Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, committee would like to consider Tabled Document 63-18(3), Main Estimates 2018-2019, continuing the Department of Education, Culture and Employment followed by continuing the Department of Executive and Indigenous Affairs, time permitting. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Does committee agree?

Thank you, committee. We will consider the document after a brief recess.

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I will now call Committee of the Whole back to order. Committee, we have agreed to discuss Tabled Document 63-18(3), Main Estimates 2018-2019, and continue where we left off with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. The last time we discussed the department, we went through opening comments as well as comments from the Minister. I will ask the Minister if he has witnesses he wishes to bring into the Chamber. Minister Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, I do.

Thank you, Minister Moses. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber. Minister, would you please introduce your witnesses for the record.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On my right, I have Deputy Minister Sylvia Haener, and on my left, Assistant Deputy Minister Olin Lovely.

Thank you, Minister. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment begins at page 25 of the main estimates. As I have stated, we have already done opening comments, so we will proceed to consider the detail. The departmental total can be found on page 29, but as is our practice, we will consider the detail in the document before considering the departmental total. There are five activities in this department. The first activity is corporate management and begins on page 33.

What we will do is we will consider each activity at once, and some activities have more than one page. They include the expenditure summary, as well as information items. If committee has comments, they can speak to each activity once. Please reference the page that you are discussing. I will open the floor to comments on corporate management operations expenditure summary or the active positions found on the next page. Comments or questions on ECE corporate management? Ms. Green.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I am looking at page 33, and I am seeing that there is a slight increase in planning, research, and evaluation, and I am wondering what the additional funds are being used for. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Those are for the three positions that we are using for the case management system.

Thank you, Minister. I would just like to remind everyone to end your statement with a "thank you" or some way so that the sound crew knows when it is time to change the mic. Ms. Green.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I wonder if the Minister could just refresh my memory about the case management positions. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Lovely.

Thank you. Further, Ms. Green?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Could the witness please say what kinds of services are being brought in-house that were once contracted? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Those are going to be IT resources. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Ms. Green.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. When we talk about three positions for case management, we are talking about IT positions for case management. Is that correct? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and yes, that is correct. Thank you.

Thank you. Nothing further from Ms. Green. Anything further to the activity of corporate management? Seeing none, I will call this activity. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On page 33, contract services went down to $780,000. Can the Minister explain what the change is between 2017-2018 and 2018-2019? There is a difference of $107,000.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Mr. Lovely.

Thank you. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just to clarify, if the company is coming in and we are going to save some money, why aren't we hiring more people to save more money if we are trying to reduce this area? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Ms. Haener.

Thank you. Nothing further from Mr. Thompson. Next, it's Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I am looking at the operations expenditure summary, the compensation and benefits line. There is this decreasing trend from 2016-2017 where it was $8.1 million down to $6.9 million anticipated for 2018-2019, but when I look at the next page, which is the active positions, we see that there is actually a three-person increase in this activity area for the department. Can someone explain to me how we are adding staff, but the money for compensation and benefits is actually going down over time? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. Lovely.

Thank you. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Just so I understand, there were some extraordinary costs related to personnel or human resources issues back in 2016-2017. It was like a one-time thing in one year? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, that's correct. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. On the contract services line, the main estimates for last year were $887,000 but only $396,000 was expended. Can someone tell me what happened there and whether any of that contract work has now been carried forward into the new year 2018-2019? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. Lovely.

Thank you, Mr. Lovely. Nothing further from Mr. O'Reilly. Next is Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As with a number of Members on the issue of arts funding, the NWT Arts Strategy has been raised. This framework has not been reviewed in a significant amount of time. I'm wondering if the Minister can commit to reviewing that framework within this fiscal year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Would the Minister confirm whether or not this is the proper section to raise that issue?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. No, it's not the proper section, but I will commit that we will looking at that framework within this government. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart, anything further for corporate management?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The reason why I raised that here is it does deal with policy legislation and broad strategic framework, including comprehensive framework for evaluating programs, setting and monitoring performance measurements and targets. Is the current arts funding evaluated by this division or by this activity? Are we evaluating our arts programming and seeing what its impact is as we deal with education funding? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That specific funding is administered through the Arts Council, so it's flow-through money. Every year, we look at the program but it's flow-through money that we don't really evaluate at this time. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart.

Thank you. Maybe we should. I would recommend that perhaps we look at the impact and value for money of this in conjunction with the Arts Council and our partners so that we can make sure we're meeting the requirements of maintaining steady flow of resources to arts communities and to the Arts Council itself, and that we're meeting the strategic objectives. It's good to get money out the door, but it's much better if we know that money is making an impact. Again, the other reason that I asked these questions to the Minister in this section is this framework is a multi-departmental framework. It's not just housed within one activity within ECE. It may require changing government policies or changing legislation that governs some of these areas.

