Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. It barely ties in with your original question. I will allow the Minister to answer it. The Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is not specific in those terms. There is a concern about more than just family and early childhood education and literacy. There is also workplace, health and so forth. There is a whole area of concern with regard to literacy. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, about the reply he gave about the aboriginal language funding, where it was lapsed. Is the $600,000 which was lapsed, is that over and above the $1.6 million?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, the funding is $1.9 million. The lapsed amount, that we have been able to negotiate and carry over, was $600,000. That will be spread over the next two years. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the funding be distributed equally among all of the language groups?

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 cannot answer the question. We still have to look at how that funding will be allocated. We do have a methodology by which we do the funding. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the reason I asked the question is because the aboriginal groups feel the funding they have been receiving...they feel they have been under-funded for a number of years. The increase is great, but I would like to ensure it is fairly distributed so all communities are able to deliver their language program. Will the Minister commit to ensure the money is allocated fairly?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we will use an equitable allocation, certainly by regions and then in our system and methodology of which communities are funded. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, were the aboriginal language groups aware that this money lapsed? Why was there nothing done before, so they had an opportunity to spend the money within the timeframes, so we do not set a bad precedent here?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not familiar with whether the aboriginal groups were aware of this lapsed funding. Lapsed funding is of concern to us. We were fortunate to be able to catch this and address this. It is a substantial amount of money. Hopefully, it will assist us here in the Northwest Territories to address funding for aboriginal language communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Regarding the amount of funding that has been allocated, will the Minister send out a memo or letter to the language group, making them aware this money has lapsed and there will be an increase, so they can plan for it? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe it is normal procedure to indicate the amount of funding that is available for organizations, and that this will be part of the notification. Once the budget is passed, then we can deal with both the budgeted amount and the amount that was carried over. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. The time for question period has expired. Item 7, written questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.