Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Mr. Minister.
I'll go to my assistant deputy minister, Mr. Lovely.
Go ahead, Mr. Lovely.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Last year we received $1.25 million from the federal government for that program. Based on the reduction exercise that we had to undertake we reduced that by $650,000. That is 50 per cent of the cost of the programs that we have for persons with disabilities as the GNWT invests the other 50 per cent. Over the course of 2015-16 of the $1.25 million that we have available we have only expended about $850,000. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Lovely. Mr. Thompson?
Mr. Thompson.
Thank you. Just to clarify, this is the federal funding and is it dollar for dollar or is it 50/50? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Mr. Minister.
Yes, that's correct; dollar for dollar.
Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We're talking about there's only $800,000 worth of requests for this program. What has the department done to promote it? Because I'm pretty sure there's more people that have disabilities that are not able to access this. What has the department done to promote this; to get the message out to people that this funding is available? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Mr. Minister.
Well, through our regional service centres we have client service offices, career development officers, as I mentioned also we have employment transition officers that go out and do this type of work and focus on getting the information to our residents so that they know what kind of programs are available to them.
Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Could the Minister explain how they get the information out? Is it a walk-in or do they actually go out and go and see the people, the clients, out there? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Mr. Minister.
Yes. Well, we do have walk-ins that come into the offices in the regions. We have our ETOs working in the communities. Our staff now contacts employers that actually employ some of these individuals and help them understand what services and what kind of services can be provided to them.
Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Thompson.
What about the people that have disabilities, are not employed and don't know about this? How do we get the message to them? Because I've heard from the Minister and the deputy ministers that they don't access the program. We've still lots of money still left over at the end of the day, so how do we get the message to these people that have disabilities that can access this program? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Mr. Minister.
We also work with NWT Disabilities Council, the disability groups in the communities, to let them know how to get these programs out to residents, persons with disabilities in the communities. I know they do a really great job of advocating. I've done work with them in the past. We also work with our NGOs in the communities, our local governments, Aboriginal governments. I think one of the concerns is the heavy reporting that's required to the federal side of the dollars, so some people might not want to have to fill out all the paperwork and give all the reporting to the federal requirements. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. In regards to the reporting, has the department gone to the federal government and said this is a hindrance, this is a challenge for the people within our communities? You know, the reporting is a challenge, and if that's stopping people from accessing funding that doesn't bode well for the people with disabilities. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Mr. Minister.
Thank you. It's always a concern that we bring up as well, whether being on the Regular Members’ side or now in my new position. It is a requirement by the federal government and we can ask them but we can't tell them to do the changes. It's something that they have initiated themselves. It’s all about accountability and we want to make sure that departments are accountable and that organizations are accountable for the dollars that we do access.
Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank the Minister for the answer but still at the end of the day, if people in our smaller communities can't access these funds and one of the hindrance is the reporting. Can you not work with the federal government and make sure they understand this so that we can try to get these people in the smaller communities to be able to access this program? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Mr. Minister.
We can continue to lobby the federal governments on moving forward in terms of the accountability structure and if there's any way we can make it a little bit easier for people that want to access the program. Thank you.
Mr. Minister, I'm going to allow one more before time is up there. Go ahead, Mr. Thompson.
Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Further questions? Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I just have a couple of areas I want to explore here a bit. Just so I understand it, the second and third lines for revenue relate to agreements with the federal government on French and Aboriginal languages and then the other one on the second language instruction in French. Those two agreements, what do they actually cover? Do they cover operations of the schools? Is there any capital money in there? I'm just trying to understand what that money is for. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. Minister.
The first pot of money was, as I mentioned, for programs in the Aboriginal and French language services. The second program is just for K to 12 school programs specifically for French. More detail on what kind of programs there are, maybe I'll ask my deputy minister to get into more details. But those are dollars that go to the schools and they work on what kind of programs and services that they feel is appropriate to be done. But any more detail, I can ask my deputy minister.
Did you want to allow your deputy minister to add to that, Mr. Minister?
Yes, please.
Okay. Go ahead, Mr. Stewart.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. As the Minister mentioned, the $3.8 million is around support for Aboriginal language revitalization efforts as well as those types of programs, and then on the French side it's also related to the delivery of French language services that came out of the court case. For the schools, it is a pot of money that's provided that is added to by the money that the GNWT provides, and that obviously covers both the O and M side and any of the capital that's required. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Stewart. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. Then I just want to check, have we made any approaches to the new federal government in terms of capital funding for French school expansions? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. Minister.
Yes, we are looking at possibly working with the federal government. Not possibly: we're working with the federal government to see if we can get any kind of funding through their Heritage Canada Plan as well infrastructure dollars that might be there. We have also met with the French association, Commission scolaire and talked about how we can move forward and looking at those kind of fundings for infrastructure. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. Yes, I appreciate the answer from the Minister and I look forward to trying to work with him on that too. I think that there is some receptiveness on the federal side. I've been around for a while, I know that most of the money, in fact 80 per cent of the money, for the initial school here in Yellowknife, for the francophone school, actually came from the federal government. I think it would be great to continue to pursue them and I'd like to work with the Minister on that. I want to move down to the cooperation agreement for labour market agreement for persons with disabilities just so I understand this a bit better. Are these matching dollars then that come in from the federal government and we're required to match them? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thanks, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. Minister.
Yes, that's correct.
Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. The Minister is then quite confident that this reduction from $1,250,000 to $600,000, we can still accommodate the needs of our residents based on that sort of reduction in expenditure or revenues coming from the feds and presumably the same on our side? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. Minister.
