Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm happy to report that we have reversed that trend, and the numbers are on their way up. We hit an all time low about two years ago, or actually last year, and then we have reversed and we've made up ground by a couple years. So there's a long way to go, but the work is underway and there's a number of initiatives. I won't preempt any of the Member's questions by talking about them, but I just wanted to let everyone know. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And the funding formula is quite complex, and the funding that is provided to education bodies is complex in general. There's actually additional funding available for inclusive schooling on an application basis. And I've seen those applications come across my desk, and we've been approved.

We are always looking at the funding formula. There have been some improvements made to the formula during this Assembly. I expect to see some more made before the end of this Assembly. But as for a wholesale revision, I can't commit to that given that the Education Act is become...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If schools meet the criteria, then there shouldn't be an issue. But there is a criteria. It is not just anecdotal evidence that there's changes in student population. And in places like Yellowknife, there are a number of different schools, a number of different school boards so there is movement between those schools as well. Some might see increases, some might see decreases. But it's not a change perhaps in the net population of students. Overall, we've seen about a .4 percent decrease in the numbers across the territory. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So that's what happens. That's what's supposed to happen. We have HR processes in place. The Department of Finance, the human resources division, is the lead on ensuring that the work is done. So that is what happens. And I can't make a directive to you know, that is beyond my scope because we have governmentwide policies in place. Again, if the Member, or anyone, is aware of instances where things aren't happening the way they should be, I want to hear about it because we do want to make changes where needed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This has been a priority of this Assembly and of this Cabinet, and it is taken seriously at all levels, so. And I had many conversations with senior managers at the Department of Justice, and this is something that they are regularly discussing. Procedures have been put in place within the department to ensure that, where possible, Indigenous candidates were hired, and if not, why not. There's checks and balances.

We are running a CNRTP program, which is the corrections training program, strictly for Indigenous trainees. So generally this is open to the public, but there...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the 16 to 1 ratio is a minimum, and it's a legislated number. We actually fund to about 12.8 to 1. And that is just including teachers, program supports, staff. So it is basically instructional staff. So that number is a minimum, and we already exceed that number. And I will be the first to say there's never enough money for education; there's never enough teachers to go around, and so I appreciate the Member's comment and the school board's comments. But unfortunately, we've talked a lot about competing needs today, and we've talked about our overall debt, and our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to make that commitment. But, fortunately, there are mechanisms in place where schools are in situations where they have extraordinary enrolment compared to what they are funded for. And the school, if it meets certain criteria, if there's a certain increase in their student population, they can apply to ECE to receive additional funding to cover that, recognizing that there are extraordinary circumstances. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to say yes, but I can't commit to something that's already happening. I don't want to take credit for it. That is what's happening. And if the Member knows of specific instances where it appears that it's not happening, please let me know. We want to find out. No system is perfect. And if there are some gaps in the system, we want to figure out how to address those. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, and I wish the Member a happy Monday. Thank you.

---Laughter

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is imputing motives to the Minister, saying that he's making comments in an attempt to discredit the municipality. I think it's a pretty clear one. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.