Is the Minister confident that none of that work has to go on in reviewing the arts strategy and that it can all be done by the arts and culture division of the department? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As I have mentioned in the House, I will be working with my colleague from ITI to look at the options moving forward on the strategy within this term. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Nothing further from Mr. Testart. I see no more comments. I will call this activity. Corporate management, operations expenditure summary, activity total, $12,881,000. Does committee agree?

Thank you, committee. The next activity begins on page 35, culture, heritage and languages, and continues on to page 39. Do you have comments, questions, or concerns? Mr. Vanthuyne. Please indicate which page you are discussing. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to discuss page 37, the NWT Arts Council. This is where there are grants to artists and cultural groups to support their undertakings. As the previous speaker, my colleague from Kam Lake, alluded to, a number of Members and the public at large have been raising some concerns to some degree about the need to undertake a review of the strategy but also the increased funding to the Northwest Territories Arts Council, as it hasn't seen an increase in a significant number of years.

I just want to maybe hear from the Minister. We've heard recently that people were thinking that maybe there was the possible opportunity of getting lottery funds to support arts. We know that that's probably not realistic at this point in time. Can the Minister let us know if there is any consideration with regard to increasing the pot to the Northwest Territories Arts Council that currently sits at $500,000 a year? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you,

Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I know I've had questions in the House regarding the Arts Council funding; we are going through the main assessments now. I know there have been concerns about an increase. I did mention that we were looking right across government and seeing what our contributions were collectively. During our discussions, I had mentioned, and what I said in the House is that I believe we're sufficiently funding the arts community right across the sector. That funding is fully utilized. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Vanthuyne.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess the clear question to the Minister then is: will we be seeing an increase to the NWT Arts Council? Again, it sits at $500,000. I want to know specifically from the Minister: will any increase be given to the NWT Arts Council?

Thank you,

Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As noted in the main estimates, it is $500,000 currently. Thank you. That's what we have before us, thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Vanthuyne.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think at this time I will get off this line of questioning, but I strongly suggest that the Minister -- just one moment.

I will go to the Minister. Minister Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As you know, we go through a process when we're going through the main estimates and operations with budget. That line item, I can defend what's before me within our budget, within ECE and what's on the paper here. With that line of questions, I'd like to maybe ask the Minister of Finance to answer that. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Moses. Minister of Finance, Minister McLeod.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, in our correspondence with committee, one of the recommendations they made was a possible addition to the funding to the NWT Arts Council. In my correspondence back to committee, I have made that commitment in the form of a supplemental we would be bringing forward an increase to the contribution to the NWT Arts Council of $200,000.

Thank you, Minister McLeod. Anything further, Mr. Vanthuyne?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you to the respective department and the Minister of Finance for their confirmation. No further questions at this time. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Next, I have Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will take this opportunity to acknowledge the recent announcement of additional funding for the Arts Council and commend the government for their efforts towards supporting the arts in the Northwest Territories.

I have some questions about the support to northern performers item, which is on page 37, and on page 38, it gives some detail on the purposes of it: "Grants to performing artists, festival organizations and events, community governments and band councils for the promotion of performing arts in NWT communities."

An ongoing area of advocacy for many of my honourable friends has been around a touring grant in support for northern performers so that they can maintain their residency here in the North, live in the North, and be allowed to travel elsewhere and that the government provide subsidies to allow that. The government has often turned towards this funding, the support to northern performers, as the "it already happens and there are no additional resources needed."

I would just like to get a sense of where this money goes. Can the Minister give some detail on who is receiving contributions from the support to northern performers funding? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We do not have that level of detail of who is receiving it. You did hear in the House today during the question period that we did give funding to the Inuvialuit Drummers and Dancers to go to the gathering down in Edmonton, but if the Member would like, we can look at getting some of that information for him. I believe there were about 20 groups that got the funding last year. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Moses. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will be voting on this item shortly, so I don't need the information later. I would appreciate if the Minister had that information when we ask these questions in this Committee of the Whole review. However, I just want to get clarification.

I think the Drummers is an example of a group that should be getting a support to go on tours, but this is particularly broad. It also supports festival organizations and events, community governments, and band councils. What do those contributions look like? Are we providing contributions to Long John Jamboree, to Muskrat Jamboree, to those kind of events, or is it only going to northern performers? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I won't get into all 20 of them, but yes, we are funding Long John Jamboree Society, Snowking Winter Festival, Folk on the Rocks, Great Northern Arts Festival, Kole Crook Fiddle Association, Western Arctic Moving Pictures, Tides Canada Initiatives Society; the list goes on. In due time, I will just save reading the whole list and just give an idea of some of the groups that we do fund. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thanks for the clarification from the Minister. In this section, too, we see arts organizations operating funding in the amount of $460,000, and these are stated as "contributions to provide ongoing operational support to established arts organizations and large cultural events and festivals in the Northwest Territories."

I would like to ask the Minister: if there is dedicated funding to support festivals such as that were just on that list, what is the difference, I guess, between the two funding sources when they are going to the same organization?

