Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The report is not complete. In fact, Mr. Speaker, letters have been sent to a number of Members, so that the consultants can have discussions on their advice on addressing the direction of accommodation services for students. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe the Minister had committed earlier in this session that no decisions would be made about the future of the residences until this study had been completed and all the various options considered by the Minister. Is that still the case; that no decisions will be made affecting these residences until the study is concluded?

Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No final determinations have been made. There has been a formula identification in our budget, so that we have certainty of the amount of financial resources we are going to allocate to each board. It still requires a number of discussions to take place: First, the completion of the report; secondly, the options of use of the buildings if the decision is made to close them. If they remain open, what are the options, costs and responsibilities of the boards? Based on the direction of this Assembly, the recommendation is that we move to high school programming in the communities. Based on that, we have to make some decisions that respect that direction, but also ensure that we aren't in any way relinquishing or reducing the quality of programming that we are offering to those students who go to community high school programs.

Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister's confirmation of his commitment that no decisions have been made or will be made on the future of these residences, but I must ask the Minister if it's true that the new formula that will be in place for funding the student residences in the regions substantially reduces the amounts available for funding student residences to the extent that the boards are concluding that they will, in effect, be forced to lay off Inuit staff and substantially downsize, if not close, these residences due to this funding formula change. Thank you.

Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister has agreed that the effect of the new formula that has been imposed on the boards for the coming year is, in fact, that funding is less than adequate to support the existing level of services, having in the same breath assured this House, that no decisions will be made until the study is complete and all options have been considered. I would like to ask the Minister, since he committed that no decisions will be taken -- which I assume to mean that there will be no drastic changes in the operation of these residences -- to Members of this Assembly this past fall, isn't the responsible course for him to take to preserve the existing level of funding to those student residences, to not cause disruption and anxiety and possible lay-off of staff until, as he said this fall, the study is complete, all options can be considered in consultation with the boards of education and Members of this Assembly? Isn't that the responsible approach to take, rather than saying nothing will be done but cutting the funds through the back door? Thank you.

Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The responsible thing is for me to make it very clear and be honest to my colleagues in this Assembly, and to those who are responsible for managing educational programs, about the financial situation that we're in. We cannot continue to offer the kinds of resources that are presently available. The fact is that in one particular residence, there are 19 staff members and 15 students. Now I don't know how in the world the honourable Member can rise in this House and say that there should be more staff members than there are students. I would have thought that the honourable Member would be encouraging me to invest more money in the students and to appropriately identify those resources for other programs that will encourage better programming for students, and that's what we're trying to do. In the process itself -- and the honourable Member may say that there's a reduction in the commitment; and, yes, but it has to do with how we invest the resources. We're taking it away from pure infrastructure, pure staffing to that of investing in the students themselves. The question is how do we do it. That is the question that needs to be answered. Our intention is that if there's a need for us to maintain some of the residences, we will do it; but it will not be at the kinds of expenditures that we're presently making on staffing because we have to spend the money on the students.

Thank you, Mr. Nerysoo. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Pudlat.