Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Vician will continue to respond to the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Mr. Vician.

Thank you, Mr. Vician. Any more comments or questions? Detail?

We are dealing with the Minister responsible for the Department of Transportation. We are on tab 6, page 6. Department of Transportation, total operations and maintenance, $22,212,000.

On page 8, total capital, $17,731,000.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. You may be excused. The committee has agreed to move on to the Department of Education, Culture, and Employment.

Does the Minister have any opening comments?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment's interim appropriation request totals $68,011,000. This amount includes $62,533,000 in operations and maintenance funding and $5,478,000 for capital expenditures.

As the Members are aware, the department has not yet had the opportunity to prepare a full business plan. The full business plan will be prepared for consideration by the Members of this Assembly in May and early June.

The information being presented is limited to support for ongoing departmental activities as well as adjustments for forced growth that will occur during the period of the interim allocation. Limited monies for activities that require additional expenditures in the early portion of the year and previously approved budget adjustments have also been included in the request.

Members of this Assembly are all aware that we are faced with some very difficult choices during this initial capital budgeting process. This has certainly been true for both operations and maintenance as well as capital activity in our department. As a result, many activities that we may have liked to undertake are now not possible. However, we are confident that the plan that is being presented addresses the areas of greatest priority.

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed interim appropriation for the department. I will be pleased to answer questions that the Members might have on the appropriation request.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Does the Standing Committee on Social Programs have any comments? Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Standing Committee on Social Programs met with the Minister and his officials on March 16, 2000, and offers the following comments on the review of the department's interim appropriations.

Income Support and Disability Payments

The committee is very concerned about the adequacy of income support for residents with disabilities. Committee members have been told that the amounts available were no longer in line with benefits available to disabled residents of other Canadian jurisdictions. The committee was pleased to hear the Minister commit to reviewing the amounts provided by other Canadian jurisdictions for disabilities under income support programs. The committee looks forward to reviewing this survey with the Minister and working together with the department to adjust income support levels for disabled persons should it be warranted.

Committee members are also concerned that there has not been an adjustment made to the food basket price, which is used to determine the dollar amounts for income support, in quite some time.

Members of the committee were somewhat pleased to hear that there will be a review of the food basket price in the upcoming fiscal year. However, members would prefer to see this review done sooner than later so that the impact of potential increases to income support payments might be examined in conjunction with the business plan and main estimates.

Adult Basic Education Funding

The committee members are extremely concerned that the majority of funding for basic adult education programs sunsets at the end of March and that there are no apparent programs to replace this funding. Committee members cannot fathom how this government expects residents to take advantage of employment opportunities in our burgeoning resource sector with the minimal education levels that exist in some of our smaller communities.

There may be some validity to the department's argument that money for adult basic education did not have to be in the interim appropriation because these programs are not typically offered in the summer months. However, committee members strongly believe that this lack of available funding come April 1, 2000, may impact on the ability of smaller non-governmental organizations to survive until such a time as funding may be forthcoming.

Committee members believe that the issue of adult basic education is so important that it merits the same consideration shown to the Working Together Program and should be included in the interim appropriation.

Digital Communication Network, ArdiCom Ltd.

Committee members heard from the Minister that the department spends approximately $2 million in supporting the digital communication network. Whether the Department of Education, Culture, and Employment moves to a charge back model and makes other departments pay their fair share of the costs involved does not affect the stated issue that there is insufficient bandwidth to meet the needs of government.

The committee strongly recommends that the Department of Education, Culture, and Employment work in conjunction with the Department of Health and Social Services and the Financial Management Board Secretariat to resolve the issues with the digital communications network.

Special Needs in the Classroom

In light of the proposed increase in special needs funding encapsulated in Bill 1, it is apparent to committee members that the department must develop policies and a formula to ensure that the increased funding is dispersed wisely and equitably to all district education authorities. Committee members hope that the formula could take into account the tendency of families with children having learning disabilities to migrate to "magnet communities".

Committee members look forward to reviewing the formulas and policies that the Department of Education, Culture, and Employment develops to ensure the equitable distribution of special needs funding. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Does the Minister wish to call in any witnesses? Does the committee agree?

Will the Sergeant-at-Arms escort the witnesses in?

The Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture, and Employment, Mr. Ootes, could you introduce your witnesses for the record?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With me on my immediate right is Mark Cleveland, the deputy minister for the department and on my far right is Mr. Paul Devitt, the director of management services for the department.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Any comments or questions for the Minister? Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Department of Education, Culture, and Employment, like other departments, is doing relatively well in terms of funding with the collective agreement being completed and Bill 1 soon to be passed and $15 million or so, $4.6 million a year being put into the budget. Hopefully, the Minister will be able to come back and tell us tomorrow that there is an addition of $450,000 for student financial assistance.

All of this under the expert direction of the current Minister. I think he is to be commended on his ability to make things happen in such an expedient short time.

I would like to ask the Minister a question in regard to his statements, on the fourth paragraph in the second last sentence, "As a result, many activities that we may have liked to undertake are now not possible". With the exception of the adult education, which we already know about at this point, can the Minister elaborate on what activities he is referring to? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As the Member knows, it has been a short time since we have taken over the department but there are many areas that could potentially be tackled in terms of additional funding.

Without getting specific into programs, because I have not had an opportunity to deal with the very specific programs, but for example, let me deal with early childhood development. That is an area that could potentially use more money. But we do not seem to be able to identify a lot more funding. Mr. Chairman, thank you.

Thank you, Minister Ootes. Mr. Miltenberger.