Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that consideration of Tabled Document 453-20(1), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2025-2026, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 453-20(1) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Motion carried.
Tabled Document 453-20(1) will be reported as ready for consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill.
---Carried
I want to thank the Minister and thank the witnesses for appearing before us today. I am going to ask the Sergeant-at-Arms to excuse the Members. Thank you.
Committee, we have agreed to consider Tabled Document 454-20(1), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization), No. 3, 2025-2026. Does the Minister of Finance wish to bring in witness into the House?
Yes, please, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. Sergeant-at-Arms, please re-escort the witnesses back into the chamber. Okay, let's continue on. We already know the witnesses.
Does the committee agree to proceed to the details contained in the tabled documents? Committee -- does committee agree?
Agreed.
Okay, thank you. Committee, we will begin on page 3 with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment.
Department of Education, Culture and Employment, operations expenditures, corporate management, not previously authorized, $371,000. Are there any questions? Seeing no further questions.
Department of Education, Culture and Employment, corporate management, not previously authorized, $371,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. Department of Education, Culture and Employment, operations expenditures, education, not previously authorized, $1,867,000. Does committee agree? Okay, I am going to go to the Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So we're looking at $529,000 here for costs associated with the lead testing program in school drinking water systems, including remediation and providing alternative sources. Can the Minister tell us how many schools are covered by this expenditure as we have continued to see each month --
-- sorry, my apologies to the Member from YK North. There's a process here I got to move through, so just give me one second. Thank you.
Department of Education, Culture and Employment, operations expenditures, education, not previously authorized, $1,867,000. Are there any questions? I am going to go to the Member to Yellowknife North.
Rewind. Okay. Well, with regard to money for lead testing in school drinking water systems and remediation and provision of alternative water sources, can the first tell us how many schools this this money has been spent on so far and, you know, how many more schools are still left to be tested as we continue to see more and more results trickle in that higher lead levels continue to pop up in schools around the territory. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Thank You Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, this funding is going to support a territory-wide program. So I don't know that I have the exact number of schools here but it is for all JK to 12 schools in the Northwest Territories to ensure that there's supports both for testing, for immediate remediation measures for fixtures found in -- fixtures and fountains, and also provision of alternate drinking sources while those measures are being undertaken. Thank you.
Thank you. I will go back to the Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can the Minister at least tell us when was the cutoff for this total expenditures in that, you know, we've continued to see each week, up until very recently, new schools come to the forefront in terms of flags being raised that that there are lead problems there. So are these expenditures, like, up to last December? Up to January? Up to yesterday? You know, how -- yeah, up until when does this $529,000 cover? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go back to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, these are the costs projected to the end of this fiscal year given that this is a supplementary estimate that takes us -- this is the last supplementary estimate to the end of the 2026 -- like March 31st, 2026, fiscal year, and then obviously going into the new fiscal year, there's a new budget that comes in and we will determine whether or not additional funding would be needed after that point in time. Thank you.
Thank you. I will go to the Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Does the Minister have any sense of how much of this expenditure has gone to the testing part and how much has gone to the remediation part, so the actual fixing the problems so that schools can go back to using their regular drinking water sources? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, it's at this point the cost to provide drinking water and to support YK 1 schools was the more significant of the costs to date -- or sorry, not to date really. I guess as of, say, November 30th. The projected costs have it as being roughly equal amounts as between the testing initiative that's been undertaken, immediate remediation efforts, and then also to provide drinking water. So as I said, up to this point in time it was a little heavier weighted on ensuring availability of supports for in the short-term for -- like, the water fountain remediation and water, but between now and the end of the fiscal, it roughly evens out. Thank you.
Thank you. I will go back to the Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So given that we're getting more and more information about problems that we're seeing in schools, has any funding for this been included in the mains for 2026-2027, anticipating that we will continue to be needing to address both testing and remediation in school drinking water systems over the coming year? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, this wouldn't have been anticipated at the time that the main estimates were being developed. It actually is sort of an example of an issue that is -- a really good example of what would meet the criteria for being a supplementary estimate in that it was emergent over time and may well vary over the course of the next year. So it would have been difficult and still is likely difficult to know what the final costs would be. It would depend upon the state -- or of the testing that goes on, which schools need remediation, what kind of remediation and over what period of time. So the reason this came in as a supp was to ensure that work could get going immediately once it was clear that this was not seemingly isolated only to one or two schools but seemed that the initial tests were bringing back some -- or bringing back results that impacted a large number of schools, and so a supp was put in to ensure that the work wasn't going to be delayed until we knew what all of the school's tests were and that all -- and that that testing could be accelerated. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. I will go to the Member from Yellowknife North.
That's all of my questions for now. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. I am going to go to the Member from Range Lake.
No, thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Seeing no further questions.
Department of Education, Culture and Employment, education, not previously authorized, $1,867,000. Does the committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. Department of Education, Culture and Employment, operations expenditures, income security, not previously authorized, $3,335,000. Does committee agree?
Oh, I am going to go back to the Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So this is a large increase. Can the Minister tell us what this funding is inclusive of. Thank you.
Thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So this includes the drinking water testing and short-term remediations that were discussed just previously. There's also funds within this component here for funding under the national action plan to end gender-based violence. There's an amount here -- oh, sorry, Mr. Chair. Are we on -- my mistake. Let me just turn that to the deputy minister, please. I was looking at the wrong line item, please.
Thank you. I will go to the deputy minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So this falls under the division in the department of education, income security, and they are responsible for student financial assistance, so they're seeking an increase to -- or a supplementary -- a supplement to their budget for the year to cover the costs of delivering that program over the course of this fiscal year. And that's due mainly to an increase in uptake more than was anticipated. Thank you.
Okay, thank you. I will go back to the Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. And are -- these student late fees from the last academic semester, are they covered by this increase? Thank you.
Thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. No, Mr. Chair, this is related to, again, two main components. One is a shortfall in available funds because of a larger number of students who were applying as well as some changes in terms of the types of available -- or the types of a loan and the extent of a loan that was available for students. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Member from Range Lake.
Thank you. And are we seeing -- do we anticipate that we'll have to increase SFA budgets accordingly going forward to accommodate the increased uptake, or is this something that's somewhat of an anomaly based on trends of the program uptake? Thank you.
Thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, there there is in the 2026-2027 Budget, a proposed increase. Obviously that remains to be seen, how that goes here, but it's still before committee. But there is a proposed increase to student financial assistance. Thank you.
Okay, thank you. I will go back to the Member from Range Lake.
