Are there any further questions or general comments? I think we're still on general comments since nobody has suggested we move back. Mr. Krutko, do you have general comments?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My comment is with regard to the budgets that are allocated to divisional boards or even local authorities for assisting people with disabilities, especially for wheelchair access, people who need alternative modes of getting from the schools to their residence. Is that part and parcel of all those budgets that are considered in the development of these budgets? You mentioned there's a formula that you use. Is that part of the formula that you establish, or do you only assist in those areas where the need is most? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The costs for providing inclusive schooling are part of the overall formula. Each board is compensated on the same basis, based on enrolment, through the formula. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Krutko.

So what you're saying is that an individual has to be enrolled prior to the school year starting. What if someone comes in the middle of the year? Are there funds available for assisting an individual who may be disabled and who may have moved there prior to registering themselves in the fall?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the funding to boards is based on prior year's October 31st enrolment. So something that happens in the middle of a school year is typically not reflected in their funding. For instance, as I was mentioning to Mr. Barnabas a few minutes ago, enrolment growth up to eight per cent must be provided for from within by the board. So it's only if the enrolment grows by more than eight per cent that the board can come back to the department and ask for supplementary funding in that year.

The problem is, of course, if a board has made a commitment to provide a service throughout the school year and somebody moves to a different region, the board that's losing that student may not easily be able to transfer the resources. It's difficult to make the resources move any more quickly than what we can through the formula, based on the prior year's enrolment.

It's felt that, given the amount of money that is included in each board's budget for inclusive schooling, they should be able to react to situations that occur on a case-by-case basis because it doesn't happen very often. Something really costly doesn't seem to happen very often, in our experience. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Krutko.

I thought the whole principle of schooling was that you had the right to educate everyone; it didn't matter what disability, sex or whatever. I will use myself as an example. I have a son who is in a wheelchair who moved to Fort Norman, and he has not attended school for eight months because they did not have the ramps at the school to allow him into that institution. So now he is being housed out of Inuvik, out of the hospital there, because that's the only facility that's within the Inuvik region. So he is basically not able to take advantage of something we take for granted, not being disabled. For instance, a ramp in a school or an elevator costs $40,000. So are those monies accessible to be moved from one project to another project for the essential needs there?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Usually, the department will provide, if necessary, the capital funds to make the required changes to schools. My officials are telling me that this is a situation that they have not heard about. Perhaps we could get the details from the Member and look into it, because, typically, the capital cost of that sort of change is something that the department does provide.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to suggest that we go back to program summaries. It's our fourth day on this department, and I think general comments should be pretty well included.

With the agreement of the committee, we will move back to program summary, page 14-11, total operations and maintenance.

I will ask Mrs. Groenewegen to sit in the chair.

Okay. Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Madam Chair. My question is related to the overall expenditures of this government towards preparations for Nunavut. I note, Madam Chair, that over the past few months, this government has indicated

quite strongly that one of the goals of this Legislative Assembly is to prepare for Nunavut in 1999, and I note in the opening statement of the Minister that he refers to having made, I believe, some expenditures towards preparations for Nunavut. I wonder if he could identify for me, since he knows his budget better than I do, where in the O and M section, would we be able to identify these expenditures towards preparing for Nunavut.

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The reference to preparing for division that I believe the Member is referring to has to do with preparing Inuit for positions in the Nunavut government which would be under culture and careers, and this is where we would be taking a look at what the options are that are available in the future for jobs and making sure that our employment training programs are then geared to provide training necessary for what we see as jobs becoming available in the future. So culture and careers is where you would find the expenditure, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Steen.