that we’re looking at right now.
I heard the Minister say that it’s grants for early childhood learning and child care workers. I see that written in text on the bottom of the page. Who is getting these grants? Are they going to daycare operators? Is this the money that is going to early childhood educators as a top-up in their wages? Is this the scholarship grants? I would like to know what the extra $400,000 is being used for.
The funding that we’ve identified for these early childhood workers, the funding goes directly to the staff, so there is no implication on their employers. Yes, it is going directly to the staff.
So $400,000 is earmarked in this next budget year for wage top-ups? Is that correct?
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Lovely.
Thank you, Madam Chair. There is $900,000 that is allocated towards the wage top-up. In 2015-16 eligible employees who have no post-secondary early childhood development training will receive a $1 increase over the amount that they receive currently. For those that have an ECD certificate, they’ll receive $2 an hour extra. For those who have an ECD diploma, they’ll receive $3 an hour, and for those with an early childhood development degree, they’ll receive $4 an hour over and above what they’re currently receiving.
That then makes me ask what the $500,000 in this budget year, in the ’14-15 budget year is being used for. Is that also for wage top-up? Did that program start in this year or is that for something different?
That is for the wage top-up. It is similar, but next year the dollar amounts will increase.
Thanks to Mr. Lovely. My other question here has to do with the early childhood program, and it’s gone down about $700,000. Could I get an explanation as to why that’s reduced so much and is that $700,000 added in someplace else?
Last year when we originally loaded the budget we weren’t fully fleshed out in terms of what we were going to do, so we had allocated $700,000, inappropriately or in error, to grants and contributions. This year we have corrected that and those dollars are still within Early Childhood Development Framework and will be spent on the initiatives contained therein.
These contributions are for early learning and child care programs, family day homes and family literacy programs. So are these the operations grants that daycare and day home operators get? I’ll start with that. Thanks.
The $902,000 is for the Early Childhood Worker Grant Program. We have another $3.181 million and that’s allocated to a variety of different contribution programs including Early Childhood Small Community Program, the Early Learning Child Care Trust Fund, the early childhood contributions, early childhood training contributions and Early Childhood Initiative scholarships. Thank you, Madam Chair.
It boggles my mind. I don’t think I’ve heard of any of these except maybe the scholarship program. It makes me wonder why we have a trust fund. But I’ll accept that explanation as it is.
I have a question with regards to the Healthy Food for Children and Youth. I’m glad to see this is in here. I think it’s a program that started in this budget year and is carrying on next year. It states that its contributions to the schools for the purchase of healthy and nutritious food. One of the things that I hear quite regularly is that it’s all well and good to provide funding for food to schools, but it requires somebody to basically order the food, get the food, look after the food, cut up the food, provide the food to the kids, clean up afterwards, et cetera. That job usually falls on teachers. It’s just one more thing that gets added on to the job that they have to do during the day.
My question to this particular funding is whether or not any of this funding to schools for this program is eligible for them to hire somebody from the community to be a coordinator or to run the program for them. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Ms. Eggenhofer.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The $650,000 was distributed according to number of students and cost of food and so forth. That funding is then provided to the schools. If the school felt that it needed to hire a part-time coordinator to assist with the distribution of the food, I believe that the schools are allowed to do that. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Eggenhofer. Education and culture, grants, contributions and transfers, total grants and contributions, $209.153 million. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I’d like to ask the Minister, first of all, I know he’s been a great supporter of the Dechinta teaching and learning institution. Does that show up on this page under grants and contributions? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister Lafferty.
