Thank you. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you. So not only are we asking them to go out there and promote the daycares, but you are supposed to help this part-time position, so we are just loading up on this individual here, to do more work. Can the Minister explain that rationale? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am trying to remember back to the days when I actually ran a daycare, which wasn't too long ago, actually. You have to remember that these positions are not in the daycare every single day. In fact, when I was running the daycare in Yellowknife here, that position came by twice a year, if I was lucky, usually for the inspection and then just prior to the inspection, a couple of months before, to actually do a mock inspection, to talk about things we were doing. So it is not a full-time position, that they need to be in the licensed daycare centres 24/7. It is more of an inspection role. It is a support role to talk to them about if they are having trouble with their reporting forms, if they are not sure of the funding that is available, but it is not an on-site position. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I understand it is not an on-site position, but you want to have support. It is just not all about funding. It is supporting the daycares to do the job properly for our youth. So, again, I have a concern that it is only a half-time position, but I am going to move on to another topic. In regard to the $13-million surplus for the district education authority, does the Minister have a breakdown that she can share with us? She doesn't have to share it today. Is she able to share with committee to show the breakdown in these areas? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am more than happy to share a breakdown of it. However, I am asking for a little bit of time because the statistics that we have are from 2017-2018. I would rather get some more current stats, for 2018-2019, to be able to provide to the Members. I am just trying to find out when we know when that will be coming. The difficulty is that their fiscal year ends in July, so the data wouldn't be able to be given to the Members until the fall, which is just before. We could provide old information from 2017-2018, which is really outdated, if that is what is desired. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. We could probably find that in the public accounts right now. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Minister keeps on talking to us about $13 million as a surplus. Now, all of a sudden, we have to wait actually until later on. My question, though, is: if a district education authority has the ability to come up with a plan to utilize the surplus that actually will enhance the education for our youth, can they use that money without getting it clawed back? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The $13 million that I had stated as a surplus was the surplus from 2017-2018. We are projecting that the fiscal year 2018-2019 actually will have a higher surplus. There were some difficulties with the accounting on some of the education bodies during 2017-2018. That bodies, there was only one in deficit, was actually projecting a surplus in the 2018-2019 because of the adjustments to the accounting, so it is not really reflective. Currently, how it stands, as stated earlier, the authorities are allowed to maintain 7 percent of their surplus, and they have to provide a plan for how they are going to use their surplus funding within the year. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I understand in the riding that I represent they already have plan of what they want to allocate the money for. If it is more than 7 percent, does that mean that they can't do the project; they have to find the money elsewhere? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. To be clear, they can keep the 7 percent. The rest of the surplus, they actually have to give the plan for that much money. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess my next set of questions is just in regards to positions being lost. Right now, we are seeing a decline of 60 students in the Deh Cho, so we are going to see positions being lost. Right now, we are bare bones. You know, when you talk about extraordinary circumstances, that is after. Has the department looked at setting up to look at these situations where we are going to lose 60 students and it is going to have an impact on the education system? Have you looked at it, and are you willing to work with that board to get it to be successful? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The realization that our numbers are declining in enrolments and the struggles that some of the smaller schools would face within that is the reason that I committed to doing a review of the funding formula, so that will impact it, as well. I am more than willing, if not myself because I am pretty busy, we are more than willing to meet with the education council to discuss their needs and a strategy and to look at what their issues are. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Nothing further from Mr. Thompson. Education, Culture and Employment, early childhood and school services, operations expenditure summary, activity total, $199,473,000. Does committee agree?

Thank you, committee. Please turn to activity 4, income security. Ms. Green.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I note on page 46 that the department is anticipating a $2.674-million increase in income assistance in the forthcoming fiscal year. Can the Minister describe: is that because of program increases, or is it because of an increased number of cases? Could she give us some detail? Thank you.