Wendy Bisaro

I guess I would request the department to provide that information to committee if they would.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Ms. DeLancey.

Thanks to the Minister. I’m glad to hear that this is something that may be on the horizon. The Minister mentioned he’s in discussion and that the department, I gather, is looking into this. I’d like to know from the Minister what kind of discussions are these, are these taking us forward to action and when might that action be. Thank you.

Thanks to Ms. DeLancey for the explanation. I appreciate that it’s a long-term objective to get this done, and it is going to take a lot of time before it does happen. It sounds as though the changes that are being instituted this next fiscal year are coming from within or ones that are happening right now. Are we going to be looking at an increase in the budget after the fiscal year 2013-2014 in order to get some of these things done, or will all the changes be handled from within?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to follow up on my Member’s statement. I have some questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment with regard to the focus that we put on heritage in the NWT and in the activities of the department. I’d like to ask the Minister if he could explain to me and to the House what we currently do to support heritage activities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The arts are alive and well in the NWT. We are blessed with visual arts, music, film, dance, and written word artists, to name just a few. This government recognizes the contributions that arts performers make. We recognize the positive impact on the economy from the arts and that they are essential to the preservation of NWT culture. Funding for the arts is provided through the Education, Culture and Employment budget, and we present awards for culture through the Minister’s Cultural Circle. But there’s one aspect of our lives and our history which needs greater...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Tabled Document 9-17(4), NWT Main Estimates, 2013-2014, and would like to report progress. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. DeLancey. Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Minister Beaulieu.

I appreciate the Minister’s point that things change and we can’t predict everything. I realize that contract amounts change, inflation has an impact, but I’m troubled by the way this is presented in that we think we’re going to save money because it looks like we should. I would hope that the Minister, I’m going to ask the Minister, does the department not have a better method of deciding what changes we’re going to make? It sounds to me like, well, this looks like a pretty good idea so let’s just try this one. Surely the Minister should be able to, and the department should be able to...