Directorate and administration, operations expenditure summary, $6.527. Agreed?

Page 9-14 and 15, activity summary, information item, directorate and administration, active positions.

Thanks, Madam Chair. This has got to be one of the biggest single numbers that we sign off on, $147 million on one budget line. Madam Chair, obviously there's one very large reason behind it and this is all of the school authorities and education authorities that are funded through this page. Madam Chair, a couple of areas that I wanted to explore a bit here. In the area of the culture and heritage division, which comes under this section, is a description of the department's job here. It looks after museums and archives, archaeology, heritage, education and support through the Arts Council, community culture and heritage groups, et cetera, and I'm wondering if this would be the appropriate area, Madam Chair, to ask about the Arts Strategy that this department shares. It's a rather unique arrangement, Madam Chair, between two departments to share responsibility for a single policy or a strategy document. ECE shares responsibility for the Arts Strategy with would it be Industry, Tourism and Investment? Have I got that right? Yes, thank you.

Now, when this strategy was rolled out, Madam Chair, and I think this was last spring, it took a few hits sort of in the public as being a loose document without a whole lot of specifics and targets and real tangible deliverables. One of those deliverables, Madam Chair, was funding that might go along to help achieve the objectives of the strategy. So I wanted to ask the Minister to what extent are we seeing some funding, or human resources, or other kinds of support coming in to back up the Arts Strategy and its holistic approach to a vibrant arts sector, Madam Chair?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The amount of funding that we have in the budget this year for the Arts Strategy is the same as in the current year. So we're not showing in this budget an expansion in the programming, and, yes, we have heard some expressions of concern about the thrust of the Arts Strategy, but what we've done is we've agreed with ITI that we will review the Arts Strategy probably by bringing together some of the members from the panel who were involved in the first go-round after the first year of its implementation, which is this spring. So we'll have a full year of that implementation in place and it is our intention to then work with ITI to see how we can better respond to the needs that are found through that review. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Braden.

Thanks. Madam Chair, the Minister said that the amount of money allocated was the same as last year. How much was that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Madam Chair. On page 9-19 its $426,000 and I can probably anticipate the next question. There were 73 grants approved last year.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Have we moved on to another page? I think right now we're on page 9-17. Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Minister is anticipating a couple of things there. So how much of that is going to the Arts Council for distribution, and then how much of it is going to help out with other areas of the strategy's purposes, Madam Chair?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The primary focus for the Department of Education for the Arts Strategy monies is around the Arts Council. So that's where the money is going for distribution. Now, having said that, we are also embarking on an arts education curriculum for NWT schools. We're working currently with the province of Manitoba to modify their curriculum, which looks like it might be quite interesting to us, to be relevant and make sure that it's relevant in the Northwest Territories. But this $426,000 is all designed to go out to organizations as contributions and we will be using our own internal funds for the curriculum and to support the Arts Council in its work.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Braden.

Madam Chair, also on that page is a description of the department's mandate as regards to the official languages division. It's responsible for observing, promoting and enhancing official languages. Madam Chair, in the last Assembly, near the end of the last Assembly, and this goes back about two-and-a-half years now I think we created considerable complexity and expense to new boards to administer and oversee the implementation and the enhancement and preservation of languages, official languages. I wanted to see if the Minister could give us a bit of detailing here. Where is the implementation and the delivery of those boards, services and requirements in this budget, Madam Chair?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Both the Official Languages Board and the Aboriginal Languages Revitalization Board are up and running. I have met with both boards when they've held their sessions on a couple of occasions. I've talked to the chair in the last little while and I'm expecting that we will have more communications on a regular basis. The boards have sent me one letter with some advice and, as I say, I am expecting that they will continue to provide advice to me on a regular basis. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Braden.

Madam Chair, is there any part of this budget that is sort of attributed or assigned to these boards or whatever duties or responsibilities they may have? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Madam Chair. There's no discreet number in this budget that refers to the work of these boards. It's within the amount of monies, it's within the division itself in the department and the department provides the support for the ongoing operations of the boards.