Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment in regards to bussing and the bussing formula and cuts that have resulted because of that new formula. Specifically in the South Slave, they have experienced a 42.8 percent cut in this year's budget from last year. They lost almost $180,000. The people of Yellowknife 1 and Yellowknife 2, between them, have had cuts totalling almost 45 percent of their budgets.

My question to the Minister is, because of these cuts, it has been very clearly indicated to me that the district education authority in Fort Smith, and probably in Hay River as well, is having a very difficult time coping with these cuts. Is the Minister aware of the impact of these cuts and is there any way that we can seek to ameliorate the impact of those cuts?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is a complicated one to explain. I will do my best to be concise. The department has worked with the education councils across the Northwest Territories to adjust the formulas for financing the work that the councils do. In the course of these adjustments, there were some redistributions so that what was attempted was to provide a more equitable form of financing. In some areas, like the South Slave, while the amounts that were contributed to the divisional education councils for bussing went down, in other areas, their funding went up. In dealing with some of the inequities across the Northwest Territories, there are often, within education councils, offsetting amounts. Had there been no target reduction for the department, the changes in the formula would, in fact, have increased the amount of total funding that would have gone to the South Slave Divisional Education Council. So, what happened was, the formula was changed in order to provide more equity across the Northwest Territories. If we still had the same amount of money that we had in previous years, it actually would have meant an increase to the South Slave Divisional Education Council. They could have then used the monies any way they wanted. However, after doing all the formula changes, the amount of money, because of our target, was reduced. That meant that overall dollars that education councils received were reduced. They can look at those dollars as being all allocated to bussing or they can recognize there was a change in how the formula was calculated, which will probably be more accurate. They lost money in all areas. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That was a case of fiscal ledger domain if I ever saw one. I have seen the formula that the Minister is talking about and I am sure Einstein himself would be scratching his head trying to make sense of it. The Minister indicated, in his comments, that while this thing should have gone up, there was actually a cut but there were offsetting increases in other areas in the budget. Could the Minister specify some of the offsetting areas where there have been increases that would offset this $187,000 cut that the DEA experienced in the South Slave? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, there is no sleight of hand involved here. What happened was that the overall budget for schools was reduced by 5 or 6 percent. While the formula may have gone down for bussing, it may have gone up for the South Slave region for special education. It may have gone up in the basic per capita student grant, however, after all of the formula adjustments were done, there was a five or six percent decrease applied to the total figure. Therefore everything in the budget was reduced. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Trying to follow that lucid response has left me somewhat dizzy. Mr. Speaker, there was a 42.8 percent cut to the bussing formula. The Minister is telling me that overall for the budget for the South Slave, there was only a five or six percent cut. I think is what he is telling me. The people in the South Slave indicate to me that has been an increase in student numbers and their costs are far exceeding the funding that has been specified for bussing, resulting in the possible application of prohibitive user fees or having to take money from other critical areas. So, can the Minister maybe clarify for me, the difference. Money is given for bussing. There has been a 43 percent cut. You are telling me that they are expected to find the money somewhere else in the budget? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is up to each individual education council to determine how they spend their funds. They do not have to spend it according to the formula by which the funds are granted to them. They may find reasons for reallocation. So, yes, it is up to the education council to choose whether or not they wish to put the funds into student travel to southern locations or to put it into bussing as an example. I did not say that the South Slave Divisional Education Council took a five or six percent reduction. I said the funding in the budget for schools that is available across the Northwest Territories was reduced by five or six percent in this current year as compared to last year. That translated, with some of the changes to the formula, to less than five or six percent for some education councils and more than five or six percent to others. I cannot say off of the top of my head where South Slave fits into that formula in this current year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Minister provide that information once he finds out what the numbers are? You also indicated that there may have been increases in this area or there may have been increases in that area that would possibly offset a 43 percent cut to bussing, nothing specific. May does not pay bus drivers. So I was wondering if you could also specify what areas when you break out the numbers of the budget where those offsetting increases may be. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe that I can get that information for the Member fairly quickly. The cuts were explained to the divisional education councils and the authorities in Yellowknife. This exercise was gone through with them so that they saw that the formula adjustments would actually allow an increase in the total funding that they would have seen, except for the target adjustment at the end of the day. The formula adjustments that were made would have meant an increase had we had the forced growth that has historically gone into the department. Because there was no forced growth and there was, in fact, a reduction in the total funds that were available for schools, it meant the net funds that wound up going to all educational authorities were reduced over what the formula would have been. That information has been provided to the education councils and I would be happy to provide it to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Justice. It is in relation to the statement that I read in the House. It is in regards to the fire at Fort McPherson. The question is that the department can support the community by sending a team of professionals to try to resolve this heinous crime, and also to sit down with the community to find ways of dealing with the problem of the youth in the community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.