Thank you, Minister Moses. Mr. Thompson?

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the Minister for that. I guess for the future, and the Minister is probably aware of this, it's a really good program, and I think we should be identifying the success that the department is having with these non-NGOs. Northern Youth Abroad has a huge, huge impact on our youth, and the Minister has been involved with it previously as a volunteer. So I would like to see it in the business plan or in the main estimates in the future. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I agree with the Member's comments. Actually, in fact, my counterpart in Nunavut, the Minister of Education, was one of the first participants in the Northern Youth Abroad program. It shows how big of an impact that program has on our youth in NWT and Nunavut. We can consider putting it in as a line item in future main estimates. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Moses. Mr. Simpson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to return to the issue that Mr. Thompson raised about the additional streams in schools. Now, I know that in places like Yellowknife, and even in Hay River 20 years ago, when I was in school and there were twice as many students in the high school, having additional courses was viable; but, right now, they're struggling to provide things like core French. You know, core French isn't offered in the high school in Hay River, and students are asking why, you know dash-4 courses aren't offered. Well, it's because there's not that critical mass that makes it feasible to put one of those courses on. I mean, do you, maybe, not buy any toilet paper or any supplies like that for the year, or do you hire a teacher to teach one of these courses? You know, the money is stretched thin and it's not appropriately distributed when it comes to centers like Hay River.

So my concern with these courses is that the department is trying to create; I understand what the department is trying to do, and I know they've been doing this in other places for decades, but I think this is one thing where we need a "made in the North" solution. So I know the department wants to offer these courses, but is it part of a broader plan to reform the system or is it just tacking something onto the current system and hoping it works? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Simpson. Minister Moses?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We've heard, on numerous occasions, that our current high school graduation requirements are not meeting many of the NWT students; and, therefore, the department has taken it on and is looking at reviewing and working towards revising the current requirements and looking at how we can assist students to create a pathway to graduation, whether it's the trades, whether it's for future post-secondary education, whether it's to get into the career field right away, or even just to get a completion of their high school, but those are discussions that we're going to have as we have those consultations throughout the Northwest Territories on this High School Pathways initiative, and as I mentioned, it is not going to be implemented in the school year until the 2019-2020 academic year. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Moses. Mr. Simpson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I believe we are coming to the end of the education renewal. I believe that was an initiative over a period of time, and if that is wrapping up and we are trying to do these new things, is there some sort of master plan here? It is getting harder and harder to put these classes on with the way the funding is structured. I mean, the physical school itself in Hay River is not getting any smaller. Even if there are 200 fewer students, they don't need fewer janitors, and it doesn't cost less to heat. If anything, it costs more to heat. There are all of these problems, and we don't seem to be addressing the root problem of this. We just keep tacking more on, expecting the schools to do more without providing them with more. Maybe I will just leave it at that, and I can address this at a different time with the Minister, as well. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Simpson. Did you want to provide comment to that, Minister Moses? Go ahead.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, one of the main objectives of the Educational Renewal process was to improve student outcomes throughout the Northwest Territories. We have had a lot of initiatives in terms of making that happen. We are also looking at system-wide accountability.

As you have heard, we do fund over $150 million to the education authorities. We want to make sure that they are providing the programs, the courses, and services to the students in their respective regions, and we continue to work with our superintendents, our education authorities and board chairs.

It is something that we are continuing to monitor. We have working groups that are involved in a lot of the initiatives that are within the education renewal, and we will continue to work at that. We have a lot of community people who are on these working groups, as well as people with expertise. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Moses. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have a question about the contract services line on page 41. It seems to have increased by nearly $1 million. Can we get some clarity on why that is? It is a substantial increase. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. Lovely.

Thank you, Mr. Lovely. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can we have an explanation of what contract services are, then? I am still a bit confused, and this line seems to have fluctuated quite substantially in previous fiscal years. In the 2016-2017 Actuals, it was $939,000; in the 2017-2018 Main Estimates, it was $5,050,000; and in the Revised Estimates, it was $2,085,000; and again, now we see this increase. Why is there so much volatility in contract services in this activity of the department? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. Lovely.

Thank you, Mr. Lovely. Mr. Testart.

Again, I might not have heard clearly the response to my first question, but the $900,000 here, what is that intended for? Is that just a placeholder, and the money will be reallocated if it is not required? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. Lovely.