Caitlin Cleveland

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, while we work very closely with the Department of Infrastructure, the maintenance of assets are led by the Department of Infrastructure so that's work that is done under the Department of Infrastructure. What I can say is that there is an expectation of a five-year rolling assessment calendar. And maybe, Mr. Chair, through yourself, I would like to just check with my colleagues to see if they had any more specific information that they'd like to add at this time.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So to answer the Member's question -- or his original question, yes, the issue is being addressed. There are other mechanisms in some of the school boards. There are reserves that the school boards have in order to address infrastructure specifically. There is also other mechanisms like deferred maintenance funding that is available through the GNWT. And then in some schools, they do have dollars already allotted from their surplus to be able to fund things like this. And as we indicated in question period and also in other conversations, we are honouring...

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, in regards to busing, that is something that is afforded through some funding that supports that with the school funding formula. And so that's found in our main estimates that we review every year in February and March. That said, to answer the Member's question, busing specifically for Tlicho communities has not been raised in our education leaders' meetings but certainly is something that is undertaken and pursued by education bodies themselves who decide how they're going to support that in each of their communities and what way to best address...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can I please pass to assistant deputy minister Locke-Setter. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, information is requested from education bodies between now and January. So it's quite a bit in advance so that there's time for planning and budgeting of what that looks like and then comes forward, for example, to Cabinet in the summertime for us to be going through approval. So it's quite a detailed process. And our ask is that people express what it is that they're looking for. And as I indicated in my response to the Member for Range Lake, there's a significant amount of requests that come in every year, and this funding represents about 30...

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. On my left, I have Jamie Fulford, deputy minister of Education, Culture and Employment. And on my right, Terri-Lynn Locke-Setter, assistant deputy minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Yes, the answer is yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, while they are still both under the same division, they do have different purposes, they do have different design. Income assistance is a program that is structured around the basic needs of residents who would not necessarily have a mechanism to pay those late fees because education, culture and employment is funding them based on their entirety of their basic needs whereas student financial assistance is structured differently and also does have an expectation that students contribute to their post-secondary costs as well. Thank you, Mr...

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, there is a teacher staff housing unit in Colville Lake that is maintained by education, culture and employment, and the current state of this housing unit requires improvements because its condition has deteriorated and we need to ensure that we extend its service life as well. This will be a single-year capital project, and work is expected to be completed in 2026. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to start by acknowledging that this certainly would be very frustrating and difficult on the part of students who are really wanting to ensure that they're focusing on their post-secondary studies. As the Member mentioned, student financial assistance has seen an increase in their applications this year. There's been an almost 20 percent increase in the number of applications for student financial assistance that have come through to the government, and even though the Department of Education, Culture and Employment did hire five additional...