Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of ECE. Right now, the way I see it is that the GNWT education, health and -- sorry, education and health policies are overriding our treaty rights.
My question is, in May 2025 the ECE Minister announced DEA to use their surplus dollars for JP cutbacks. My question is what happens -- sorry, my question is what happens when DEA does not have surplus dollars, what will her department do to fill in the gap and shortfalls going forward with all DEAs in Northwest Territories and to uphold and honour the treaty rights on education though? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, when I met with all of the chairs of the district education councils across the Northwest Territories, I endeavoured to pass along to them that if there were emergencies that came up, because often this is what school boards end up using their surplus dollars for, that we would stay in close contact together in order to explore what it was that they endeavoured to need the funding for. Surpluses are borne out of carryovers from unused funds that are distributed to education bodies through the school funding formula. And so what we want, ultimately, is not for those dollars to be sitting in a surplus but to be used for education across the territory and that if there are unforeseen circumstances that arise that we work together in order to sort those out and figure out how we can either fund them or wait for follow-up years but certainly always sticking together and working together. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. My next question: Can the Minister explain how she will work with the health Minister to do proper education assessment for students who needs the help? And how will the Minister pay to implement the assessment without taking the money out of the DEA budget? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, yesterday in questions that I received from the Member for Yellowknife North, we explored the question around early assessments for students, especially in the early years, to ensure that we're establishing baselines and making sure that we are discovering any concerns or challenges that might arise as early as possible. And so that is something that we are looking into within education, culture and employment. And I continue to work quite closely with the Minister of Health and Social Services.
And in addition to that, the Member's second question around funding, this relates directly to work being done within the inclusive schooling policy, Mr. Speaker, and so this is work that is currently underway within the department. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Final supplementary. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister as well. Whenever she gets a chance to go to Ottawa to work with -- and including her colleagues, the Minister of health, maybe when you guys go down there I am hoping that you continue to emphasize the importance of treaty rights on education and health and that we need additional funding. I just want to make sure that we are covered off in that area. So that's my question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, when we travel, whether it's individually or all together as a group or with Council of Leaders, we are certainly making sure that we are explaining the realities of life in the Northwest Territories, the treaties that we honour here in the Northwest Territories, the work that we do together, and the needs of residents of this territory as well. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Frame Lake.
