Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Minister, I thank you and your officials very much for coming here today.
I have so many questions and so little time.
Let me put on the record—only because you mentioned it here—the conversation we had prior to the meeting. We want to look at the bill on matrimonial real property. We cannot put the bill through at all of its stages without having reviewed that 52-page document. We want to look at it, we want to consider it, and we look forward to working with you on it. But to fast-track it that way, I would say, is an insult to us and certainly to those it affects.
There are many questions, Minister, and if I have time I'm going to share it with one of my colleagues, but I want to talk about the supplementary estimates. They show an internal reallocation of resources of roughly $20 million from capital expenditures to grants and contributions.
When you came before this committee last November, you indicated to us that education for first nations was a priority for this government. You stated this in the House on January 31: “We would all like to have more and newer schools, but we continue to invest in schools across the country. It is a priority for the government.”
I guess what I'm doing, Minister, is questioning the priority of it. As I indicated, we're showing a reallocation of capital to operating dollars, and we know that much of it is affecting the schools. You cited the water initiatives. We appreciate those, but not at the expense of education. You and I both know, as do all members of the committee, that the aboriginal population is the youngest and fastest-growing. We've heard from communities all around the country about the cutbacks and the school projects that have not moved forward.
I guess I'm questioning the issues around several schools: Peguis; Ebb and Flow; Sioux Valley; North Spirit Lake; Wabaseemoong; the First Nations Technical Institute, which you've addressed in the House and you want to pass over to the province; and most particularly, Pelican Narrows School in Saskatchewan, which has a carbon dioxide health issue; and Deschambault, where the school burned down, and we now know the alternative is overcrowded by over 200 pupils.
My concern is with the reallocation of capital dollars intended for schools and with funding commitments being made to schools but not happening. We talk about education. You ended your presentation very eloquently on children being the future and on the importance of education and skills development, but it's not going to happen if they don't have the facilities.