That is certainly something I believe the department will be looking at. It makes perfect sense to allow the funding to flow when it’s needed, and not on a financial calendar or a bureaucratic calendar, but instead with the true growing season in mind so that we can make the most out of the money that we have. The good news is we are going to be spending another $6 million in the area of agriculture over the next five years, and that’s some good news.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister again. I know this Minister is interested and supportive of the gardening and food security issues. Many of the issues gardeners face relate to the lack of understanding and agricultural knowledge of ITI staff that gardeners must apply to or expect support from. As a consequence, highly qualified and experienced public gardeners and NGOs are stepping into the lurch only to be undermined by a lack of equally sound and knowledgeable support from government.

What will the Minister do to ensure this timely and quality support is available from ITI now and in future growing seasons?

Mr. Speaker, we have competent staff in the regions. We have competent staff here at headquarters. If the Member has some examples of, as he mentioned, staff not giving other folks the right type of information, I would be more than happy to have the Member write to me or write to the deputy minister and advise us of such occurrences. We have a big program to deliver and the staff that we have are trying their best to deliver the programs that we have. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I do believe there were three or four questions in there; I can only answer one. With the distance that has been brought to our attention through the poverty strategy that we have engaged with the public, NGOs, it is important for us to be part of that as income support. We have made some changes over the years, even major changes in 2007 that reflect on communities’ needs. Along the way we have been making changes. We are glad we are part of the Anti-Poverty Strategy that is coming forward in this Assembly, along with other strategies as well. It is important for us to be part of the process. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

One good thing, the Minister clearly can count because he said there were a couple of questions in there, maybe three, but since 2007 he has proven he can’t answer one of those three or number of questions highlighting those changes.

There have been no changes. I pulled out the regs. There are zero changes providing these opportunities for kids for poverty.

What does the Minister really recognize and what is he willing to do about this situation that children who are part of families on income support cannot participate in music, extracurricular arts or even extracurricular sports? There is a fairness and equity here. We are missing a huge opportunity to do something. I would like to hear it.

Mr. Speaker, we are doing something. I am answering his questions as well. Part of the curriculum that we deliver, K to 12 and beyond that, we provide a music program. We provide various other programs in the school as well. We will continue to enhance our programs. These are areas that we are very interested and also we are working closely with the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs to deliver those programs, even after-school programs. We are involving the parents. We are trying to make a difference. We are making programs deliverable, even working closely with the college and different agencies to deliver these additional programs beyond K to 12. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I pulled the regulations. There is nothing that talks about this. If the Minister wants to talk about funding education through K to 12, let’s talk about that, but K to 12 funding doesn’t support the initiatives I’m talking about. I’m talking about income support. Welcome to the file. Please. My goodness. Under income support there is nothing that supports music, arts and extracurricular sports.

What is the Minister willing to do on that? Will he launch on this opportunity to say, let’s investigate this and let’s do something to ensure that these children have the same opportunity as other children deserve? Let’s do something and we can do it today. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we do provide basic fundamental funding to the clientele that we service, the income support clientele. The funding that we provide is shelter, food and clothing.

Again, we are working through various programs such as Municipal and Community Affairs have numbers of programming through NGOs such as we do.

As the Education, Culture and Employment department, we provide almost $7 million in various NGO funding that consists in a breakdown in the communities of various funding that is accessible by the parents, by the children, by the community members. Continuously we have been providing that to the communities and we will continue to strengthen our programming into the communities even more. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Clearly, the Minister doesn’t get it. When we start talking about the communities, the fact is this: income support provides food and shelter, yes, that is a given, we all know that. But why do the children in those situations… They don’t ask to be on income support. The families are there because of various reasons. We are not here to debate that.

The question I am asking is this: We need to be opening up doors. The Minister has the power that is in this directive; let’s start doing something today. Even if it starts with $500 per head, per child, to get them into music, sports, arts, let’s give them the same opportunities other families certainly give their kids, and these kids deserve them equally. If he is saying no to this, he is saying they are worth less, and I take exception to that.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Clearly, we are not saying no. We are saying we are providing these opportunities for these children.

In the Northwest Territories Anti-Poverty Strategy, there will be a targeted action plan coming forward. This consists of all these departments sitting here. We are very serious, we want to make changes and it will reflect those changes as well. Thank you.

Member for Inuvik-Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Following up from my Members statement, I actually wanted to get this question in yesterday, but I would like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services with regard to the funding this government worked on getting for prevention and promotion through our most recent budget session on operations.

Has all of the funding been allocated for what we fought for in terms of prevention and promotion activities? Has that funding been allocated, and if not, what is the exact number of dollars that still has to be allocated in this fiscal year for prevention and promotion programming? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mahsi Cho Mr. Speaker. That money has not been allocated; however, we are close to determining exactly where that money will go. We are going to wait for the completion of both the 10-year framework on early childhood development and the Minister’s Forum on Addictions and Community Wellness to determine where we feel the best places to allocate this money. The money, the majority of it will be going into those to action plans and also some of it will be going directly to NGOs. Thank you.

Yesterday the Minister made a Minister’s statement, and he does say that he’s waiting for the Early Childhood Development and Anti-Poverty strategies to come forward, but he says, “I will not wait until that response is finalized to take action.” So the sooner the better. We can’t wait to start providing programs.

You have heard a lot of really good options, a lot of good suggestions on this side of the House, what’s happening in Hay River, what’s happening in rural and remote communities. I’d like to ask the Minister, would he look at creating an application-based program with the funding dollars, which I am not sure how much that is. I did ask that question. Would the Minister look at creating an action-based program with some of these dollars that have not been allocated for some NGOs, so that they can start doing some of these programs like introduction and promotion and education and awareness? Thank you.

The Department of Health and Social Services and the health and social service authorities jointly fund about 50 NGOs to the tune of about $14 million. In that, about 30 to 35 of those could be working in the healing and prevention field, like, where it funds some youth organizations, some healing organizations and community governments. So within that we are capable of moving some of this prevention money directly into those organizations, whether they be NGOs that specifically do healing, or youth, or community governments that could do that as part of their functions. Thank you.

Just for clarity, I’d like to ask the Minister how he is going to fund those organizations, NGOs. Specifically, is it going to be an application-based program, is it going to be something new, or is it going to be something that’s built on something like the Health Promotion Fund? Can he be more specific on how these organizations can apply for this extra funding, and if he can still answer part of my first question, which was how much of these dollars have not been allocated for this fiscal year yet that we still have on the budget? Thank you.

Currently, specific to that additional $1.6 million that was allocated, none of that money is allocated. Although it’s targeted, it has not been allocated to any specific project. The majority of the money that will flow, in addition to the money that is already flowing, will probably be added to the NGO contribution policy. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Moses.