R.J. Simpson

I do have the numbers about the PPE that have been donated. There have been 3,000 face shields donated. Those are going to be worn by the adults in the school, so that will be a couple each. Then 20,000 face cloth masks have been donated, and those come in various sizes for students. That being said, there will need to be more, so I'm happy to work with the Minister of ITI and figure out how we can do that and create some local employment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the specific question: are there COVID relief funds? No. Those would have to come through this House, and that hasn't happened yet. Our budget, our main estimates, which we passed yesterday, that document was finalized before anyone had an idea that COVID was even coming to North America. There is nothing in there, and nothing has been in the supplementary estimates yet. However, we have allocated the full amount for the year to schools, so I don't think it's urgent that, on day one, we need to start making payments or deal with this because that entire amount is going to be available to...

I already committed to the Member to have a look at this. This is the type of work that I am glad is getting brought up here because these are the things that I was looking into prior to COVID sort of derailing things. It's nice to get back to business as usual. I have made an offer to the standing committee to make a presentation where we could sit down and have some more in-depth conversations on this, and I look forward to it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, I would be happy to share this information with the standing committee. As the Minister mentioned, it is quite new, so that information hasn't started flowing yet. I will make sure that happens. Thank you, Madam Chair.

I understand the Member is using the term "clawback," but it's not like we're taking people's money. What happens is that the Income Assistance Program is there to provide people with their basic needs, and so, if there is money coming from another source, then that money goes towards the basic needs, and the amount, that gap, is lessened. That's the situation here.

With that said, this is the first time I am hearing about this, and this is different from money that comes from an impact benefit agreement or a land claim. This is money that is earned through the corporations, I believe. It is...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I know that we are on this number here, but these two numbers are connected. There is $600,000 total in here for Indigenous language revitalization. The $450,000 is being put towards the development of an Indigenous languages immersion pilot program, and the $150,000 is going to Indigenous governments with the idea that that can be used to cover the costs that aren't covered by SFA to have people attend this program. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Like I said, I'm not the one who signs the cheques around here. I'm anxious to see what the schools have come up with because the Member is right. There are a lot of restrictions on what can be done. There is no singing in schools, which is one of the saddest things I can think about saying. There won't be any indoor sports. Things like that. We have to come up with some different ways of doing things. A lot of schools combine on-the-land activities with Indigenous language revitalization. One thing ECE has done is: they can carry over that unspent Indigenous language money from last year...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A lot of the things that the schools are doing won't cost extra money, but the Member is right that PPE is something that we didn't have before. You can make hallways one way and adjust drop-off times for students for free, but when it comes to PPE, then that is an issue. Right now, we are well on our way to providing schools with PPE. I am going to, obviously, find out what the needs are and go back to Cabinet and find out how we can support schools. I can't say what the final decision of the Financial Management Board is going to be, but like I have said before, I am...

Just like people, the age of buildings isn't always necessarily the best indicator of what kind of shape their in. J.H. Sissons was in a shape where it needed to be replaced, whereas Chief Jimmy Bruneau is in much better condition. The Member is correct that there have been conversations with the Tlicho government. He accompanied me to Edzo, and we sat in the school and spoke with the Tlicho leadership. They made very clear what their preference would be. I made some commitments to them, and I followed through on those commitments. I am almost at the point where I am going to be reaching back...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's a technical question. What happens is that there is an evaluation of the school done, the structure of it, and a determination made of whether or not it would be more cost effective to retrofit the school or rebuild it. When I say "retrofit," I don't mean just patch it up. I know that the Member said that in his statement, "patch it up." The school I went to, the school that my father went to, is 50 years old. It just got a retrofit, and it looks brand new. It's not just a patch job here and there; it's a full-on renovation. That determination is made on whether...