What has been addressed in the House, Mr. Chair, has been a need for dedicated funding support for Northern artists who are on tour to southern Canada, which, as everyone in the Northwest Territories understands, is very expensive. There is very little incentive for a Northerner to stay here when they could be moving to Vancouver or Toronto, where it is much easier to do festival circuits and to get around. The artists who are staying here love it here, and we ought to be supporting them with some sort of dedicated touring. My concern is, if it is only $101,000 and it's wide open for everyone to look for resources, then perhaps we need to streamline this to be a little more specified so that we can support those artists and keep them here in the North so that we don't lose them to the South. It is good to be flexible, but it is also good to be specific when we are trying to achieve a specific policy gain for northern artists. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. With the arts organizations operating funding, that is a lot for the O and M side of things with the organizations. The support to northern performers, again, let's take Western Arctic Moving Pictures, for example. We fund their operations, but we also fund them to go out and do the travel. Support to northern performers supports cultural delegations to things like Arctic Winter Games, Minister's Culture and Heritage Circle, international festivals, and NWT Days that we have had in the past in Ottawa, as well as things like the Circumpolar Games. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am assuming that some of the support to northern performers monies are being used by -- sorry, let me ask: is this money given on conditions, or is it just transferred to the organizations? Is there an application process that says how they need to use the money? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, with the grant contribution agreement that we go into, there is an accountability component. So, yes, there are conditions applied to this when we fund them. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart.

Is support to northern performers money being provided to festival organizations to bring in southern performers to the Northwest Territories to perform at those festivals? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. In some cases, yes, it can be used for that. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's my point; right? It's support to northern performers, and we need something to do that and be specific in providing that level of support.

I want to be clear for the record today that I am not advocating we reduce funding to festival organizations. They are a very important part of our Northern culture and our communities, and I would never recommend removing any kind of funding from them. What I am talking about is that there is a real need that northern performers, some of them nationally recognized and award-winning northern performers, have brought forward to this government and are looking for additional support.

I will conclude with this: in the review of our arts strategy, will some dedicated effort be given to this idea of a northern touring grant, and can that be part of the work going forward? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Like any other of our strategies that we have worked on developing, we would have to create a discussion paper. As I mentioned, I have to talk with my colleague in the Department of ITI moving forward before we see what those discussions will look like. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart.

Thank you. Can the Minister, then, commit to talking to artists who are looking for this additional funding? I don't think I am doing it justice, clearly. This makes a lot of sense to me, but can the Minister commit to involving artists in this work so that it is not just a departmental analysis of total arts funding? That is not at all what is required here. We need to talk to the artists who are looking for additional support. Can the Minister commit to doing that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. By getting strategy that we have come out of within the Department of ECE, we have always engaged our partners, we have always engaged our stakeholders to ensure that they give us the input and the expertise that is needed to develop such a strategy of where we are going to be moving forward over the next number of years. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Testart, your time has expired. Minister, just for the public's information, I know ITI produces a grants and contributions guide every year; does the Department of Education, Culture and Employment produce something similar that shows the organizations that received the grants and in what amounts?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Currently, staff of the department are working on a document like that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Next, I have Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I am looking at page 38, near the bottom of the page, Indigenous languages broadcasting, and also I see a bit of an increase, almost $100,000, in that area. A little bit of background of we are facing: some of the communities that I represent are not getting the broadcasts from the Aboriginal-language radio station, CKLB. I am wondering if this money is money that will be used with the intent of bringing some broadcasting back into the communities. I have one community where there is no broadcasting at all, of any sort of radio, because there is something with the equipment. I am wondering if this money can be used to support that, to get the communities back online for that radio station. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, that is what exactly that funding is for, is to support our current radio stations and, like you mentioned, MLA Beaulieu, that we can look at new communities, as well.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. One more question: Mr. Chairman, earlier the Minister was reading a list of northern performers, support to northern performers; I was wondering if the Minister could commit to just agreeing to provide that list to committee later on. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member is looking for a commitment from the Minister. Minister Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, I can provide the list for the NWT Arts Council funding support to northern performers, as well as the arts organization operating funding. We can provide that to Members. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. No further questions from Mr. Beaulieu. Seeing nothing further from committee. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Yes, I, too, would like to thank the Minister of Finance. I don't do it very often, so I hope he is listening. I would like to thank him for the commitment of 200,000 extra dollars for the NWT Arts Council, and the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment for agreeing to undertake a review of arts programs. I just want to ask about the scope of this review. Is it to just review existing programs, or are we actually going to be developing a new arts strategy? The last one I am aware of dates, I think, from 2004 for ECE. What is the objective here, a new arts strategy or just a review of existing programs? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Minister Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, we will be looking at refreshing the arts strategy. As I mentioned earlier, we will be reaching out to our partners, our stakeholders, to make sure that we get the right input and feedback and contributions in developing the strategy. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. O'Reilly.