Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question relates to my statement regarding what a teacher who wants to improve their skills has to do to further their education.

I have had complaints from teachers in my riding who have applied several times to get leave so they can go back to school and get their bachelor's degrees.

Can the Minister tell me what funding is available for teachers who want to improve themselves by going back to school to get their degrees in education?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I may have to take this question as notice. I am not familiar with the process or with the particular case the Member has raised. Thank you.

May I just seek clarification, Mr. Ootes? Are you taking it as notice? You said you may have to, but are you?

I take the question as notice. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. The Minister has taken that question as notice. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the departments are very aware of the commitment that we have made and continue to make. At this time, I am waiting for an opportunity to meet with the Ordinary Members to discuss the whole issue of regional reorganization, regional capacity building. Following that direction and advice from the Members, we will undertake the exercise.

Up to this point, nothing formal has been done. Departments are very aware of it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Finance, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this point, when the budget documents refer to North Slave, it is talking about the whole of the government's North Slave area, which includes the Dogrib area as well as Yellowknife and so on. Generally, that is the way the departments are operating. There is some variance between departments.

The suggestion the Member is making is a good one, and one I think we could look at as we do the review of regions and organizations, capacity building and so on. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. I sensed two questions there. The Minister may answer whichever one she chooses. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department has budgeted $80,000 per year for education leave for health care professionals. During this fiscal year, the department actually overspent this by $25,000. This happened because there was a total of five employees who obtained education leave, all of whom are returning students. It is difficult when we provide funding and students start back to school, not to be able to continue once they get there. There was a need for additional resources.

Employees within the department and the boards who are unsuccessful in obtaining education leave are granted preference on the next round of consideration for education leave. Funding for this program during the fiscal year has been committed. We cannot go back on the commitment we have already made to students.

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, I agree in principle with the Member's concern that we could not accommodate his constituent. However, Mr. Speaker, it is imperative that Ministers proceed with caution and we do not make hasty, ad-hoc decisions without all of the relevant and pertinent information we need to do that. We have to consider fairness. We have to consider how many other people have applied for this.

When applications are assessed, there are many different criteria which are taken into consideration. That is why I told Mr. Miltenberger I would look into the prospects of additional funding. I did take the initiative, as he mentioned, to contact his constituent directly, who had previously written to me, and encouraged her to be patient and thank her for her interest in pursuing her education and reinvesting that in the North. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Minister for that response. Unfortunately, it had nothing to do with the question. The question was is the Minister now clear on what kind of authority she has to reallocate and reprofile funds as a Minister within her department with a $175 million budget? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Miltenberger keeps referring to the Minister's ability to reallocate funds. He also keeps referring to this funding that was lapsed. He may also know, having been a Minister once, that it is the Minister's responsibility to ensure the overall parameters of the budget are not overspent. Although it is possible to transfer and reallocate money from one activity to another, although it may appear at times there are funds lapsed in one activity, the responsible thing is to look at the overall spending in the entire budget of the department to make sure we are within the confines of that.

Having said that, Mr. Speaker, I do appreciate Mr. Miltenberger's encouragement and permission as the chairman on the Standing Committee on Social Programs, to grant me the latitude to make these kinds of decisions for a $250,000 transfer in my department without any consultation. I thank him for that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. I would just caution Ministers about referencing previous positions of Members. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if the Minister considers that permission, it would probably be the first time Cabinet has ever considered the need to get permission to move bags of money as they look after their various ministries.

Mr. Speaker, the question to the Minister is how does the retention program to keep northern nurses tie into sending nurses out to get upgraded? Are you telling me they are mutually exclusive and never the twain shall meet?

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. I think the question was how does this tie in with your program. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.