Caroline Wawzonek

Madam Chair, I actually think I might be back in front of committee tomorrow wearing my other hat with power corporation but also with power corporation officials with me. So if I might suggest -- I'd prefer to defer that question and then what I could do, Madam Chair, knowing that this is a public opportunity -- I do think it's very important the public know the circumstances we're in -- I can perhaps table a letter to follow up from -- as a further detail of some of this information just to -- it'll be more fulsome it comes through that discussion tomorrow. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. So, I mean, this is a very large question. I'm probably beyond the scope of what I can really get into here and one that should probably go as well to both ECC as well as MACA directly in terms of their operations. But just briefly, Madam Chair, and from the perspective of the Department of Finance, we are responsible for territorial formula financing. That is -- a review is getting underway now in advance of 2029 being the next time that it comes up for renewal. The challenge that we will have is that it doesn't take much in terms of headlines in the news throughout...

Thank you, Madam Chair. To the extent that Jordan's Principal system was being previously used to support these education assistants, then yes. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, back again, on my left is Bill McKay, the deputy minister of the Department of Finance. On my right, Mandi Bolstad is the deputy secretary to the Financial Management Board.

Thank you, Madam Chair. So I'll say at the outset I am trying to avoid saying exactly the number that the boards don't want to spend. I don't necessarily have their blessing to say those numbers that are on the floor for them or that are before them for decisions. So what I can say is this, that right now what was requested in order to participate in this program which, again, is, you know, us stepping in for the federal government when we're really ill-funded to do so. So I hear the frustration, and I appreciate the frustration from the boards, but we also weren't expecting to be filling...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, we are as a government working towards a position where right now the health authority does run a deficit budget, most -- well, all departments and agencies do not. So we are trying to put ourselves into a position where the health and social services authorities would be in the same position, namely, not running any form of deficit budget. But before we do that, we are wanting to do the work that's happening both within the authority of the public administrator to determine the appropriate complement of staffing, for one, but also work that's happening in...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I don't have that. The $58.6 million number that I had put forward is based on the current fiscal year and really for education authorities only. And when adding in 2025-2026 but then also considering that there would have been some elements, for example, if there's diagnostic services or treatment services or care, health care related services, I don't have that number. So the number certainly does start to grow when we add all of that in. I can see if we can put that together. It may be that it is -- I don't have in front of me right now. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. So no, Madam Chair, this is not. And there's a couple of different line items that we see in the course of reviewing the Department of Health and Social Services broadly, including where they would put money to support the authority. But this is where if someone who has Northwest Territories health care and they go anywhere outside of Northwest Territories, we are billed back. So this is out of territory hospital medical services. It's not residents who are permanently in other facilities or who may be residing in other facilities, you know, sort of longer term for...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the item that came forward from education, culture, employment in response to the federal government's decision to take away money from Indigenous students did not apply to Yellowknife exclusively. It does not apply to any individual community or education body exclusively. It is for school boards who are being denied their funding that they were receiving through Jordan's Principal. If a school board is being denied funding anywhere in the Northwest Territories, they can apply to this fund. It so happens that the two largest school boards in Yellowknife...

Thank you, Madam Chair. It is indeed a difficult area. There certainly is some work being done in this respect. There's -- you know, obviously the volume of residents who may require this care is one of the areas of driver, but also the type of care that is being required. And then the costs of that care and the cost of specialized medical care, certainly in the last five years or so has gone up faster than what it had been previously, but also there's the costs that may be involved depending on, you know, again, some of the other parameters of just where they may be. Different facilities and...