Thank you, Mr. Cleveland. Mr. Bell.

Thank you for that response. Certainly, we would like to take a look at the appendices. Before I go on, I would just like to say that this is one of the things that I am finding the most difficult thing about this budget process, and it is not just this department. This is just a criticism of the overall process or the way it is happening here, but things come in at the eleventh hour, and it is almost like they are wheelbarrows full of information that are dumped on you. We are expected to digest and go through this stuff, make heads or tails of it, and then ask questions and be able to hold the department accountable. It is frustrating and difficult. Certainly, our staff does not have the time to go through this.

So we will try to digest as much of this as we can quickly, but I guess that is just an aside. I will get back to my original point.

When we look at the $1,200,000, there are other areas of the department that factor in here. As mentioned, some Aurora College programs are directly applicable. I am wondering if other departmental funding is involved in this $1,200,000. For instance, Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development funding, or other things like this? Or is this strictly Education, Culture and Employment funding involved in the $1,200,000, Mr. Chairman? Thank you.

Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to comment, first, on the availability of material, and then I will ask Mr. Cleveland to address the specific question.

There is no doubt, and I apologize, that this is at the late stage of being received. We ourselves are finding, as Ministers, that it has been a very heavy couple of months. We are trying to get material together as quickly as we can. I have the experience of being handed a binder a day, it seems, that I have to digest and deal with. Coincidently, one day, I came into the Legislative Assembly building and a security guard handed me a binder.

-- Laughter

So it comes from everywhere, it seems. I will ask Mr. Cleveland to address the specific question.

Mr. Cleveland.

Thank you, Mr. Cleveland. General comments. Mr. Bell.

Thank you. So when we look at this $1,200,000, there are other departments involved. There are other activities in this department involved, and it is kind of layered in there and things interconnect.

I guess one of the concerns I have is that we have a budget here for 2000-2001, which we are already well into. Obviously, most of this planning should have already been done, or happened, and I hope it has.

If we are still waiting to find out if some of this funding will come through, possibly some from aboriginal partner groups, or from the federal government. I hope that this is not a wish list. Kind of, one of these things that we have seen that is, "here is what we would like to do if we had the money", and "Ah, shucks. We couldn't get it done because we didn't get the money".

It is nice to plan, and I think we have some good looking things from what I have seen, but I hope that it is a realistic plan. I hope that we do have a realistic shot at getting these dollars because if we do not, in effect, we are just saying to all the people in the communities and in the North, here is what we would like to do for oil and gas training. Unfortunately, we did not get the money and, ah well, we will take another shot at it in the future. Thank you.

Mr. Cleveland.

Thank you, Mr. Cleveland. Mr. Bell.

Thank you. I would agree with the deputy, that we do not want to build expectations if we cannot deliver. One point that sort of sparked my interest here is that it looks like there is $200,000 earmarked this year for student financial assistance in oil and gas training. So I assume that is for this September.

Can the Minister or deputy tell me how students go about accessing this $200,000 this fall, for student financial assistance related to oil and gas? Thank you.

Mr. Cleveland.

Mr. Bell.

Thank you. So this $200,000 is not new money and there is money in the general student financial assistance fund that can be accessed by people who want training in oil and gas. I assume this is on a first come, first served basis, and it could also be accessed by people who want to be trained for anything, could it not?

Mr. Bell.

Thank you. I am just a little bit confused. Maybe the deputy can straighten me out here. If we had students come forward for oil and gas training, and we added up the tally and it came out to $2 million this year, just for instance, obviously a ridiculous figure and it is not going to happen. We would provide that $2 million for oil and gas training and then the budget would be, you know, $2.3 million for the year.

Or on the other hand, if nobody comes forward and says they want to train for oil and gas, the $200,000 that is identified here is spent anyway, somewhere else, and is not really oil and gas training then, is it? Thank you.

Mr. Cleveland.

General comments. We are dealing with contributions.

Just a reminder, the motion that we just passed concerning the Community Skills for Work Program, there is $650,000 added. So we are dealing with the totals which now should read, $23,598,000. Total grants and contributions, the new figure should read, $32,718,000.